The 1912 New York City waiters’ strike began on May 7, 1912 at the Belmont Hotel and was the first general strike for waiters and hotel workers in New York City history. That day over 150 hotel workers walked out as a sign of protest against their poor working conditions. The strike was organized by Joseph James Ettor and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in conjunction with the Hotel Workers' International Union.[1][2] At the height of the strike there were 54 hotels and 30 restaurants and other establishments without their staff. This amounted to 2,500 waiters, 1,000 cooks, and 3,000 other striking hotel workers.[3] The strike continued through the rest of May but police began reprimanding protestors, making many of them go back to work. The strike officially ended on June 25, 1912.[4]
Rise of Strike
On May 7, 1912, a group of 150–300 waiters and other hotel staff walked out in the middle of a meal service at the Belmont Hotel in New York City.