Workers Picket Hotels in N.Y., Threaten to Call Strike Friday

Pickets with signs urging “Negotiate! Don’t Hire Scabs” marched in front of some of New York’s best known hotels Wednesday seeking concessions to avert a possible strike that could begin this weekend, turning many guests into their own porters and chambermaids.

The New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council, representing 25,000 workers in nine unions, has pledged to strike 45 hotels at midnight Friday unless agreement is reached on a new contract.

The hotels facing a walkout include the Plaza, Pierre, the Palace, the New York Hilton and the Waldorf-Astoria. Union leaders said the strike could be expanded beyond the original 45 hotels if a new contract is not signed.

The union--representing housekeepers, reservation clerks, bellhops, chefs and other workers--is asking for an annual pay raise of 9% and has turned down an offer from hotel owners of a 4% raise in each year of a five-year contract. Under the current contract, workers average $315 a week.

Both sides met for only an hour Wednesday, and little progress was reported.

“We don’t want a strike,” union spokesman Hank Sheinkopf said after the brief bargaining session. “However, things don’t look good.”

A strike would be the first since the hotels were unionized 46 years ago. Tourism is a $2-billion-a-year industry in New York City, and the walkout would coincide with the start of a peak visitor season. More than 17 million tourists visit New York each year.

The hotels have pledged to remain open if a strike occurs, and a coalition of owners has begun accepting applications for replacement workers.