Marriott workers picket in California

SAN FRANCISCO — Thousands of housekeepers, cooks and other workers at Marriott-affiliated hotels went on strike in San Francisco and San Jose on Thursday after months of negotiations for job security, a wage increase and what unions call work overloads.

About 2,500 Marriott hotel workers picketed outside at least seven hotels in downtown San Francisco, the heart of the city’s tourist area. The hotels include the Ritz-Carlton, the Palace Hotel, the W Hotel and the Marriott Marquis. Another 200 walked out in San Jose, said Unite Here union spokesman Rachel Gumpert.

The strike came at the height of the city’s busy convention season that brings tens of thousands of people to the city, but the company said its hotels would continue operating normally. Nearly 99 percent of the union’s members authorized a strike last month.

San Francisco workers are among the highest paid in the country, but their salaries are no longer enough to make ends meet and many workers have to work at least a second job, said Anand Singh, president of the Unite Here Local 2 union. The median monthly rent for a onebedroom apartment in San Francisco is $3,400, according to apartment rental finder Zumper.

Maryland-based Marriott said its contract proposal matches the “economic terms” of the last contract and does not propose any benefit changes.