San Francisco Hotel Workers Plan Strike Vote

San Francisco hotel workers will vote Sept. 14 on whether to authorize a strike at 14 luxury hotels amid a contract dispute between their union and negotiators for Hilton Hotels Corp., Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. and other hotel owners.

About 4,000 employees will decide whether to give Unite Here, formerly the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, the power to call a strike. The employees’ contracts expired last month.

“Negotiations are going nowhere,” said Valerie Lapin, a spokeswoman for the union.

A strike would affect hotels owned by companies including Four Seasons Hotels Inc. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which operates the Sheraton and Westin chains.

The vote on a strike will occur a day before the contract for an additional 3,200 workers at 32 hotels expires, Lapin said.