BALTIMORE – Despite recent movement, Hilton and the union that represents more than 200 of its Inner Harbor hotel employees are not on the same page.
WMAR-2 News attended a roundtable discussion with union and city leaders Wednesday afternoon, where workers shared their concerns directly with incumbent and incoming members of the Baltimore City Council.
The UNITE Here Local 7 union told WMAR it is trying to raise wages to $20 an hour and reduce the inequality between workers in Baltimore and those in neighboring major cities.
“We negotiated with both the Hilton and Hyatt last week, and the proposals from both hotels do not close the gap between Baltimore and the other cities – even with some significant wage increases at the Hilton,” said Tracy Lingo, president of UNITE Here Local 7.
Earlier this month, 97 percent of union voters approved a strike. Union leadership has said it wants to reach an agreement but is also prepared to leave the union.
“We have to continue to go to work every day and work as much overtime as possible just to make ends meet,” said Jerome Roberts, a Hilton employee.
READ MORE: Hotel workers strike outside the Light St. Hyatt for higher wages
“Hilton has a long-standing track record of negotiating collective bargaining agreements with UNITE HERE Local 7 and is committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that benefits both our valued team members and our hotels,” the hotel chain said in a statement to WMAR last week.
“One job should be enough and we should have the respect to pay workers what they’re worth, especially at a hotel like the Hilton that is technically owned by the city,” Zeke Cohen, the Democratic candidate for City Council president, said Wednesday.
WMAR asked Lingo what conditions are needed to call a strike. Lingo said that is up to the hotel chain itself.
“Everyone here talks about living paycheck to paycheck. Of course, that makes the decision to strike even harder because if we strike, that means losing wages. But the workers say we’re willing to give up wages right now if it means we have a contract that moves us and our city forward,” Lingo replied.
The hotel employees are currently working under their collective agreement until August 29. The union has negotiation dates on August 28 and September 5.
