Jordan Ellis
Hospitality workers are employed across a wide range of roles, from hotels and restaurants to cafes and bars. The industry is a critical part of the economy, but it is also unpredictable and fast-paced. This makes it especially important for workers to understand their rights and entitlements. Unions are organizations that advocate for workers' rights and welfare. They help workers negotiate better pay, improve working conditions, and provide stronger protections. Unions like The Workers Union in the UK, Unite in the UK and Ireland, United Workers Union in Australia, and Hotel and Gaming Trades Council in New York and New Jersey, represent hospitality workers and ensure their voices are heard. By joining a union, hospitality workers can gain support and empower themselves with knowledge to secure better terms of employment.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To advocate for the rights and welfare of hospitality workers, ensuring fair treatment, safety in the workplace, and access to fair wages and benefits. |
| Industries Covered | Hotels, restaurants, cafes, takeaways, casinos, bars, airlines, gaming |
| Locations | United Kingdom, Ireland, United States, Canada, Australia, New York, New Jersey |
| Unions | The Workers Union, Unite, UNITE HERE, United Workers Union, Hotel and Gaming Trades Council |
| Specific Benefits Offered | Safe transport after late shifts, guaranteed hours, safe and secure workplaces, free and confidential immigration advice, fair rosters and hours, sufficient breaks, consultation about changes, representation at disciplinary meetings, support during contract changes, better pay and working conditions |
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What You'll Learn
Benefits of joining a hospitality union
Hospitality workers have long been a part of unions, with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union (HERE) representing culinary and hospitality workers in the US and Canada as early as 1891. Today, unions like The Workers Union in the UK, UFCW Canada, and Unite the Union continue to advocate for the rights and welfare of hospitality workers.
Hospitality workers join unions for various reasons, and there are several benefits to joining one. Firstly, unions provide support and reassurance to their members. Unions are dedicated to defending the interests and rights of their members, ensuring they are not only recognized but also actively championed. This includes negotiating better pay and improving working conditions, such as fair scheduling, rest breaks, and guaranteed minimum working hours. Unions also work to uphold dignity and respect in the workplace, promoting safe and secure environments free from bullying and sexual harassment.
Another benefit of joining a hospitality union is the collective power it provides. Unions empower their members with knowledge and support, giving them a stronger voice in the workplace. This enables members to promote change and secure better terms of employment, such as fair tips, higher wages, and access to employer-paid health benefits. Unions also provide protections for workers, ensuring they understand their rights and entitlements, and can help members keep what they have, preventing benefits from being arbitrarily determined by management.
Additionally, unions can provide a sense of community and representation for hospitality workers. Unions like Unite in Hospitality bring workers together, enabling them to connect and campaign for changes that benefit the entire sector. This collective action can lead to significant gains, such as the successful campaign for safe transport home policies after late shifts.
Lastly, unions can provide specific benefits to their members, such as overtime pay, health and safety protections, and paid sick days. These benefits can vary based on the union and the region, but they often include access to legal teams, equalities experts, and political campaigners, who can provide advice and support to members.
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History of hospitality unions
Hospitality unions have existed for over a century, with the first hospitality industry union, the Bartenders and Waiters Union, forming in Chicago in 1866, shortly after the end of the Civil War. Later dubbed Chicago's Local 57, the union was largely made up of recent German immigrants. The end of the Civil War and the development of the cross-country railway system transformed the hospitality industry. Before this, American hotels and restaurants had been frequented by travellers, but after the construction of railways, they became a necessity for railroad workers and those taking advantage of new interstate mobility. By the 1890s, roughly a quarter of a million people were working in kitchens, bars, and hotels, and many of them were attempting to organize and join the newly formed American Federation of Labor (AFL).
In 1891, the Waiters and Bartenders National Union was approved and launched as a member of the AFL. This union would later be renamed the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union (HERE). In its early years, HERE was marked by factional fighting between its Vice-President, W.C. Pomeroy, and its Treasurer and Editor, Jere Sullivan. Sullivan emerged as the leader of the union in 1899 and solidified his control by ousting the then-president, Robert A. Callahan, in 1905. In the years following Sullivan's rise, HERE steadily gained membership and grew. In 1918, the union experienced its highest membership, with 65,938 members. However, Prohibition and the First Red Scare took a heavy toll on the organization, diminishing its membership to 37,743 in 1923. The union struggled to survive but managed to recover after Prohibition was overturned in 1933.
In the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, hospitality industry unions were some of the most powerful and robust labor organizations in the country. The National Labor Relations Act, signed in 1935, federally protected workers' rights to organization, strikes, and collective bargaining. In an industry marked by 16-hour shifts, wage theft, and sexual harassment, belonging to a union meant the possibility of having guaranteed minimum earnings, bargaining power, and protection. In 1947, Hugo Ernst emerged as the leader of the organization after a contentious election. HERE largely embraced the New Deal policies of the time and advanced the use of education and research to improve their efforts. Female membership in HERE grew from 2,000 in 1908 to 181,000 in 1950, reflecting the increasing presence of women in the hotel and restaurant industry. Women's presence in leadership positions within HERE also increased, with waitress activists sitting on the General Executive Board from 1909 onwards.
In 2004, HERE merged with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE) to form UNITE HERE.
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Unions for hospitality workers in the UK and Ireland
Unions are important for hospitality workers as they help them understand their rights and entitlements in a fast-paced and often unpredictable work environment. Unions also advocate for fair treatment, safety in the workplace, and access to fair wages and benefits. In the UK and Ireland, there are a few unions that cater to hospitality workers.
The Workers Union is one such union, with members working in hotels, restaurants, cafes, and takeaways across the UK. They assist their members in negotiating better pay, improving working conditions, and providing stronger protections, setting standards that uphold dignity and respect in the workplace. They also understand the importance of the hospitality industry to the UK's economy and the need for a modern workers' union.
Another union for hospitality workers in the UK and Ireland is Unite. They have members in bars, restaurants, cafes, casinos, and hotels. Unite challenges poor employment practices across the sector, fighting for fair tips, decent wages, and guaranteed minimum working hours. They also campaign for safe transport home after late shifts and safe, secure workplaces free from bullying and sexual harassment.
Unite has been successful in winning big pay rises for workers and highlighting the issues of pay and understaffing in the hospitality industry. They provide their members with access to experienced officers and organizers for advice and support, as well as the support of legal teams, equalities experts, and political campaigners.
In addition to these unions, there is also the UK Hospitality Union Ltd, which is registered in England and Wales. While there is limited information available about this union, it is specifically named as a trade union for hospitality workers in the UK.
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Unions for hospitality workers in the US and Canada
Unions are essential for hospitality workers to understand their rights and entitlements, which include fair treatment, safety in the workplace, and access to fair wages and benefits. In the United States, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union (HERE) was an international trade union representing culinary and hospitality workers. It was formed in 1891 and merged with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE) in 2004 to form UNITE HERE.
UNITE HERE represents workers throughout the United States and has various local offices in cities like Baltimore, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Jose, and New York. The union has advocated for issues such as ending low wages and unaffordable healthcare in the airline catering industry.
In Canada, UFCW Canada, or the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, is the union for hotel and hospitality workers, representing over 17,000 members in the industry. UFCW Canada has a presence in almost every province and represents workers at major hotel chains, including Best Western, Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Hyatt, and many others. The union has a proven track record of negotiating meaningful gains, including higher wages, more paid sick days, fair scheduling, and a range of employer-paid health benefits.
UFCW Canada members work in diverse job roles in the hotel sector, including housekeepers, cooks, concierges, and bar staff. The union provides its members with a strong voice in the workplace, an enforceable collective agreement, and various benefits, such as overtime pay, health and safety protections, and paid sick days.
Hospitality workers in both the US and Canada can benefit from unions by gaining support and backing in defending their interests and advancing their rights. Unions help negotiate better pay, improve working conditions, and provide stronger protections for workers, ensuring dignity and respect in the workplace.
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Unions for hospitality workers in Australia
Unions are essential for hospitality workers as they help them understand their rights and entitlements. Unions also ensure fair treatment, safety in the workplace, and access to fair wages and benefits. Joining a hospitality union empowers workers with knowledge and support, ensuring their rights are actively championed.
Unite in Hospitality
Unite in Hospitality is a union for hospitality workers in the UK and Ireland, including those in bars, restaurants, cafes, casinos, and hotels. They challenge poor employment practices and fight for fair tips, decent wages, and guaranteed minimum working hours. Unite members have access to legal teams, equalities experts, and political campaigners, providing support and advice.
United Workers Union (UWU)
The United Workers Union (UWU) is a prominent union for hospitality workers in Australia, representing those in restaurants, bars, and cafes. UWU members advocate for higher pay, improved working conditions, respect, and job security. They provide access to industrial relations officers who offer expertise on workplace issues and laws, ensuring sufficient breaks and consultation on changes. UWU also assists with claiming tax deductions, providing tax-time emails summarizing dues paid. Additionally, they address issues like high workloads, poor training, understaffing, bullying, and discrimination to foster safe and inclusive workplaces.
Hospo Voice
Hospo Voice is Australia's first digital union, backed by the United Workers Union. Hospo Voice empowers young hospitality workers, providing them with digital tools to stand up for their rights and campaign for change. They have exposed wage theft, addressed injustices caused by extreme casualization, and supported workers during the pandemic when the industry faced collapse. Hospo Voice has united workers online and in the streets, building community support to bring transformational change to the hospitality industry.
Historically, various trade unions have represented hospitality workers in Australia, as evidenced by the list of unions in the Australian Trade Union Archives. These unions have advocated for workers' rights and fair treatment in the industry.
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Frequently asked questions
A union for hospitality workers is an organisation that advocates for the rights and welfare of workers in the hospitality industry. Unions help workers fight for fair treatment, safety in the workplace, and access to fair wages and benefits.
Joining a hospitality union means you have a voice and support in promoting change and securing better terms of employment. Unions also provide expert advice and representation on workplace issues such as underpayments, disciplinary meetings, and workplace safety.
Some examples of hospitality unions include The Workers Union in the UK, Unite the Union in the UK and Ireland, United Workers Union in Australia, UNITE HERE in the United States and Canada, and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council in New York and New Jersey.
Hospitality unions work to improve working conditions by campaigning for fair wages, guaranteed minimum working hours, safe transport home after late shifts, better work-life balance, and safe workplaces free from bullying and harassment.
