From the newswire: "In recent years, Hilton workers in Chicago and across North America have endured staff cuts, reduced hours, and excessive injury rates. Now Hilton, run by one of the largest private equity firms on Wall Street—-the Blackstone Group, wants to take more away, add to the already burdensome housekeeping workload, and lock workers into recession contracts even as the economy rebounds.

"On Aug. 18-19, workers at four hotel properties managed by Hilton are taking a stand to stop the company from taking unfair advantage of the recession. Among those voting to authorize a possible strike are workers from some of Chicago’s most notable hotels -— the Drake, Palmer House, Chicago Hilton, and Hilton O’Hare." Read more

This follows on the cusp of a vote in July by Chicago-area Hyatt employees to strike, which resulted in civil disobedience actions and arrests. Both Chicago hotel strike votes could and would join the longest hotel strike in American history, the Congress Hotel Strike at Chicago's Congress Hotel, which has been underway for seven years and counting. See past CIMC coverage

Additional resources: UNITE HERE website | Congress Hotel Strike