Workers are on strike and pickets are up at the 1190-room Hilton Bayfront adjacent to the San Diego Convention Center as San Diego Comic-Con opens today.  The strike, by Local 30 of hospitality union Unite Here, affects cleaning, front desk, bell-stand, restaurant, and other non-management employees at the hotel.  All people working those positions in the hotel are management or scabs, a picketer told us.  At least two entrances, including the side entrance often used by Hollywood celebrities arriving to appear at panels, had picket lines, raising the question of whether union members of other unions, such as actors, will cross the line to appear at Comic-Con panels planned for the venue.

The strike began today, after negotiations broke down on a new contract. The most recent contract expired over a year ago, a picketer told us.