SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Hundreds of Hilton San Diego Bayfront employees went on strike outside of the hotel early Wednesday morning, just as the downtown area and nearby convention center prepare for the start of Comic-Con.
Unite Here Local 30, the union representing the nearly 600 hotel workers, called for a walkout late Tuesday night after failing to reach a new agreement on a pay raise and benefits with the hotel’s management.
The picket line was formed at around 4 a.m.
A union representative said, “They offered us $2.50. The workers overwhelmingly rejected that. We’re proposing an increase of $4 an hour and to fix the stayover cleaning for our workers, because right now they’re cleaning the checkouts and that’s really hard on their bodies.”
According to the union, the hotel also proposed increasing employee parking by $20.
Employees -- including cooks, dishwashers, and housekeepers -- have been without a new contract since last November, when their three-year agreement expired.
Hotel officials issued this statement to ABC 10News which read, in part:
“We are continuing to welcome guests and have contingency plans in place to ensure operations run as smoothly as possible. We are confident that the hotel and the union will reach a fair agreement that is beneficial to both our valued team members and to our hotel.
