Hosting an event in the Windy City in the near future? If you are currently contracted with a downtown hotel or near McCormick Place, you should have been notified about what could become the largest hotel workers’ strike in the city’s history.
More than 7,000 housekeepers, cooks, dishwashers, front desk agents, servers and food service workers at 46 hotels have voted by an overwhelming 85% margin to authorize strikes. Represented by Unite Here Local 1, these workers staff major chains such as Hyatt, IHG, Hilton and Marriott, from high-end properties like The Ritz-Carlton Chicago to select-service locations like Home2Suites by Hilton McCormick Place.
Rising costs are at the heart of the strike threat. Unite Here says a recent survey found nearly one-third of hotel workers were not paid enough to cover rent or mortgage payments, and nearly 30% lacked the money to cover utility bills. Other issues under negotiation span working conditions, health care and worker safety.
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“I voted yes to strike because I’ve had enough,” said Cassandra Pope, a room attendant at the Palmer House Hilton, in a statement provided by the union. “They’re putting us on the schedule six consecutive days without even asking us. They demand and demand, always rushing us in the rooms, without acknowledging that we are human beings. We only have two hands and two feet. I’m coming out of here extremely exhausted. And I have to come and work, because I need money to feed my four children.”
At all but one of the impacted hotels, existing labor contracts expired by the end of August. If strikes erupt, they could unfold in waves due to separate bargaining agreements, according to published reports.
The last major Chicago hotel strike occurred in 2018, involving 26 hotels and lasting four weeks. As a result, workers secured year-round health insurance.
A String of Labor Victories
In recent years strikes have won significant gains for hotel workers, even as this year’s hotel labor front has been relatively quiet until now. In 2025 the Unite Here union won a landmark victory for roughly 25% more in wages in Houston, in what was Texas’ first-ever such action. In the two years prior, major gains were also won after strikes in Southern California, Honolulu, Boston, Baltimore, Las Vegas and San Francisco.
In Chicago, the union’s website claims some events scheduled for hotels facing strikes “have already chosen to cancel or reschedule their events.” It also offers model contract language for “excused non-performance due to labor dispute” for planners.
Among upcoming events that could be significantly impacted is the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 11, which will attract 55,000 runners from around the nation and 130 other countries and will draw many thousands of out-of-town spectators.
In a statement typical of other hotel companies and management, Hilton assured its guests: “There is currently no labor disruption at the hotels, and a strike vote does not mean that there will be a strike. We are also focused on providing our guests with our signature hospitality and have contingency plans in place to ensure operations continue to run as smoothly as possible in the case of a work stoppage.”
