Workers at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Denver say the hotel broke a promise and owes them back pay for an unfulfilled contract requirement.
More than 20 workers, along with Councilmember Serena Gonzales-Guttierez, gathered outside the hotel to demand thousands of dollars in wages they say they were promised.
“We are here because Hyatt refuses to pay the dollar above the minimum wage, like the contract says,” said Grace Jencks, an organizer with Unite Here Local 23. “But we know our worth. We know the value of our labor, and we know when we support one another, we will see the justice we deserve.”
Many of the workers came at the end of their shifts, uniforms and aprons covered with a red shirt showing the logo of their union, UNITE HERE Local 23.
Hyatt had agreed that employees should make at least $1 more per hour than Denver’s local minimum wage, according to a press release from the union.
When the city of Denver increased its minimum wage to $18.81 starting Jan. 1, 2025, the union said, Hyatt should have increased wages for all non-tipped employees to a minimum of $19.81.
They haven’t.
Sarah Eason has been a barista at Hyatt for the last six years. She was laid off during the pandemic in 2020, then rehired. She makes $19.29 an hour, which she says is not enough to pay for groceries, let alone car repairs and credit card debt.
“I'm so disappointed in Hyatt — that we work so hard for them. We make this hotel work, we make the convention center work by giving people a place to stay when they come for conventions here in our beautiful city of Denver,” Eason said. “And instead of meeting us at the bare minimum, at the very least $1 above minimum wage, the bar is on the ground and Hyatt is wasting time, money and effort to dig a hole under that bar instead of meeting us.”
The hotel stands next to the Colorado Convention Center and is a frequent destination for convention visitors, with daily rates well above $400.
Her words were echoed by other workers, who said they would spend the money on gas for their commutes, rent, electric bills and medical expenses.
In March, UNITE HERE Local 23 filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board just as negotiations for a new contract were underway. The complaint alleges the company made unilateral changes to the contract.
Eason said she is confident an agreement for a new contract will be reached, but not before workers get paid for the raise they expected.
“I love Denver … It's where my heart is,” Eason said. “I want to be able to afford to live here and not just live but thrive here, and that's what that dollar means to me.”
Hyatt didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
