Hotel workers in Chicago, Honolulu, Monterey and San Francisco authorized strikes

--but set no dates--should Unite Here union negotiators in each city fail to reach new contracts with hotel company managements. In Chicago, 2,600 employees at Hilton and Hyatt hotels authorized a strike in one of three sets of negotiations. A contract covering more than 7,000 hotel workers expires Aug. 31. In Monterey, the contract for 485 workers at two Hyatt hotels expires at midnight Monday. In Hawaii, contracts for 6,500 workers employed by 10 of Waikiki's largest hotels expired in June. The strike vote was called for 4,100 workers at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Sheraton properties. In San Francisco, 2,241 workers on Thursday authorized a strike with just 168 voting no. The vote came two years after the contract covering 4,500 workers at 13 downtown hotels expired. Contract negotiations are slated for next week.