Philadelphia hotel workers set strike deadline ahead of FIFA World Cup: ‘No one is getting left behind’

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Hotel workers at several Philadelphia hotels say they are prepared to go on strike in June, potentially snarling hotel accommodation plans for hundreds of thousands of fans expected to visit the city during the FIFA World Cup.

Unite Here Local 274, which represents more than 4,000 hotel and food workers at Philadelphia’s stadiums, hotels and airports protested outside of the Philadelphia World Cup host committee headquarters Wednesday.

Multiple strikes at Center City hotels over the last year ultimately led to new worker contracts and increasing wages from $19 per hour to $30. President Rosslyn Wuchinich said that if any remaining hotels without new contracts don’t agree to terms by June 12, strikes will run from the World Cup to the Fourth of July.

“Our members are prepared to sacrifice for themselves and for all working people to have a living wage in our city,” Wuchinich said.

Sheraton University City room inspector William Gaines said the raise they received once a new contract was signed was “life-changing.”

“We’re finally catching up with the cost of living,” Gaines said. “It took all of us, and especially the workers at the Hampton, the Wyndham and the Sheraton Downtown, going out on strike for us to win this deal. When all the hotel workers stand up together, we are like one fist … No one is getting left behind.”

According to the union’s website, the following hotels are at risk of being affected by the strike.

• Hilton Garden Inn Center City
• Sheraton Downtown Philadelphia
• The Warwick Hotel Rittenhouse Square
• Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District
• Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing
• Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia Northeast

Francine Eason has worn many hats at the Sheraton Downtown over the years, including housekeeper, laundry attendant, manager and office coordinator. With her hotel still operating without a contract, she said.

“We’re not going to stop until we get it,” she added.

“These owners can go out and buy and eat steak, and I’m home eating oodles and noodles,” Eason said. “We need this contract settled. This is the third week of this month that I’ve worked six days, not to go on vacation, not to buy expensive shoes or a pocketbook, but to catch up on my bills.”

The union is making the following demands:

• Increase wages to $30 per hour for nontipped workers by January 2028
• Reducing the number of rooms workers are required to clean to 15 a day
• Pension increases
• Affordable family health insurance
• Protections for immigrant workers
• Protections against sexual harassment by guests

The stacked list of events over the summer is expected to bring 500,000 visitors and have a $770 million impact on the local economy.