ver.di, the German union, is calling for Lufthansa Group to stop using Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott hotels to provide layover accommodation for their crew, during the current strikes that have seen 4,700 hotel workers walk off the job in bicoastal cities across the United States.
Further strikes were announced on Sunday in Boston, when 600 people walked off the job. Hotel workers are currently on strike at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotels in Boston, Honolulu, San Diego, and San Francisco. Workers in all four cities say they will strike until they win new contracts, and more strikes could begin at any time.
Lufthansa Group operates over 40 flights to San Francisco, five flights to San Diego and 25 flights to Boston weekly, and has agreements with the hotels where workers are on strike to accommodate its staff in all three cities.
Christine Behle, Deputy Chairwoman of ver.di, will be speaking with leadership from the Lufthansa Group in October and urging them to find alternative hotels for their employees until the dispute is settled.
Behle said: “Flight crew rely on the important services that striking workers provide at these hotels. Proper rest after long-haul flights is crucial for airline staff to be able to do their jobs properly – and safely.”
“In the past, we’ve managed to resolve our concerns respectfully with Lufthansa. We hope they will see how important using alternative hotels during these strikes is for their crew’s health and wellbeing.”
Stephen Cotton, General Secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), of which UNITE HERE and ver.di are affiliates, said: “Workers are breaking their backs to keep these hotels in business, and for what reward? Despite skyrocketing living costs including housing, wages have not kept pace.”
“These hotels have been put on notice. ver.di is not the first union to recommend crew be moved away from hotels on strike, and it won’t be the last. International flight crew are watching this dispute closely and their unions will be calling for airlines to do what is right and safe for their staff.”
The hotel workers, ranging from front desk clerks to back of house laundry staff, are demanding higher wages, better healthcare, fairer workloads and a return to pre-pandemic staffing.
“Our union members will undoubtedly be concerned about the working conditions of the staff at the hotels they’re staying in. The impact of picket lines and reduced services will undermine the rest that crew need to safely operate flights that carry thousands of passengers between San Francisco and Germany.
“We call on these hotels to swiftly resolve the disputes that have seen workers go out on strike, so our members can continue to use these hotels.” Behle added.
Notes
About ver.di: With about 2 million members, ver.di protects conditions for workers across over 1,000 professions in Germany.
About UNITE HERE: UNITE HERE is a union of people committed to changing lives in the hospitality industry by making sure jobs are safe, respected, and provide enough to live on. UNITE HERE is currently running an international “Respect Our Work” bargaining campaign for hotel staff, urging the public not to use struck hotels in any affected city: https://unitehere.org/campaign/time-for-hotels-to-respect-our-work-in-2024/
About the ITF: The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation recognised as the world’s leading transport authority. We fight passionately to improve working lives; connecting trade unions from over 150 countries to secure rights, equality and justice for their members. We are the voice for nearly 16.5 million working women and men in the transport industry across the world.
