About 10,000 hotel workers with the union UNITE HERE went on strike across the United States over the Labor Day long weekend to fight for raises, fair workloads and respect in the workplace. The multiday strike affects Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott hotels in several major cities, including Boston, San Francisco and Seattle. We speak with striking worker Rebeca Laroque, who has worked as a room attendant for over 12 years at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, Connecticut, and UNITE HERE Local 2 President Lizzy Tapia in San Francisco. “We’re working hard, and then the money they pay, you cannot afford nothing with this, because everything is going up,” says Laroque. “That’s why we ask for a better wage, health insurance and pension, because we cannot afford nothing.”
