PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Hospitality Workers at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown, the city’s largest unionized hotel, have hit the picket line.
Sheraton workers with Unite Here Local Union 274 walked off the job on Sunday morning and are on strike, demanding healthcare, fair wages and benefits in line with new citywide standards, including a minimum wage of $30 per hour for non-tipped workers.
“A lot of our hotels in our union have signed the deal. The Sheraton is one of three hotels left that have not signed the deal, and that’s why we’re fighting today,” said Antwon Brown with Unite Here.
Brown said the union represents over 4,000 workers in the city, and during one of the busiest moments in Philly’s recent history, his workers deserve a fair living wage as inflation continues to skyrocket.
“Everything is going up but our paychecks,” Brown said. “The gas station is high, the rent and mortgages. We are standing together fighting for a fair living wage contract.”
KYW Newsradio has reached out to management at the Sheraton and has not heard back. Workers said strikes could be possible at the Warwick Rittenhouse and Hilton Garden Inn in Center City.
“We provide the welcoming brotherly love this city represents, and we’re proving that for the guests. The money is being made off of our backs, and we’re just asking to be able to afford to live here,” Brown said.
