From August to the present, tens of thousands of American workers from three industries have launched strikes against large companies in various industries and parts of the country to push for fair wages and other demands amid the crisis.

On September 2, 10,000 hotel workers under the UNITE HERE union went on strike amid what is dubbed the busiest period for travelers. Workers at the largest US hotels such as Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott in Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle, Greenwich and in Honululu and Kauai in Hawaii took to the streets to protest. They are demanding fair wages, better working conditions and additional staff.

The industry report itself said the gross profit of hotel industry reached $101.3 billion in 2022, higher than in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Despite this, hotel owners kept workers’ wages at pandemic levels taking huge deductions. Hotels also failed to hire additional workers after slashing their labor force during the pandemic. As a result, the remaining workers have to be on their jobs for 70 to 80 hours per week.

On August 16, approximately 17,000 AT&T workers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee walked out of their jobs as protest as the management refuse to negotiate in good faith with their union Communications Workers Union of America (CWA). The union filed a lawsuit against the company for unfair labor practices.

The union said the company earned $16 billion in 2023. It has also won multimillion-dollar contracts for connecting homes and businesses to the internet in the US. Despite this, it denied workers’ just demands for fair wages and benefits. It is not sincerely negotiating with the union and instead asked for a government mediator which the union said is just a tactic to prolong the negotiations. AT&T is one of the leading telecommunications companies in the US.

On August 30, hundreds of rideshare drivers stationed at Nashville International Airport voted to strike against what they called deteriorating working conditions. They just formed their union, the Tennessee Drivers’ Union, on August 20. They are demanding that the airport expand the parking space reserved for them, as well as give them access to clean restrooms while they wait for passengers. They are also pushing companies like Uber and Lyft to give them a living wage, by paying them “by the minute and by the mile.”

“Uber has raised its charges for the past three years,” the union said. However, its drivers are required to work extra hours just to keep up with their weekly expenses.

In New York City, drivers under the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) took action on September 4 to push Uber and Lyft for better working conditions. They condemned the “application lockout” policy that limits drivers’ access to the riding app when passenger demand is “low.” The company implemented the policy to circumvent the city’s order for the company to pay drivers for their idle time while they wait for passengers.

The union is also demanding writing off taxi drivers’ debts incurred from high fees to obtain a permit (called a “medallion”) that now stands at $160,000 per taxi but previously reached $1 million. The union has 28,000 member drivers.