Palmer House workers' one-day walkout protests long talks

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Workers organized a one-day walkout Thursday at the Palmer House Hilton hotel to call attention to difficult negotiations its union is having with the largest lodging chains.

Members of Unite Here Local 1 began picketing at the hotel, 17 E. Monroe, before dawn and were to continue until 8:30 p.m. A union spokeswoman said Unite Here represents 500 workers at the 1,639-room hotel.

The union has been without a contract at major Chicago-area hotels since Aug. 31.

The strikers charged that Hilton Worldwide, which manages the Palmer House, is trying to force housekeeping staff to take larger work loads, threatening worker health and cleanliness standards for guests. They also accused Hilton owner Blackstone Group of leaving taxpayers holding a $180 million tab after negotiating a reduced payment to the Federal Reserve to satisfy a bailout that was meant to save jobs.

The Palmer House said in a statement that the strike was having little effect on operations. It called the work stoppage “harmful to employees, to the hospitality industry and to the city of Chicago.”

“Hilton has offered to increase wages, to increase contributions to protect employee pensions and to substantially increase its health fund contributions so that employees can continue to enjoy health care with virtually no employee contribution,” the statement said.

Local 1 President Henry Tamarin said Hilton work load changes amount to a “dirty rooms” campaign that threatens standards at Chicago’s premier convention hotels.

On Wednesday, the American Sociological Association said it was canceling plans for August meetings at the Palmer House and the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan, because the prolonged labor dispute suggested the members might have to cross picket lines to get to the sites.

The union is negotiating with the Hilton, Hyatt and Starwood chains in hopes of crafting a deal that will bring agreements from other hotel operators.

Unite Here locals in Honolulu and San Francisco today targeted Hilton properties with similar one-day job actions. Local 1 targeted the Hilton Chicago with a three-day strike in October.