Union members who work at various Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott hotels in the city have health plans that are jointly managed with their employers, so employees have access to available health care providers and premiums and copays. have a say in the price.
The union, along with hotel owners and hospitality professionals, agrees that San Francisco hotel workers enjoy some of the most generous benefits in the country compared to most other private plans. For example, full-time workers can pay lower premiums to cover their entire families, and there are caps on out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs.
“We know it’s going to be expensive,” said Ted Wachter, spokesman for Unite Here Local 2. “But what’s happening in San Francisco is ideological. We believe in the value of the workers in this city setting the standard for the rest of the country.”
In September, more than 10,000 hotel workers went on strike in 10 other U.S. cities, including San Jose, Boston and Honolulu. Since then, every state except San Francisco has negotiated new labor agreements that include higher wages and “maintaining or improving” health care. But reaching an agreement in San Francisco proved difficult because of the high cost of health care in the city, Wechter said.
