BOSTON, Mass.—After more than six weeks on strike, Marriott hotel workers in Boston overwhelmingly
ratified a new contract Nov. 17. The agreement paved the way for the 1,500 strikers at seven hotels to return to work Nov. 21. “We have taken a tremendous step forward in the direction of one job being enough for hotel workers in this city,” UNITE HERE Local 26 President Brian Lang told reporters. Following the union’s policy, Lang did not give specific details, as about 5,000 Marriott workers are still on strike in San Francisco and Hawaii. But he said the 4½-year pact includes raises, paid parental leave, better protections against sexual harassment, a lighter workload for housekeepers, and guarantees that employees get enough hours to make a living wage. The deal, Lang added, “set a new standard for hotel workers in the city,” and Local 26 will try to win the same terms from the other 25 unionized hotels in the Boston area. “We didn’t get everything, but as you can hear from the crowd in there, we’re pretty excited,” Westin Boston Waterfront worker Brian Konon, 49, told the Boston Globe outside the ratification vote. “I think it was fair.” Read more
