Twenty-seven days. That’s how long roughly 700 union employees at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront have been on strike. They could soon be joined by 800 fellow union members from a far more famous hotel across the bay.
Hundreds of Hilton San Diego Bayfront workers have been manning a loud picket line outside the Hilton San Diego Bayfront 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“We're doing well," said Christian Carbajal, who’s worked at the Hilton for 15 years. "We're in good spirits. We're all still together."
Carbajal said he never thought he’d still be on the picket line nearly a month later.
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“It's very disappointing,” Carbajal said.
A Unite HERE Local 30 spokesman said the union members want the hotel to return to larger pre-pandemic staffing levels, which would lessen their workload.
“The body just burns out after a while,” Carbajal said with a sigh.
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Carbajal said they’re also fighting for wage increases.
“Out of 700 employees, less than 2% can afford a home [in San Diego],” Carbajal said. “It's unfair. It's unfair.”
A Hilton spokeswoman sent NBC 7 a brief emailed statement:
“Hilton makes every effort to maintain a cooperative and productive relationship with the unions that represents some of our team members. We remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that is beneficial to both our valued team members and to our hotel.”
Carbajal doesn’t buy it, especially since 800 of his fellow union workers at the Hotel Del Coronado will see their contracts expire Sept. 30. The union spokesman said Hilton, which owns the Hotel Del, does not seem willing to negotiate and the 800 workers are prepared to go on strike, too.
The union representative said there are no negotiations scheduled at either hotel, which could mean upward of 1,500 hotel and restaurant workers on strike at two hotels in October.
“If it comes to that, it comes to that,” Carbajal said with a shrug. “You know, strength in numbers.”
