In today’s news and commentary: 10,000 hotel workers go on strike and Harris hosts Labor Day rallies focused on wooing union members.

Yesterday, over 10,000 hotel workers represented by Unite Here launched a strike, disrupting operations at 25 different hotels during the Labor Day holiday. The workers picketed outside Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott locations across the country to call for higher wages. They are also demanding the reversal of COVID-era staffing and service cuts. During the pandemic, many hotels resorted to cutting down on staffing in response to reduced travel. However, even as the hotel industry has bounced back in recent years, hotels have maintained pandemic-era staffing cuts in an effort to keep costs low. These cuts have led many workers to lose their jobs while overwhelming the workload for the workers left behind. Seeking to restore pre-pandemic staffing levels and boost wages, hotel workers are set to continue their strike, which is projected to spread to more cities today. 

In more Labor Day news, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris spent the holiday making her case to working people at union hot spots. Harris’s first stop was in Detroit, where she lauded union members for improving workplace conditions for all workers. “Everywhere I go I tell people, ‘Look, you may not be a union member. You better thank a union member,’” Harris said. “For the five-day workweek, you better thank a union member. For sick leave, you better thank a union. For paid leave. You better thank a union for vacation time.” Harris also denounced Trump as an opponent of worker’s rights, noting his history of opposing an increased minimum wage, appointing “union busters” to the NLRB, and pushing forward right-to-work laws.

After her rally in Detroit, Harris, joined by Joe Biden, made an appearance in Pittsburgh at the IBEW Local Union #5 union hall. She continued to celebrate the power of organized labor, praising Pittsburgh as the “cradle of the American labor movement.” She also announced her position that US Steel “should remain American-owned,” aligning herself with the United Steelworkers union’s opposition to the company’s proposed sale to a Japanese steel corporation. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris also emphasized the Biden Administration’s track record as a champion for labor, and promised that the Harris presidency would build on its pro-union momentum. “We are so proud to be the most pro-union administration in American history,” Harris said.