US hotel workers are locked in a bitter dispute that has now lasted more than six months. Fourteen San Francisco hotels are affected whilst others in Los Angeles are still at odds after year-long contract talks. Hotels affected in California include Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and Four Seasons.
Hotels have curbed financial fallout from strikes and lockouts by hiring temporary workers or bringing in replacements from non-union hotels. But as hotel ownership has become more concentrated, unions are now trying to organise nationally to break the fragmentation that has characterised previous negotiations.
The dispute could spread when contracts expire in Boston, New York, Chicago, Sacramento, Hawaii and Toronto.