Dozens of Chicago hotel workers walked off the job Friday at six downtown hotels to demand wage increases, better benefits and safer workloads as thousands of visitors arrive for marathon weekend.
Workers have been negotiating new contracts for four months, after their previous agreements expired Aug. 31. Karen Kent, president of UNITE HERE Local 1, a hospitality workers union, said negotiations have made limited progress and workers are struggling to afford basic expenses.
“People have reported going to food banks, taking payday loans to pay their rent and pay their bills,” Kent said.
The workers are employed at the Millennium Hotel Knickerbocker Chicago, Palmer House Hilton, Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, Waldorf Astoria Chicago, The Westin Chicago River North and The Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago. This weekend, hotels, including these, are expecting thousands of visitors arriving to the city as 75% of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon’s more than 55,000 participants travel from outside of Illinois.
UNITE HERE Local 1 hotel workers and their supporters picket outside the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk in Streeterville, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. Workers from six hotels in Chicago have walked out to fight for “better wages, healthcare benefits, a better pension, civil rights protections and safer workloads,” according to a press release.
The union is seeking significant wage increases, healthcare benefits, retirement security and protections against heavier workloads.
Maria Hernandez, press secretary for UNITE HERE Local 1, said hotel staffing levels have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, leaving fewer workers to take on more work.
“Some of them can’t even—when they get on the couch—get up to play with their grandkids or to play with their kids,” Hernandez said, describing workers’ exhaustion after their shifts.
UNITE HERE Local 1 hotel workers and their supporters picket outside the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk in Streeterville, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. Workers from six hotels in Chicago have walked out to fight for “better wages, healthcare benefits, a better pension, civil rights protections and safer workloads,” according to a press release.
The broader contract dispute involves more than 7,000 workers across 46 hotels. The union said 85% of workers voted in September to authorize strikes and additional hotels could join the walkouts.
Joel Pacheco, 47, has worked as a dishwasher at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk for 25 years. A mom of two, Pacheco said preserving the existing health insurance, which covers her and her children, and securing a wage that’ll allow her to take care of them is what prompted her to walk out. Pacheco currently earns $26.5 per hour.
“That’s the most important thing for me — to provide for my children,” Pacheco said. “I’m here because I want them to do better, and I’m also here because I want them to be proud of me, to stand up for what I believe in and for what I feel I deserve.”
Workers Ana Romero, 33, and Juana Sanchez, 46, said they worry that rising housing, food and gas costs will make it harder to get by over the next five years.
A 2025 union survey found that 32% of workers lacked money to cover rent or mortgage payments in the previous year, while 29% struggled to pay utility bills. Two-thirds said their hours had been cut during the slow period.
Hotel workers want the five-year contract they negotiate now to account for such pressures when determining their wages.
“So [if] we settle for anything and we just take anything—we’re stuck with that for the next five years,” Romero said. ”And [if costs] go even more high, we’re stuck with whatever we have, and it’s not fair.”
The union has more negotiations scheduled, Kent said, and is prepared to continue taking action until an agreement is reached.
“Every week, I see more reports about how great the industry is, all the reports about the industry surging,” Kent said. “Okay, well, show up.”
