Why We're On Strike

On June 15, 2003, members of UNITE HERE Local 1 working at the Congress Hotel went out on strike after the hotel decided to freeze wages and slash benefits. To ensure that hotel jobs in this city are strong, family-sustaining jobs, Congress strikers have taken the fight to the streets of Chicago and around the world. Now eight years and running, the Congress Hotel strike stands as the longest hotel strike in history.

Today, Chicago housekeepers earn $14.60 an hour, while the Congress Hotel still pays 2002 wages – just $8.83 an hour.  Working families in Chicago have made astounding gains in recent years because the Congress strikers have refused to settle for substandard wages.

UNITE HERE Local 1 and our community allies are working hard to close the gap and find a way to end the strike. Since January of 2009, strikers have led over 500 actions in Chicago, confronting top city leaders and national convention planners, who bring big business to the hotel. As a result, we have moved $700,000 worth of business from the Congress Hotel. In the last few months, three major conventions have stopped using the Congress, while students at DePaul University and Northside College Prep have pulled school events from the hotel.