In Strange End, Congress Plaza Hotel Strike Ends Unceremoniously

Old picture from the Tribune of the strike (via Chicago Tribune)

While we don't claim to be strike experts, when we heard that the infamous Congress Hotel (strike has ended we were scratching our heads.  It's been billed as the longest strike in the world and as of Thursday morning it ended abruptly and unexpectedly (via Chicago Tribune):

An attorney for the hotel said Unite Here Local 1, the union representing cleaning and maintenance workers, has offered an unconditional return to work as of midnight Wednesday. The union confirmed Thursday morning that it is ending the strike.

"The decision to end the Congress strike was a hard one, but it is the right time for the union and the strikers to move on," Unite Here Local 1 President Henry Tamarin said in a statement. "The boycott has effectively and dramatically reduced the hotel’s business. ... There is no more to do there."

Even the attorney for the union was surprised:

Congress Plaza Hotel attorney Peter Andjelkovich called the move a surprise. He said the union and the hotel haven't sat down at the negotiation table in a year. 

Andjelkovich said there are still many legal and logistical issues related to the employees’ return that still need to be worked out. In a press conference at the hotel Thursday morning, Andjelkovich said the hotel and union officials are planning to meet to facilitate the next step.
We've walked by the strike so many times it's going to be a surprise not seeing them there.  

What do you make of this?

While it's nice to see some resolution, we expected a bigger ending.  Such is life.

For those who want some more info, here are two posts that we've done in the past (here and here).