Skift Take
Unite Here, one of the largest North American labor unions, is angry at hotel companies for laying off a bulk of their workforce during the pandemic. But companies like Wynn Resorts and Omni are pushing back against what they see as unfair criticism.
The coronavirus pandemic devastated North American hospitality labor union Unite Here, leaving as much as 98 percent of the 300,000-member organization across the U.S. and Canada last year without a job.
The job cuts keep coming to the greater hotel industry, especially in higher-cost labor markets with a heavily unionized workforce. The U.S. hotel industry unemployment rate remains significantly out of step with the national average.
This week the rhetoric from union leaders toward the major hotel companies became even more heated as new layoffs loom, after they watched for months their members lose their livelihoods in earlier cuts.
More than 800 employees at the Marriott Marquis in New York City’s Times Square are on track to be permanently let go in March, according to a notice filed with New York State’s Department of Labor. One of Boston’s largest hotels, the Marriott Boston Copley, laid off about half its staff late last year. Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas could announce layoffs early next week.
Hotel companies argue it is simply too expensive to keep a full staff during a global health crisis that has tanked demand, occupancy, and revenues. U.S. revenu
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