'Harbinger': Why historians are closely watching the hotel workers strike at Hilton Americas-Houston

Unionized hotel workers march on a picket line for day 3 of a 10-day strike in front of Hilton Americas in Houston on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/houston-hilton-strike-history-21031510.php

Historians can’t remember the last time hotel workers went on strike in Texas.

That means the ongoing strike at the downtown Hilton Americas-Houston, where workers walked out on Labor Day to push for higher wages, is not just rare. Its outcome could have serious repercussions.

“This does set a precedent,” said Thomas Alter, professor of U.S. and Texas history at Texas State University. “It happens to be the hotel workers in Houston, but the eyes of Texas are upon them.”

There was a time when Texas saw hundreds of labor strikes every year, often involving thousands of workers each. That time was nearly a century ago, before organized labor’s power weakened nationwide. Workers face particular challenges in Texas, where right-to-work laws give management a legal edge and where anti-union sentiment has deep roots.

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