Thousands of downtown Chicago hotel workers vote to authorize strike – cbsnews.com

Thousands of downtown Chicago hotel workers vote to authorize strike  cbsnews.com

Thousands of workers at dozens of downtown Chicago hotels have voted to authorize a strike, which their union said would be the largest in the city's history.UNITE HERE Local 1 said, after negotiations on new contracts failed to reach an agreement, 85% of workers at more than 40 hotels voted to authorize strikes. Most of those contracts expired on Aug. 31, according to the union.Collectively, the hotels employ more than 7,000 room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, front desk agents, servers, and food service workers at more than 40 hotels downtown and near McCormick Place. The union said, if all those workers go on strike, it would be the largest hotel workers strike in Chicago history.The union said it could call for strikes at any moment at any of the affected hotels."I voted yes to strike because I've had enough.

They're putting us on the schedule 6 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." Cassandra Pope, a room attendant at the Palmer House Hilton, said in a statement provided by the union.The union said hotel