Maria, an employee at the Hilton Chicago, appeared in a video from National Right to Work, where she said the union Unite Here takes away “your voice,” and described the union as “scary.” She made the statement in a YouTube post for the organization.
“After you sign for them, they just tell you, you know what, you belong to them,” said Maria, worker at Hilton Chicago, Employee at Hilton Chicago, according to YouTube. “And that’s scary because after that, you have no voice. Instead of giving you a voice, they take away your voice.”
According to Maria, a hotel employee who immigrated to the United States in search of a better life, the UNITE HERE union uses “aggressive and deceptive tactics.” In a video published by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, she said she initially found stability in her job at the hotel, only to face threats and misinformation from union organizers. She recounts being told that if she and her coworkers didn’t sign union authorization cards, they would lose their jobs because the hotel would be sold—claims she says were false and intended to scare employees into supporting the union.
Maria said the union’s promises of representation and benefits quickly gave way to efforts to control workers’ actions. After signing, she felt that the union treated employees as if they belonged to them rather than serving their interests. Her testimony is part of a broader campaign by the Right to Work Foundation, which has accused UNITE HERE of using bullying tactics to silence dissenting workers across multiple industries.
In California, an employee at a major Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) foodservice provider, Flying Food Group (FFG), has filed federal charges against UNITE HERE Local 11. Kenia Solano accuses the union of harassment and intimidation over her opposition to its influence in the workplace. Solano said she has been targeted by union officials since mid-2024 for speaking out against the union, including being physically confronted by a shop steward and falsely accused of endangering coworkers’ jobs. She filed her complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that the union violated her rights under federal labor law.
Solano’s case follows a similar complaint filed in 2024 by another FFG employee, Esperanza Maciel. According to a National Right to Work news release, Maciel says the union demanded her firing. Both women are being represented by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. The Foundation said that these charges reflect growing concern among foodservice and hospitality workers nationwide about unions pressuring employees who choose not to support or fund union efforts. “Unite Here Local 11 officials may as well change the union’s name to ‘Unite Here or else,’” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit organization offering free legal help to workers facing union-related rights violations.
