The San Diego Hilton Bayfront hotel, whose more than 700 unionized workers have been striking since Sunday, said Friday that it has agreed to new bargaining sessions, but employees will not be returning to work just yet.
The local hotel workers union, which extended its originally planned three-day strike after it said the hotel canceled talks scheduled for earlier this week, confirmed Friday that it will not end its strike until it has a new contract in hand for its . Talks between the two sides will resume next Thursday and Friday.
Although thousands of hotel workers across the nation had launched strikes over the Labor Day weekend, those employees have since returned to work. San Diego now remains the only city with striking hotel workers.
“I hope the hotel will come in with a meaningful proposal but I’m not sure,” said Unite Here Local 30 president Brigette Browning. “We are still going to strike until we get a contract.”
A Hilton spokesperson told the Union-Tribune on Friday that the bargaining talks were “rescheduled” to next week.
“We also want a new contract in place and remain fully committed to negotiating in good faith with the union,” the spokesperson said. “We value our team and want to reach an agreement that is fair, reasonable, and beneficial to both the team and the hotel.”
The workers’ existing contract expired Aug. 31. The last bargaining session was Aug. 18, the union said.
Unite Here’s opening offer sought a $5 hourly pay hike each year over three years for non-tipped employees, which includes housekeepers, stewards, cooks and front desk agents. The average housekeeper at the Hilton Bayfront currently earns $24 an hour, Browning said. She noted that Hilton has yet to make an economic offer to the union.
The workers last went on strike in July 2022, albeit very briefly, just as Comic-Con was to get underway. The employees secured a two-year that raised hourly wages for non-tipped workers $2 a year.
The latest strike coincided with an organized walkout last weekend by roughly 10,000 hotel workers in nine U.S. cities. It was designed to be just a few days, as was the San Diego job action, but that changed when bargaining talks were canceled.
