IFPTE Stands with Hotel Housekeepers and UNITE HERE, Tells Hilton to Keep Daily Cleaning Services

In a letter to Hilton Hotels executives, IFPTE joined hospitality workers union UNITE HERE in calling for the hotel chain to maintain housekeeping jobs and services and continue automatic room cleaning.

With the U.S. and Canadian tourism and travel continuing to recover from the pandemic-related economic crisis, UNITE HERE is sounding the alarm on Hilton hotels cutting housekeeping jobs by ending automatic daily housekeeping. Hilton executives are reducing cleaning services for travelers and eliminating good union jobs in order to increase the corporation’s profit margins.

IFPTE is joining with UNITE HERE and other labor unions, travelers, and workers in calling for Hilton to restore automatic daily cleaning. Labor unions as a whole spent $103 million in 2018 and 2019 at Hilton. IFPTE and our Locals, labor unions, and union households frequently stay at Hilton properties because of the high union density, quality services, and value.

UNITE HERE calculates that Hilton’s plan to increase profits by reducing cleaning services and cutting housekeeping jobs would eliminate up to 39% of all hotel housekeeping jobs in the U.S. and result in $4.8 billion in annual lost wages for hotel housekeepers. The impact would fall largely on women and people of color who do this work.

We ask you to support hotel housekeepers at Hilton and sign UNITE HERE’s petition to Hilton Chief Executive Officer Chris Nassetta.

More information on the impact of Hilton’s planned elimination of housekeeping services can be found in UNITE HERE’s report Playing Dirty [PDF].

Read a PDF of IFPTE’s letter to Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta and CFO Kevin Jacobs here.