Hotel strike wins 36% wage and benefit increase
May Day march, including over 30 unions, targeted the Sheraton Hotel in support of unionized workers’ demands, Philadelphia, May 1, 2026.
Philadelphia — As a result of a nine-day strike at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown, on June 29 UNITE HERE Local 274 reached a tentative contract agreement that includes increased wages to $30 per hour and other benefits for 200 hospitality workers — the largest unionized workforce at a Center City hotel here.
The hotel workers had been without a contract since May 31, 2024. Their contract dispute included a four-day strike last October, the first strike ever at Sheraton Downtown.
The contract, unanimously approved by the workers, includes the newly established “citywide standard” wages, an increase in pay for non-tipped workers up to $30 an hour by 2028 and an 18% increase in the banquet gratuity for tipped workers. In addition, the hotel agreed to expand healthcare coverage for families, increase the company’s contributions to pensions and reduce each housekeeper’s workload from 16 to 15 rooms per shift. These increases in pay and benefits amount to a 36% increase for many workers.
Shafeek Anderson, a union steward at the Sheraton, said: “When we said we were fighting for $30 an hour at the beginning of this campaign, a lot of people told us we were asking for the impossible. With this victory, we have shown the whole industry that nothing is impossible when workers stick together.” (Philadelphia Tribune, June 29)
Worker solidarity
The Tribune noted that the strike had broad support from local and international unions. The International Transport Workers’ Federation sent Local 274 a message on June 26 saying: “Canada Rouge cabin crew are no longer staying at this hotel. Sending solidarity and waiting for the notice of a win!”
Members of the Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America, who often use the hotel, joined striking workers on their picket line instead. Construction workers with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades declined to cross the picket line. This refusal brought construction on a ballroom at the hotel to a halt. Unionists from across Philadelphia donated food, water and rain ponchos and walked the picket line.
The timing of the strike, which coincided with major sporting events, like Round 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, and with celebrations of the U.S. 250-year anniversary in Philadelphia over the July 4 weekend, also gave Local 274 more leverage. Three other hotels represented by the union agreed to new contracts earlier in June.
