- More than 100 Seattle hotel workers threaten strike ahead of World Cup.
- Workers near Lumen Field vote Friday on strike authorization.
- Embassy Suites workers’ contract with Hilton expired May 31.
MORA THAN 100 hotel workers in Seattle are threatening to strike ahead of the FIFA World Cup, when about 750,000 visitors are expected in the city. The 113 union workers at Embassy Suites near Lumen Field, which will host six World Cup matches, will vote on June 5 on whether to authorize a strike.
The contract between Embassy Suites workers, represented by Unite Here Local 8, and Hilton expired May 31.
“This is when everyone is at the hotel. This is when it hurts the most to have a strike,” Hayden Eyerly, a front desk employee, told Seattle-area TV station KING 5, according to THV11. “We’re very serious. We’re hoping it doesn’t come to that. We want a good-faith conversation about the demands we’re trying to meet. If it does, we’re in it together and will support each other.”
If members authorize a strike, it could begin at any time, including during World Cup matches, union leaders said. Unite Here also warns of possible labor disruptions in some U.S. host cities.
Contract negotiations began March 2. Hilton’s offer would raise pay by less than $1 a year over five years, a union researcher told KING 5. Workers at another Seattle-area Hilton property that struck last year won more than double that.
Workers are also seeking protections from ICE on hotel property, a demand Hilton has rejected, union leaders said. The majority of Local 8 members are immigrants.
“We all care about our coworkers and that includes safeguards with ICE and their proximity to FIFA events,” Eyerly said, THV11 reported.
Workers are also seeking higher wages, better healthcare and pre-pandemic staffing levels.
“We’re all overworked and understaffed,” Eyerly said. “We’re fighting for fair workloads and staffing levels.”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in 16 cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Seattle’s Lumen Field will host six matches: Belgium vs. Egypt on June 15, United States vs. Australia on June 19, Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar on June 24, Egypt vs. Iran on June 26, a Group G winner match on July 1 and a quarterfinal between the winners of Matches 81 and 82 on July 6.
Housekeepers at unionized New York City hotels are set to earn more than $100,000 a year under a new contract that raises wages by more than 50 percent and averts a strike ahead of the FIFA World Cup and America 250 celebrations.
