Scabby the Rat joins the picket line. Local 217 Sec-Treasurer Josh Stanley: "We couldn't be prouder of each other." More than 120 Omni hotel workers have put down their picket signs and gone back to work — without a new contract, but with a message sent to management that they’re ​“willing to do whatever it takes to win.”Those unionized Omni hotel housekeepers, front desk agents, cooks, and other workers — all represented by UNITEHERE Local 217 — officially ended their strike Sunday evening. They returned to their jobs as of Monday morning at the 155 Temple St. hotel, which is formally called the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale. “The strike of the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale has been an awesome display of unity and courage,” Local 217 Secretary-Treasurer Josh Stanley is quoted as saying in an email press release. ​“We will return to work Monday morning and will continue to negotiate with the Omni this week. But although this strike has concluded, our fight continues. Omni workers are ready to do whatever it takes to win, and this remains an active labor dispute.” He added in a follow-up email comment that ​“the workers had always planned a limited duration strike.”The strike began early Thursday morning, and came as the union is pushing for a new contract with better pay, healthcare, and pensions. Their last contract expired in late March. The union had not yet reached a contractual agreement with management before the end of the strike.The strike also comes as UNITE HERE-represented hotel workers across the country — in San Diego, Boston, Baltimore, and elsewhere — have gone on strike in recent weeks, all under the leadership of New Haven native and UNITEHERE international union President Gwen Mills.The Temple Street hotel also remained open for business over the course of the four-day labor stoppage; according to UNITEHERE Local 34 spokesperson Ian Dunn, the hotel was able to continue services with the help of temporary workers. Omni hotel managers declined to comment for this story.Strikers chanting: "No contracts? No peace!" According to bellhop Eugene Scott, Local 217 workers were required by the union to picket for 20 hours in total over the course of the strike. In return, according to Scott, union workers received $400 to make up for their wages lost over the time of the workplace walkout. Over the course of the strike, the workers were joined on the picket line by Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and a host of fellow state and local politicians, including Westville Alder Adam Marchand and Fair Haven Alder Frank Redente, Jr.“When we saw everyone there, it showed that we were active, that all of us have the same vision,” Omni room cleaner Maria Palma said on Sunday, her words translated from Spanish to English by Local 217 organizer Isadora Milanez.Omni workers also saw members of the Teamsters Union, the Communications Workers of America Union, American Federation of Teachers, and the AFL-CIO show up to the strike.“I think also they are taking some of that energy back themselves,” Stanley observed, of the various other union groups present at the strike. Though no specific date to meet with management has been set yet, Stanley hopes for the union to meet with Omni management some time in the upcoming week. The scene on Sunday was lively before the announcement of the end of the strike. At around 1 p.m., some 20 workers and union organizers marched back and forth on Temple Street carrying signs reading: ​“RESPECTOURWORK” and ​“ONEJOBSHOULDBEENOUGH.” Striking employees chanted, marched, and beat drums, as passing cars beeped their support for the group. Leering at the street, a large, inflatable Scabby the rat — a historical symbol of labor protesting in New York City — stood watch.“No contracts?” the workers shouted. ​“No peace!”“If we don’t get it?” shouted one Local 217 organizer. “Shut it down!” protesters shouted back. Jon Agosoto did not know that the Omni Hotel strikes were occurring Sunday afternoon as he walked up Temple Street. In an interview with the Independent, he noted that he too is a member of an electrical construction workers union, Local 1249. He said that having a union was ​“convenient,” given that they ​“fight for you, no matter what.”“I’m super pro-union,” Agosto said, walking by. ​“I’m at the point right now where I’m making the most money I’ve ever made, and I’m still struggling,” noting the cost of groceries and rent hikes. Agosto continued: ​“It’s crazy.” Then, he looked toward the protesters. Before he left, he said, ​“They should be doing that.”Bellhop Eugene Scott.