Hilton Strike, 1963

In 1963, workers of the Hilton Hotel (now Plaza Hotel) demonstrated for better wages and working conditions. Hotel and union representatives had negotiated for weeks without coming to an agreement. The topics in discussion were wages, dues checkoff, and overtime provisions. First indication of the labor trouble came months before when the union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the hotel. During the 1960s, El Paso's economy boomed, also benefiting from low wages. As this image shows, wages were the main reason for the strike. In the photograph, these children assist their parents in the Hilton Hotel picket line, carrying placard. Written down are slogans like: "On strike. Hilton is unfair to my Mommy.", "Mr Hilton, why don't you pay my mommy more money? We can't live on 2.50 a day.", "Unfair to my daddy".

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections, University of Texas at El Paso Library. Collection Name: Hilton Hotel - Herald Post Historical Files. Photo ID: hilton_strike_03.