100s Rally For ​“Strike Ready” Hotel Workers

Hundreds of protesters filled a downtown block on Yale’s move-in day to throw their support behind Omni Hotel workers who are ready to strike, if necessary, as they bargain for better pay, healthcare, and pensions in a new contract.

That was the scene Sunday afternoon on a stretch of Temple between Crown Street and Chapel Street, right in front of the 155 Temple St. hotel, which is formally called the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale. The rally took place between 1 and 3 p.m. and featured a lineup of speeches by elected officials and testimonials from Omni employees themselves. 

The rally took place 11 days after the Omni’s unionized employees voted unanimously to authorize a strike amid ongoing negotiations over a new union contract. 

“We are here because of the bravery and courageous decision of Omni workers to authorize a strike,” said Josh Stanley, secretary-treasurer of the Omni’s union, UNITE HERE Local 217, and the rally’s lead organizer. The Omni employees join over 12,000 hospitality workers nationwide who are in the process of authorizing strikes under the leadership of UNITE HERE’s new leader, native New Havener Gwen Mills.

Omni employees have been in negotiations with the hotel since November, but are still ​“far apart” in their visions for a fair contract. ​“We want higher wages, affordable health care, and to raise pensions so that workers can retire with dignity,” Stanley said.

According to a Forbes profile in April, the Omni’s parent company generated $3 billion revenue last year. Robert Rowling, the founder of the company that owns Omni’s hotels and golf courses across the country, is reportedly worth $8.9 billion. 

In contrast, Stanley said at Sunday’s rally, New Haven’s Omni employees are still being compensated at pre-pandemic rates that often demand a second job. And, employees’ costs of living are doubled despite national inflation peaking at 22 percent.

“We work, who profits?” became the crowd’s signature chant.

A representative from the management of New Haven’s Omni hotel declined to comment for this story.

“We all know that there is a $40 billion dollar university right up the street, and New Haven is being written up in the New York Times and other places as a thriving city on the rise,” Stanley said.

“But let me tell you about the world that our members live in. Every single one of the workers here is poorer than they were in 2020. They are working second jobs… they are being forced to leave the city of New Haven because they can’t afford to live here anymore.”

Barbara Mayberry, a housekeeper at the Omni, criticized the hotel for what she described as its disregard for its employees following the Covid-19 pandemic. Within three months of the pandemic’s onset in March 2020, the Omni had laid off Mayberry and 170 of her colleagues, rendering them without health insurance, she said.

Mayberry testified before the Board of Alders that December in support of a local hotel worker recall law that mandated the rehiring of employees who had been laid off during the pandemic at hotels with more than 50 rooms. While Mayberry was reinstated in 2021, ​“the Omni Hotel is making millions of dollars but they are keeping the service cuts that make our jobs harder, even with the high cost of living.”

Bobby May expected fair wages after ​“making Omni New Haven at Yale wall-to-wall union” by leading five of his fellow front desk agents to join Local 217 UNITE HERE in March. But, he said, he currently juggles two jobs in order to make ends meet.

May follows in his father’s footsteps, a coal miner who survived black lung thanks to union health insurance. ​“We should be able to live here and [receive healthcare] without needing multiple jobs to pay the bills.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal also addressed the workers on Sunday: ​“You are here for the future of America. I am going to take this down to Washington D.C. and show them that this is what America looks like at its best.”

The crowd, nearly 300 strong and clad in red UNITE HERE T‑shirts, blew horns and touted ​“WE ARE STRIKE READY” signs.

“If we don’t get it, shut it down!” protestors chanted. The commotion caught the attention of several passersby, earning the occasional thumbs-up and words of encouragement.

Elisha Brockenberry had been volunteering with the Semilla Collective, a grassroots advocacy organization, at a nearby farmer’s market when the group decided to donate their leftover tamales and hibiscus tea to the rally.

“I didn’t even know this was happening, but my friend who invited me to volunteer said we should bring over some food to support the workers.”

As a freelance illustrator with experience in T‑shirt design, Brockenberry said she hopes to support the movement as it evolves.

“They might not be poor in this lifetime, but I hope they realize it could be their future,” Brockenberry said about Omni’s owner. ​“You know, two or three generations down the line, their grandkids could be standing at a picket line because of corporations like these.”

Nicholas Garcia, who has been a bellhop at the Omni for over eight months, caught the end of the rally during his break with receptionist Genesis Lucero. ​“It’s a big responsibility, so the job has its ups and downs, you know? These are unfortunate circumstances, but it’s empowering to see so many people showing up for us.”

While Garcia and Lucero returned to their shifts, other Omni employees who were at the rally but were not working that day were not allowed inside the hotel, per management’s orders. 

“We will shut down this street as many times as it takes to get a contract,” said UNITE HERE Local 35 President Bob Proto.

“We are ready to go all the way,” said Stanley. ​“But we don’t have to. Let’s get it done now.”