The hotels are confronting a union that has significantly more leverage and more imagination than in the past. The union is slowly but surely introducing national bargaining in an industry in which the companies used to tower over the local unions.
Miller has clearly chosen bankruptcy over collective bargaining to restructure the company. Delphi is using a bankruptcy judge to begin moving in the direction of Chinese wages and benefits.
They're getting their message across before bargaining begins in earnest. Showing a lot of visibility and political clout means bargaining will be influenced by not just what happens at the table but what happens in the community.