Thousands of hotel workers in the US went on strike on Sunday for better wages and working conditions. The industrial action is likely to worry many holidaymakers over the Labor Day weekend, while unions are warning of an escalation in industrial action.

More than 10,000 employees at hotels in Boston, Seattle, Honolulu, Kauai and Greenwich (Connecticut), as well as in the Californian cities of San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose, went on strike after collective bargaining with hotel owners failed.

The Unite Here union, which represents workers at hotels, casinos and airports in the United States and Canada, warned that employees in other cities were also prepared to join the strike.

“Strikes have also been authorized and could begin at any time,” the union said in a statement. Hotels in Baltimore, Providence, Oakland and New Haven could also be affected.

Workers are demanding wage increases and the reversal of pandemic-era layoffs, which union leaders say have increased the workload of remaining workers and created “painful” working conditions.

“The hotel industry has recovered from the pandemic and room rates are at record highs,” said Gwen Mills, international president of Unite Here, in a statement. “But hotel workers cannot afford to live in the cities where they receive guests. Too many hotel workers have to work two or sometimes three jobs to make ends meet.”

“We will not accept a ‘new normal’ in which hotel companies profit from cutting back on what they offer guests and failing to meet their obligations to employees.”

The union said 24 hotels in eight cities had been affected by the strike since Sunday morning.

The event took place on what the Transportation Security Administration predicted would be the busiest Labor Day weekend in history.

Unite Here, an organisation with over 275,000 members, accused the hotel industry of using the savings triggered by the Covid-related lockdowns to permanently cut staff and reduce guest service.

She urged guests traveling at the affected hotels to cancel their stay and request a refund.

The strike, which is scheduled to last three days, followed months of talks between workers and hotel chains Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Omni.

Hyatt expressed disappointment at the decision to strike. “We look forward to continuing to negotiate fair contracts and recognize the contributions of Hyatt employees,” said Michael D’Angelo, the company’s director of labor relations.