Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Hotel workers who went on a four-day strike in Philadelphia last month have secured a new contract at the Hampton Inn Philadelphia Center City-Convention Center. On Monday, their union, Unite Here Local 274, announced that workers had ratified a contract Friday with increases in wages, benefits, and work conditions. “Strikes work,” said Rosslyn Wuchinich, president of Unite Here Local 274 in a statement on Monday. Wuchinich called the wage increases historic and said the workers at the Hampton Inn are “an example for all hotel workers and all workers in our city that when you strike, you win.” The Hampton Inn workers are employed by HHM Hotels, and the hotel itself is owned by Blackstone Inc.’s real estate investment trust. Neither business responded to a request for comment Monday. The Hampton Inn workers are part of a collective of roughly 1,000 employees at eight hotels in Philadelphia that have been negotiating for new agreements in recent months. Those workers include room attendants, cooks, servers, bartenders, dishwashers, and banquet staff. The employees at the Hampton Inn are the first to ratify an agreement among the group. The new contract, which ends in January 2028, covers 37 workers. Before the new agreement, workers made $19 an hour at the hotel, according to a union spokesperson. As of the Oct. 31 ratification, they will see an immediate increase to $22.50. Workers will get a wage increase to $24 an hour in October 2026 and then to $25.50 in October 2027. Eligible workers will also see an increase in employer contributions to their pension fund from $2.98 an hour before this new contract to $3.73 an hour by the end of it. The new contract also reduces the amount of rooms workers have to clean per day and provides employees with healthcare at no cost to them. Previously, workers were able to pay for healthcare through the employer.
