Striking S.F. Marriott Workers Hold Thanksgiving Dinner on Picket Line
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Marriott hotel workers currently on strike held a Thanksgiving dinner on the picket line Thursday, according to a statement from the Unite Here Local 2 union.
As an act of defiance, the 2,500 workers and their families held the Thanksgiving potluck and started hanging Christmas decorations on the picket line "in a show of their resolve to strike during yet another holiday if Marriott refuses to make reasonable concessions at the bargaining table," they said in their statement.
The union, which represents hotel, food service, and airport workers was in negotiations with the hotel chain on Monday and Tuesday.
Marriott and the union were unable to end the strike during those negotiations, according to Unite Here.
"We're asking the richest hotel company in human history to treat their workers with human dignity - a livable income, affordable health care, and ending Marriott's dangerously unsafe workloads that cause pain and injury," said Unite Here Local 2 president Anand Singh.
Thursday's holiday marked the workers' eighth week on strike.
Negotiations are set to resume after Thanksgiving, though no specific dates have been set.
Other strikes in San Jose and Oakland have been settled but they continue in San Francisco and Hawaii.
The hotel group was not immediately available for comment but said in a previous written statement that the hotel will stay open during the strike.
"We are disappointed that Unite Here has chosen to resort to a strike at this time," the statement read. "While we respect our associates' rights to participate in this work stoppage, we also will welcome any associate who chooses to continue to work."
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