Marriott's workers reach tentative deal to end strike in San Francisco
Xinhua
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marriott cgtn.jpg

(Photo: CGTN)

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Marriott-affiliated hotel and hospitality workers in San Francisco reached a tentative agreement with the Marriott management to end a 61-day lengthy strike on Monday, organizers announced.

UNITE HERE Local 2, a union of hospitality workers in San Francisco and San Mateo counties in northern California, said Monday they had struck the agreement with Marriott to end the city's largest hotel strike in decades.

"Through two months on #MarriottStrike, our resolve never wavered. When we fight, we win!" UNITE HERE Local 2@UniteHereLocal2 tweeted.

The union said the strike, which started on Oct. 4 and spanned seven San Francisco Marriott hotels, entered its third month before the agreement was signed on Monday morning.

"This hard-fought contract sets a new and transformative standard for SF's hotel industry," said the union.

Nearly 2,500 Marriott employees participated in the massive demonstrations, who camped in front of the Palace Hotel in the city's downtown area and other hotels including the Courtyard Marriott Downtown and the Marriott Marquis.

The workers had demanded higher pay, better health benefits and less strenuous workload.

Details of the agreement were not disclosed immediately, but the workers would return to work on Wednesday if they voted in favor of the accord, a union leader said.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed praised the workers and Marriott for reaching a settlement of the months-long industrial action.

"In this time of rising inequality, it is crucial that our workers are able to earn a fair wage that allows them to live and support their families in the increasingly expensive Bay Area," she tweeted.

She said she supported the workers to fight for "better wages, healthcare, and job security."

The San Francisco protest was part of a national strike that had spread earlier this year to eight cities such as Boston in Massachusetts, San Diego in southern California, Oakland and San Jose in northern California, as well as Detroit in Michigan.

Strikes in other locations have ended after the protesters reached agreements with the hotel management in the past few weeks.