New Pay and Benefit Increases for Workers at Seattle Westin

Pay and benefits just increased for workers at the Seattle Westin. For example, the median wage of housekeepers in Seattle-area hotel is $9.58/hour. This new contract immediately raises the wage for housekeepers in the Seattle Westing to $11.70/hour. The article doesn't say much about the Westin's reaction and how they feel it will affect their business. Evelina Tainer, the chief economist with the Employment Security Department has this take (info below taken directly from the Seattle Post Intelligencer article linked above):

"They are going to get the best workers immediately. The people who are working there will want to do a good job. They are not going to want to be fired."

From an economic standpoint, it was smart of the union to focus on Seattle's largest hotel, she said. Seattle's hotel market, where occupancy and room rates have been steadily climbing since 2002, can support the higher wages, she said.

"If other hotels want to remain competitive it does enhance them if they go ahead and add the same benefits," she said.

Details of the benefit increases are listed at the end of the article.