Congratulations to the newest members of UNITEHERE!—75 housekeepers, front desk attendants and others at the Hilton Boston Downtown whose persistence in the face of management roadblocks resulted in a successful effort to unionize. The workers waged nine months of sit-ins, pickets and talks with Hilton management before formally winning a voice at work Friday.

The workers get a $2 an hour pay increase and are eligible for health insurance through UNITEHERE! Local 26. Brian Lang, president of Local 26, said many of the workers have been enrolled in MassHealth, the public health insurance program for low-income residents. The contract also guarantees the workers job security if the hotel is sold and regulates workloads by union rules.

The Hilton workers join 900 other food service and hotel workers who have become Local 26 members in the past year, including employees
at Northeastern University, Harvard Law School, the Ames Hotel and the W Boston hotel. About 55 percent of hotel workers in Boston and Cambridge are unionized.