Thousands of hotel employees at 14 major D.C. hotels will go on strike at 11:59 p.m. tonight unless a last-minute deal is negotiated between the hotels and their union. UNITE HERE Local 25 joined that union’s other locals in five other cities when they voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if negotiations with the Hotel Association of Washington D.C. failed to yield a contract. (See the potential strike covered by the AP/WTOP, Post, W. Times.) The two other cities where union members have voted to authorize a strike are San Francisco and Los Angeles. From the Post:

Union officials say a strike would close half of the first-class hotels in Washington, creating a devastating effect on the city’s economy. The tourism industry generates more than $10 billion in direct spending each year and sustains 260,000 jobs, according to the Washington, D.C., Convention and Tourism Corp.

Even the W. Times noted that “Many of the hotels involved in the negotiations are the largest and busiest in the city — particularly during the fall, which is a prime time for conventions.”

UNITE HERE’s Hotel Labor Advisor website lists unionized hotels in five U.S. cities, complete with a thermometer measuring the level of labor unrest. 14 of the D.C. hotels display “yellow” as a result of yesterday’s strike authorization.

Affected hotels include the Holiday Inn Georgetown, the Mandarin Oriental (pictured), the Washington Hilton and Towers. and the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel. If the strike occurs, the hotels would remain open, but DCers should expect to see picket lines.

The Union claims the hotels haven’t re-hired staff laid off during the tourism downturn after Sept. 11 even though business has returned, and are also requesting a two year contract, so the contract would expire in 2006, the same time as contracts in New York, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto.