Hilton San Diego Bayfront workers began striking early Wednesday morning, hours before Comic-Con was set to begin at the convention center — just steps away from the 1,190-room hotel.
Daylong talks stalled late Tuesday night when negotiators for both sides were unable to reach an agreement on pay and other work-related issues. The hotel’s 600 unionized employees, who have been without a contract since November, signaled their willingness last Friday to walk off their jobs when they voted overwhelmingly to authorize union leadership to call a strike if no progress was made in negotiations.
Leaders of Unite Here Local 30, which represents hotel workers throughout the county, said they hit an impasse when Hilton negotiators rejected their latest proposal for a $4-an-hour increase over a two-year period.
“We were prepared to go until this morning but they said, ‘We’re done,’ and they left,” said Unite Here President Brigette Browning as workers, dressed in red union T-shirts and holding aloft picket signs, marched nearby at the hotel entrance.
“No contract, no peace,” workers chanted in English and Spanish as union leaders urged them on with megaphones.
Management at the hotel Wednesday morning declined to comment on the walkout or on how they were planning to staff the sold-out hotel during San Diego’s single largest convention, which draws some 135,000 attendees. Inside the hotel lobby, it appeared to be business as usual, although a sign advised guests that “Bell service is currently unavailable.” And the in-house Starbucks, normally staffed by hotel workers, was closed “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
In an emailed statement from Hilton Wednesday, the hotel said “we are continuing to welcome guests and have contingency plans in place to ensure operations run as smoothly as possible.” It added, “We are confident that the hotel and the union will reach a fair agreement that is beneficial to both our valued Team Members and to our hotel.”
No new bargaining sessions, however, have been scheduled, said union leaders. Browning said she believes that the hotel is currently being staffed by temporary workers and a few employees from the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines, which is not unionized.
The decision to strike, said Unite Here, hinged on two key issues — pay and the hotel’s policy of not having housekeepers clean rooms daily, a practice that became commonplace across the industry during the pandemic. The rooms at the Hilton are instead cleaned once guests check out unless they specifically request more frequent cleaning. Unite Here estimates that the change in policy since the start of the pandemic more than two years ago has on average reduced room attendant hours by 30 percent.
“We have been negotiating for months,” said Rick Bates, director of policy for the union. “We are demanding $4.00 (hourly) increases (over two years) and the company offered $2.50 and no stay-over cleaning. We can’t allow room attendants to continue suffering in a billion-dollar industry.”
Bates said the Hilton’s offer of a $2.50-an-hour increase was to be over an 18-month period but it was contingent on the union agreeing to drop its demand for daily housekeeping of rooms unless guests choose to opt out.
The hotel had originally proposed in June an hourly increase of $1.50 over three years but by Tuesday night had changed the contract period to 18 months, Bates said. During talks on Tuesday, the union came down from its initial demand of an extra $7 an hour over two years.
The union represents about 450 full-time employees at the Hilton Bayfront and an additional 150 on-call workers.
While the workers at the convention hotel earn considerably more than the minimum wage, they still struggle to make ends meet in a county where housing costs are especially high. Hourly pay for non-tipped workers at the Hilton — including housekeepers, stewards, cooks and front desk agents — ranges from $19.30 to $20.65.
Just a week ago, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, joined by two City Council members, spoke at a union rally in support of the hotel workers. On Wednesday, a number of elected leaders showed up in support of the strike, including at least three San Diego City Council members and the mayor of National City, Alejandra Sotelo-Solis.
“It’s really important for folks to know they are appreciated, that at the end of the day when they come to work, they’re the ones who are making sure rooms are cleaned, that hot food is being served,” Sotelo-Solis said. “And today being the first day of Comic-Con, the public also needs to know this is happening.”
The start of a strike just as the pop culture extravaganza is making its long-awaited return to a full in-person convention has the potential to become a public relations nightmare, given its close proximity to the convention center where 135,000 attendees will be gathering through Sunday. Not only is the hotel sold out but its Indigo Ballroom is a venue for several convention panels throughout the convention, beginning on Thursday.
The hotel itself is clearly energized by the return of Comic-Con, posting whimsical videos on Twitter showcasing the property — and some of its employees — as it prepares for the big event. One video shows a “team member” transforming the Starbucks with intricate drawings, just for Comic-Con.
The last hotel strike in San Diego was in the fall of 2018 when workers at the Westin San Diego Gaslamp walked off their jobs for 35 days. The strike ended after a new contract was negotiated, giving housekeepers a 40 percent pay raise over four years.
