The Newsfeed's "Follow-up Week"

We’re bringing you updates on our coverage of workers’ strikes, wage theft, the World Cup’s impact, the influx of trans refugees to the region, and more.

The Newsfeed's "Follow-up Week"

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Jaelynn Grisso

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Jaelynn Grisso Sep 21, 2026

Sep 21, 2026

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                <h1>The Newsfeed's "Follow-up Week"</h1>
                <h2><p>We’re bringing you updates on our coverage of workers’ strikes, wage theft, the World Cup’s impact, the influx of trans refugees to the region, and more.</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/jaelynn-grisso/">Jaelynn Grisso</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Sep 21, 2026</time></p>
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            <blockquote><em>Each&nbsp;week on The Newsfeed,&nbsp;host Paris Jackson and a team of veteran journalists&nbsp;dive deep into one&nbsp;topic and&nbsp;provide&nbsp;impactful&nbsp;reporting, interviews and community insights from sources you can trust. Each day this week, this post will be updated with a new story from the team.</em></blockquote><h3 id="wa%E2%80%99s-longest-hotel-workers%E2%80%99-strike-comes-to-an-end">WA’s longest hotel workers’ strike&nbsp;comes to an end&nbsp;</h3>
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<blockquote>By <a href="https://www.cascadepbs.org/author/jaelynn-grisso/" rel="noreferrer">Jaelynn Grisso</a>, story published 09/21/2026</blockquote><p>The longest-running hotel workers’&nbsp;strike in Washington’s history came to a close when Hilton and its workers agreed to a contract earlier this month.&nbsp;We previously reported on the workers’ efforts and concerns ahead of the World Cup. Now,&nbsp;we’re&nbsp;bringing you an update with&nbsp;what’s&nbsp;in the workers’&nbsp;new contract.&nbsp;</p><p>The first strike Aspen Desmarais joined turned out to be historic.&nbsp;</p><p>“85 days&nbsp;was a lot. It was in the first couple of weeks.&nbsp;It was really fun.&nbsp;And then for a second there, it felt&nbsp;really hard&nbsp;fought and like what we were doing&nbsp;wasn't&nbsp;getting any impact. But I will not&nbsp;be out&nbsp;stubborn by anyone until I get the things that we need to protect people,” said Desmarais, a bartender at Embassy Suites by Hilton.&nbsp;</p><p>Desmarais and other workers went on strike&nbsp;on June 18th during the FIFA Men’s World Cup. The strike lasted a total of&nbsp;85 days. The union hopes the contract agreement will pave the way for other hotel workers in the state.&nbsp;</p><p>Some of the changes in the new agreement include:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Improved protections for immigrants&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Year-round health insurance coverage&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Increased wages&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Reduced workload for housekeepers&nbsp;</li></ul><p>Hilton responded to a request for comment, saying: “This agreement reflects a collaborative outcome and our commitment to our valued Team Members. We look forward to welcoming our Team Members back to work and continuing to deliver exceptional hospitality to our guests.”&nbsp;</p><p>But for Desmarais,&nbsp;perhaps the&nbsp;biggest win was laying the groundwork to help protect immigrant workers.&nbsp;</p><p>“When people come to online commenting about our immigrant workers and being saying that they&nbsp;shouldn't&nbsp;be afraid if&nbsp;they're&nbsp;legal, they are all legal.&nbsp;It's&nbsp;just a scary world and Ice does not care if&nbsp;you're&nbsp;legal or not...&nbsp;In an extremely oppressive system right now towards immigrants.&nbsp;I think any win&nbsp;is a win,”&nbsp;Desmarais said.&nbsp;</p>
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Each week on The Newsfeed, host Paris Jackson and a team of veteran journalists dive deep into one topic and provide impactful reporting, interviews and community insights from sources you can trust. Each day this week, this post will be updated with a new story from the team.

WA’s longest hotel workers’ strike comes to an end

By Jaelynn Grisso, story published 09/21/2026

The longest-running hotel workers’ strike in Washington’s history came to a close when Hilton and its workers agreed to a contract earlier this month. We previously reported on the workers’ efforts and concerns ahead of the World Cup. Now, we’re bringing you an update with what’s in the workers’ new contract.

The first strike Aspen Desmarais joined turned out to be historic.

“85 days was a lot. It was in the first couple of weeks. It was really fun. And then for a second there, it felt really hard fought and like what we were doing wasn't getting any impact. But I will not be out stubborn by anyone until I get the things that we need to protect people,” said Desmarais, a bartender at Embassy Suites by Hilton.

Desmarais and other workers went on strike on June 18th during the FIFA Men’s World Cup. The strike lasted a total of 85 days. The union hopes the contract agreement will pave the way for other hotel workers in the state.

Some of the changes in the new agreement include:

Improved protections for immigrants
Year-round health insurance coverage
Increased wages
Reduced workload for housekeepers

Hilton responded to a request for comment, saying: “This agreement reflects a collaborative outcome and our commitment to our valued Team Members. We look forward to welcoming our Team Members back to work and continuing to deliver exceptional hospitality to our guests.”

But for Desmarais, perhaps the biggest win was laying the groundwork to help protect immigrant workers.

“When people come to online commenting about our immigrant workers and being saying that they shouldn't be afraid if they're legal, they are all legal. It's just a scary world and Ice does not care if you're legal or not... In an extremely oppressive system right now towards immigrants. I think any win is a win,” Desmarais said.

Jaelynn Grisso

By Jaelynn Grisso

Jaelynn is an Emmy-nominated multimedia journalist, frequently covering public defense and immigration enforcement. Previously, Grisso founded the nonprofit Matter News and worked for Mother Jones, Honolulu Civil Beat and Scripps, among others.

Jaelynn is an Emmy-nominated multimedia journalist, frequently covering public defense and immigration enforcement. Previously, Grisso founded the nonprofit Matter News and worked for Mother Jones, Honolulu Civil Beat and Scripps, among others.