A union representing workers at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center announced this week that it is pausing its call for a consumer boycott of the venue and its picketing at the North Bethesda site until Monday due to labor contract negotiations.
In a statement on social media Wednesday, UNITE HERE Local 25 said “We are hopeful this pause will be used to bring Marriott to the table to agree to a fair process for workers to organize.”
The union, which represents more than 7,500 hotel, restaurant and casino workers in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, encouraged consumer boycotts of several local establishments earlier this month due to workers rights’ concerns, Axios reported.
While the union is not actively on strike, its members have voiced concern over the lack of a contract for its members at the hotel and conference center at 5701 Marinelli Road and issued a press release in May urging local lawmakers to boycott the venue, where many political events are held.
In Wednesday’s statement, the union said it is still discouraging events from being held at the conference center and encouraging groups to find alternative venues for previously scheduled rentals.
Members of the county’s General Assembly delegation recently announced they were joining the boycott in support of union workers. The conference center, which was built in 2004, was developed using money from the county government, but is run by Marriott.
“Out of respect for the workers and in solidarity with their right to unionize, we are publicly committing to honor the boycott and will refrain from attending events at the Montgomery County Conference Center until the boycott is lifted and a fair process is agreed upon,” the delegation members said in a June 5 letter to hotel management. The hotel’s manager did not respond to Bethesda Today’s email request for comment on the boycott.
The hotel and conference center hosts many popular political events in the county, including the annual Committee for Montgomery legislative breakfast, which is typically held in November or December and has featured prominent speakers such as Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D), who grew up in the county.
The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) hosted its annual dinner and awards presentation at the venue on Wednesday. The organization’s 2025 Legislative Reception is also scheduled to be held at the conference center on Sept. 17. A spokesperson for MCCC did not respond to Bethesda Today’s request for comment on the boycott.
“We appreciate the strong solidarity from many elected officials, and the organizations that have already honored the boycott and moved future events normally held annually at the conference center,” the union said in Wednesday’s statement.
Some county officials are trying to prevent such disagreements from occurring in the future. A bill introduced Tuesday by County Council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) and councilmembers Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3) and Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) would require any hotel or conference center supported by county funding to enter into labor peace agreements with employee unions and other labor organizations in order to receive the county’s financial backing.
“Giving workers the right to organize, the right to feel that they can talk to somebody without this fear of getting fired, is the right thing to do, and it really raises our values as a county, and it helps develop a strong workforce,” Fani-González said when introducing the legislation.
The bill aims to help prevent strikes, lockouts or labor disputes that could disrupt operations, according to its sponsors.
“The federal administration we have right now is ignoring federal labor laws and eviscerating workers’ rights,” Stewart said during Tuesday’s council meeting. “It is even more imperative that we are doing what we can at the local level to make sure that when we are involved in projects in our county’s economic interest, that we are facilitating workers’ rights.”
However, the legislation if approved would not directly or immediately apply to the North Bethesda facility. According to Stewart, the county recently entered into a 10-year contract with the Marriott hotel and conference center regarding its use. That contract ends Dec. 31, 2034. However, if the legislation passes, it would impact future contract renewals with the existing Marriott county hotel and conference center partner.
“This legislation would not necessarily impact that contract, unless it was renegotiated, but this would be looking forward prospectively at other projects, hotel and conference centers, in which the county would have an economic interest,” Stewart said during a virtual media briefing Monday.
A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. July 8 during the council’s regular business meeting in Rockville. A vote has not yet been scheduled.
