Workers at four Chicago Hilton hotels voted in favor of authorizing a strike if UNITE HERE Local 450's contract negotiations with the hotelier continue to drag. The talks began last August. From a press release:

Hilton workers in Chicago have endured staff cuts, reduced hours, and excessive injury rates.   Frustration among area workers has deepened, as Hilton has tried to make further job cuts and lock workers into recession contracts that raise family healthcare costs and flatten wages for years to come, even as the economy rebounds.  Among Hilton’s proposals are dramatic increases to the already burdensome housekeeping workload, which jeopardize worker safety and make recession-driven staffing cuts permanent as business returns.

Last month, employees of four Chicagoland Hyatt hotels also authorized a strike.