Union workers walked off the job at four prominent San Francisco hotels early Wednesday morning, but the move did not trigger a multi-city strike as union locals in Los Angeles and Washington said they had no immediate plans to join the action.
The strike by 1,400 union members, whose picket line chanting roused some hotel guests from their sleep, was the most aggressive step taken yet by the Unite Here union in this year's protracted contract disputes. Its members have authorized strikes in all three cities.
Mike Casey, the president of San Francisco Unite Here Local 2, said the walkout would last two weeks. It targets four of 14 hotels involved in on-again, off-again negotiations.
Casey described the action as a wake-up call to give the hotels a taste of operating without experienced staff. He added that he hoped it would encourage meaningful negotiations.
The threat of a multi-city work stoppage has provided the union with some leverage, as hoteliers and city officials fear that widespread strikes could discourage visitors and disrupt the industry's comeback from the 2001 recession and terrorist attacks.
Unite Here has emphasized the need to act in concert against an increasingly consolidated hotel industry on a range of issues, including lightening workloads and preserving healthcare coverage.
Meanwhile, the key stumbling block between labor and management is the union's demand for a two-year pact in all three cities. That would align contract expirations in nine cities and Hawaii, giving the union greater bargaining clout.
But Unite Here's national president for hospitality services, John Wilhelm, said Wednesday that the San Francisco local's decision to strike was made independently and did not portend a coordinated action.
"We have never said we intended to strike the hotels in all of the cities," Wilheim told reporters Wednesday morning. "The locals have the authority of their memberships to call a strike and are keeping their options open. Their goal is to do whatever is best for their members."
The struck hotels -- the Argent, Hilton San Francisco, Crowne Plaza Union Square and Mark Hopkins Intercontinental -- maintained operations using workers from hotels in other cities. Some guests crossed picket lines while others said they were checking out early.
Ed Portnoy, a doctor from Westlake Village, told the Associated Press that he and his wife and daughter had heard enough after being awakened by early-morning pickets.
