Local News

Hundreds rally downtown to support Hyatt workers’ push for a union contract

Unite Here Local 26 marked Labor Day with a demonstration in Boston.

SEIU members along with other unions rally outside of the Hyatt Centric Hotel following the annual Greater Boston Labor Council breakfast at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel on Sept. 5, 2022. Photo by Scott Eisen / Getty Images for SEIU

By Susannah Sudborough

2 minutes to read

Hundreds of union workers rallied Monday to show support for workers at the Hyatt Centric hotel in downtown Boston who have been negotiating their first contract with the hotel’s management for a year and a half. 

Unite Here Local 26, the union to which many local Hyatt workers belong, said in a news release that hotel employees are asking Magna Hospitality Group for “a fair contract with wages and benefits that match the standard of union hotels in downtown Boston. “

On Monday, union members commemorated Labor Day, which honors the contributions of the American labor movement, by marching from the Boston Common to the Hyatt Centric hotel at 11:30 a.m. and then rallying in front of the hotel.

At the rally, hundreds of people could be seen with signs in English and Spanish with slogans like “the people united will never be defeated,” “union power is people power,” and “solidarity forever.” Once the group reached the hotel, they chanted, banged drums, and blew horns.

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“At Hyatt Centric, we are paid less than workers at other union hotels, and we have not had a raise in more than one year,” Blanca Murcia, a room attendant at the Hyatt who protested Monday, said in a statement.

The Hyatt workers were joined by other members of United Here Local 26, Greater Boston Labor Council leadership, members of the Massachusetts Teacher’s Association (MTA), and members of the SEIU 32BJ Local 615 union.

“We made it clear that Boston is a union town!” the MTA tweeted Monday.

Boston City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune also attended the rally, tweeting “A lil rain couldn’t stop the movement!”

Magna Hospitality Group could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

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In June, Unite Here Local 26, which represents hospitality workers at numerous venues in the Boston area, protested the proposed sale of Hynes Convention Center, saying it would be detrimental to workers and the local economy.

Here are more photos from the rally:

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