SAN FRANCISCO -- More than 800 union workers were staging a noisy three-day strike outside the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco's Union Square Wednesday.

The picket line began at 4 a.m. with workers planning to picket until Saturday morning.

Doormen, housekeepers, bellmen and others were among 9,000 union workers at 60 San Francisco hotels who have been working without a contract since last August.

The workers hoped their noisy strike will disrupt business and pressure management to come to an agreement.

"They want us to work longer hours, they want to combine our jobs, working five other people's jobs," said hotel worker Robyn Shaheen. "They want us to give, give, give, yet they're not giving us anything in return."

This three-day strike is the fourth walkout during the past six months. Labor talks stalled in December and no negotiations have been scheduled since.

"We go to a bargaining table so many times, but the hotel us garbage proposal," hotel worker Ringo Mak said.

The Hotel Council represents the 60 hotels involved in the labor dispute. The council said hotels citywide were still suffering from the recession with low occupancy and have to had cut rates.

"This is the worst hotel market since the Great Depression in San Francisco," said Hotel Council Spokesman Sam Singer. "Some of these hotels are only 50-percent full. We're trying to preserve jobs at these hotels and we need the unions to cooperate."

The main issue is the cost of health care. Hotel operators said costs were spiraling out of control and they need employees to share the cost.

But workers said they can't afford to pay more with their low wages. They said hotels have always paid the cost of their health care in exchange for giving low wages.

"We only get minimum pay," Mak said. "We are low income. We make less than $30,000 a year average for every worker here."

The Hotel Council said despite the strike, the Hilton has been able to operate with managers and replacement workers brought in from other hotels.

But some guests told KTVU the picket line is disruptive.

"It's ok when I'm in my room, but [outside] I can hardly talk," said hotel guest Charlotte Frink.

"You got to show your key just to get into the room. It's inconvenient," agreed guest Bryan Day. "You got to hear this noise. The room service is slow, all services are slow."

The union president told KTVU there will be another strike at another major San Francisco Hotel, but wouldn't say when or where.