Hyatt Regency Greenwich Hotel Workers Strike to Protest “Painful” Workloads, Inadequate Wages

On Sunday morning, otherwise quiet in Greenwich as residents continued to relax over Labor Day weekend, Hyatt Regency workers paced the sidewalks chanting, “One job should be enough.”

Local hotel workers are on strike.

In fact, 133 members of Local 217–UNITE HERE are part of thousands across the country who walked off the job Sunday morning, striking for higher pay, increased staffing and reduced workloads.

In Connecticut, Local 217 represents over 2,500 hotel, school cafeteria and corporate cafeteria workers.

According to a release from the union, hotel workers include housekeepers, cooks, servers, bartenders, bellmen and others who walked off the job, protesting what they say are painful workloads and wages that aren’t enough to afford the cost of living.

According to Hotel Management, the Hyatt Regency Greenwich is nearing completion of $40 million transformative renovation, adding “a modern touch to the historic property.”

The work includes updates to the pool and fitness center, a new atrium event space, introduction of “Glenna’s Cafe and Market” alongside the Townsend Bar, and a remodel of all 374 guestrooms and suites.

The renovation is intended to pay homage the Condé Nast Publishing, the company that for decades churned out popular magazines, and will feature iconic photos and illustrations from those magazines throughout the hotel.

At one time there were 1,600 employees at Condé Nast, where from the 1920s and until the plant closed in 1964, perks for employees were abundant.

Ironically, Greenwich Library features an oral history of former Condé Nast employee, Earle Bragdon, who trained in high school to become a machinist, but found himself employed as a proofreader at the company in the late 20s.

Bragdon noted there was an employee rec room, cafeteria, and dispensary with the services of a medical doctor and nurse – all on the premises.

He also described how the company became unionized, and more and more women were hired. He said when the company began printing Ms. Magazine, Gloria Steinem was in Greenwich often.

Long before Ms. Magazine was created, Bragdon said change was afoot when Connecticut passed a law allowing women to work nights on the condition they had transportation home.

Fast forward to 2024, many of the workers on strike are women.

The strike began well before dawn on Sunday, and thousands of hotel workers with the UNITE HERE union in 12 cities across the US have authorized strikes at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotel properties that are locked in unresolved contract negotiations.

Hotel workers across the US are calling for higher wages, fair staffing, reasonable workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts. Many workers report working two or even three jobs because they say current pay is not enough to support their families.

According to the union’s release, hotels took advantage of the pandemic by cutting staffing and suspending guest services that were never restored, causing workers to lose jobs and income—and creating painful working conditions for those who carry the increased workload.