About 2,000 San Francisco hotel workers are on strike demanding better wages, fair workloads, and adequate healthcare.
On Sunday, over 300 workers from the Marriott-operated Palace Hotel walked off the job to join other workers from Westin St. Francis and the Union Square locations of the Grand Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott.
“This is the only way corporations can move to bargain our contract, other than that they don’t pay attention to us,” said Palace Hotel employee Carlos Narvaez.
Narvaez is a storage room clerk who moves boxes and unloads hundreds of pounds worth of goods each day. He has worked for the hotel for 27 years.
“My job is physically very difficult,” said Narvaez, whose wife also works at the hotel.
The work takes a toll on his body. He knows one day it may injure him and he may need help from a doctor, but Marriott’s current offer will make getting that help more difficult and expensive.