As workers picketed the Westin Book Cadillac hotel in downtown Detroit for the second day Monday, it was unclear what impact they were having on business. The Brooklyn Nets, playing the Pistons on Monday night, crossed the picket line Monday morning, much to the chagrin of union members. But the union, Unite Here Local 24, said they've been successful in turning several guests and deliverers away from the downtown hotel. More:2,700 workers at Hawaii hotels join national strike "We offered them (guests) other options of union-worker hotels in Detroit," said the union president, Nia Winston . The hotel chain could not be reached for immediate comment. Instead it released a statement. "We are disappointed that Unite Here has chosen to resort to a strike at this time. During the strike our hotel is open, and we stand ready to provide excellent service to our guests," read the statement. "We continue to bargain in good faith for a fair contract. While we respect our associates' rights to participate in this work stoppage, we also will welcome any associate who chooses to continue to work." Guests who were staying at the hotel were apologetic to the union but said they didn't learn about the strike until arriving at the hotel and it was too late to change their plans. "I would have made other plans," said one guest, Dee Browne of Bedford, Ohio. Browne said the job action didn't seem to have any effect on her stay at the hotel, which was going to last just a day. The jobs of the striking workers are being done by management brought in from outside the area. While the strike is ongoing, workers at two other Marriotts in Metro Detroit haven't joined the job action. Union workers at the Renaissance Center Marriott are under contract through next year, and workers at the Detroit Airport Marriott will soon be holding their own strike vote, said Watson. The Book Cadillac workers said they are striking because of low and stagnant wages compared to workers at other area hotels. Winston said workers at the Renaissance Center Marriott several blocks away make an average of $2 more per hour. The strike, which was authorized in September, began Sunday at 5 a.m. Local 24 represents about 160 workers at the hotel that includes bartenders, servers, cashiers, bellmen, front desk workers and housekeepers. Besides the Detroit hotel, 5,000 hotel workers are striking at Marriott properties in four other cities — San Francisco, Boston, San Jose and Oakland. Other Book Cadillac workers echoed Winston's concerns. If there were no strike starting at 5 a.m., Yolanda Murray, 43, would have started her shift at 6 a.m., "making sure everybody has clean and sanitized dishes." "The proposal they gave us was little, very little," said Murray. She said that in her eight years working at the hotel, her wages have only increased by $2.50 an hour. Union officials said the timeline on the Marriott proposal for wage increases would have taken years to bring Book Cadillac workers in line with other local hotels.<doc-sep>Nearly a dozen or more hospitality workers went on strike outside the Westin Book Cadillac in Downtown Detroit early Sunday morning. The unionized workers at the Marriott-operated hotel voted to authorize a strike last month, after ongoing contract negotiations failed to reach an agreement. The union represents employees in various positions including receptionists, housekeepers and restaurant staff. The contracts of 160 hotel workers have been in limbo since June 30, which many say has been "very frustrating." Action News reached out the Westin Book Cadillac for comment and received this statement: We are disappointed that Unite Here has chosen to resort to a strike at this time. During the strike our hotel is open, and we stand ready to provide excellent service to our guests. We continue to bargain in good faith for a fair contract. While we respect our associates’ rights to participate in this work stoppage, we also will welcome any associate who chooses to continue to work. Detroit is the seventh city where the Marriott workers union voted to authorize a strike. Others cities include Chicago, San Francisco, Honolulu and Boston.<doc-sep>Braving cold rain, 160 of the Westin Book Cadillac's workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 24, walked off their jobs Sunday morning and began pounding the slick pavement outside the doors of the grand Marriott-operated hotel with picket signs around 5 a.m. "Detroit is a union town!" "What's disgusting? Union busting!" Doormen, cooks, servers, stewards, housekeepers, and more chanted outside the hotel asking that wage and insurance plan changes happen so that one full-time job is enough for them to provide for their families. Yolanda Murray, 43, a lead steward whose been at the hotel for eight years said she's protesting because she's a single mother with two kids, and she can't afford to live in the city of Detroit. In addition to her commute, Murray said she worries about paying for her home, and the health insurance plan provided to workers doesn't work for families. "My health insurance is $50 a week that comes out of my check, so I can't even afford to put both my kids on the health insurance." Murray said the workers will keep up a 24-hour picket line, and plan to continue "tomorrow, and the next day." "The economic proposal that they gave us was really a joke, so that's why me and my fellow co-workers is out here right now making a difference and making a change," she said. Westin Book Cadillac and its owner, Marriott International, released the following statement: “We are disappointed that Unite Here has chosen to resort to a strike at this time. During the strike our hotels are open, and we stand ready to provide excellent service to our guests. While we respect our associates’ rights to participate in this work stoppage, we also will welcome any associate who chooses to continue to work.” According to a news release from the union, the workers' contracts expired on June 30, but they were unsatisfied with Marriott's offer. "Marriott's most recent economic offer would take half a decade to bring Westin Book workers up to the current pay standards of other Detroit hotel workers," the release said. Local 24 President Nia Winston said workers have been in negotiations with the hotel for months, demanding fair wages and contract changes. It's especially troubling that the Westin Book Cadillac workers make about $2 less on average than workers at Marriott hotel in the Renaissance Center about six blocks away, Winston said. Contracts for workers employed by the Marriott at the Renaissance Center are reportedly not up and they didn't participate in the strike on Sunday. "What's happened since this particular hotel has been open in 2008, it opened in a recession, so when it opened the workers didn't receive any wage increases for two years and then very little since then," Winston said. According to the Detroit Historical Society, the hotel was built in 1924, but shuttered in 1984 because of a rough economic climate. The hotel underwent a restoration that cost almost $200 million and officially-reopened in 2008. The Westin Book Cadillac has since become the "most profitable hotel" in Detroit, but most of its workers need two or three jobs to survive, Winston said. "One job simply should be enough, but it's not," she said. "Unfortunately, through this process, it feels like it's fallen on deaf ears to the employer." Winston said many of the hotel worker's can't afford to live in the city, must pay for parking, and don't make enough money to put their children in their healthcare. "And there were concerns about as technology comes and it replaces workers," she said. "We want to have an opportunity to be a partner with the employer, to sit down and talk about that. We know that we cannot stop technology from happening, but what we can figure out is how it impacts our workers and how we (can) work jointly together." Winston said some of the workers protesting have stayed with the hotel since 2008 and played a key role in the hotel's growth. "The city was not doing well, the occupancy level here was very low. They stood by their side. They continued to give 100 percent guest service, which is the reason why the guests come back day after day, month after month, year after year, and it's a shame that 10 years later, when they've done extremely well and paid off all the debtors that they can't pay back the workers," she said. Marriott officially took over the Westin Book Cadillac after it completed the acquisition of previous owner Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. in 2016. Read More: What Marriott-Starwood deal means to hotel guests Marriott Rewards merger brings mixed reviews The hotel has since cultivated a reputation around the city for catering to elite clientele and hosting lavish weddings. In fact, three different weddings were scheduled at the hotel today, Rachel Gumpert, the national spokeswoman for UNITE HERE. Weddings are among events that are "nearly impossible" to orchestrate without the efforts of the hotel's workers, she added. Nonetheless, despite attempts at negotiations with workers at other Marriott-operated hotels around the country, Gumpert said, the corporation has been "unwilling to move on economics and job security." "We are going to be out here until we win," Gumpert said. Sunday's demonstration in Detroit marked a national campaign conducted by more than 5,000 workers that have gone on strike now in six cities, all calling on Marriott to act. In addition to Detroit, Gumpert said, hotel workers strikes have began in Boston, as well as the California cities of San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland. However, Gumpert said today marks the first Michigan hotel worker strike in 30 years. Contact reporter Aleanna Siacon at ASiacon@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AleannaSiacon.<doc-sep>
On Sunday morning, members of Unite Here Local 24 Detroit started a strike at the Westin Book Cadillac hotel in downtown Detroit. According to the Detroit News, The strike, which was authorized in September, started at 5 a.m., said Nia Winston, president of Local 24, the hospitality union that represents about 160 workers at the hotel that includes bartenders, servers, cashiers, bellmen, front desk workers and housekeepers, Winston said. Workers at the Marriott at the Renaissance Center—just a few blocks away—make an average of $2 more an hour, according to reports. One full-time job should be enough to support families, according to the union. Good morning from day 2 on the picket line! We’d say it’s a wake up call, but we’ve been making noise all night. #1job #MarriottStrike pic.twitter.com/tky0g5HRQv — UNITEHERE! Local 24 (@UHLocal24) October 8, 2018 Negotiations have been underway for months, but the hotel and union could not develop a satisfactory contract. The Westin Book Cadillac opened in 2008 and it was one of the first major buildings to be redeveloped in Detroit. Since it opened at the start of a recession, the workers took a contract with no wage increases. In a statement, Winston said, “Workers at the Marriott-operated Westin Book stuck by this city through its hardest times, taking years of pay freezes during the recession to make sure the hotel stayed open. Now the Westin Book Cadillac is the most profitable hotel in the city, yet workers here are being punished for their loyalty, not rewarded—hotel workers at the Westin Book make thousands less a year than hotel workers six blocks away in the same city at hotels that are less profitable. After months of negotiations, Marriott has refused to make one job enough for full-time workers to support families on in Detroit or bring us to parity with other Detroit hotels.” Marriott has run the hotel since 2016. A Marriott International spokesperson has released this statement: “We are disappointed that Unite Here has chosen to resort to a strike at this time. During the strike our hotels are open, and we stand ready to provide excellent service to our guests. While we respect our associates’ rights to participate in this work stoppage, we also will welcome any associate who chooses to continue to work.” Marriott hotel workers are also on strike in San Francisco, Oakland, and Boston.