Unionized employees at a major uptown hotel and mall in Saint John, N.B., are on strike.

Picket lines went up at the Delta Brunswick hotel and Brunswick Square early Saturday morning.

The approximately 100 workers are members of the United Steelworkers. The union represents Delta Brunswick hotel housekeepers and kitchen staff, as well as maintenance workers in the Brunswick Square mall and parking lot attendants in the attached garage.

The strike issues include union representation during meetings, as well as workload.

Union representative Mario Fortunato said hotel room cleaners are typically responsible for 14 rooms a day, but managers are asking for more.

"What the union wants and what the workers want is something that's sustainable, because after a while it becomes leverage against the workers," he said. "If you're not a favourite or if you cause a stir, suddenly you're cleaning 16 double rooms or you're cleaning 16 suites and they can't sustain it." Some workers are getting tendinitis, he said.

The strikers have been without a contract for two months. Negotiations for a new contract broke down on Friday.

Property management company Fortis Properties have vowed the hotel and complex will stay open during the dispute.