Union Officers

President of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, AFL-CIO; Business Manager of Hotel, Restaurant & Club Employees and Bartenders Union, Local 6. Mr. Maroko practiced labor and employment law in New Jersey and New York before coming to the Hotel Trades Council in 2002 as General Counsel, where he created and managed the legal department. He graduated Phi Betta Kappa from the State University of New Jersey – Rutgers, earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and later earned a Masters in Labor and Employment Law with distinction from Georgetown University. He has fought cases in front of state and federal courts and before the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, and the Division of Human Rights. In 2011 he was elected Vice President of the Hotel Trades Council, and later served as Recording Secretary until 2020. Mr. Maroko has distinguished himself as a fierce negotiator and advocate for workers. As President, he is the chief executive officer of our Union.

Richard Lanigan was elected President of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) in 2016 and Business Manager of Local 153 in 2018.

Lanigan joined Local 153 as an organizer in 1980 and was soon promoted to Business Representative. He enrolled in law school as an evening student in 1987, and upon admission to the bar he served as assistant to the OPEIU General Counsel.

In 1994, he was elected Secretary-Treasurer of Local 153. Elected OPEIU Vice President the same year, Mr. Lanigan has worked with local unions filing unfair labor practice charges and assisting with strikes, contract campaigns and grievances. He has won many decisions representing OPEIU local unions in matters under the AFL-CIO’s Article XX. He was named to the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council’s Executive Board as a Vice President in October, 2018.

Secretary Treasurer of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, AFL-CIO, and the Business Manager and President of the International Union of Operating Engineers (I.U.O.E.) Local 94, 94A and 94B. He began his career in Local 94 in 1971 and became an Engineer at 1301 Sixth Avenue in 1972. He was an Assistant Chief at 112 West 34th Street from 1974 to 1979 and the Chief Engineer of 630 Third Avenue from 1979 to 1985. Kuba Brown became a Local 94 Business Agent for Lower Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn and Staten Island in 1985. He became Assistant Business Manager and Vice President of Local 94 in 1994 and served in those capacities until 2004, when he became Business Manager and President. He became Recording Secretary of the Hotel Trades Council in 2004. He holds a New York City Refrigeration License, E.P.A. Refrigeration Handlers License, Hazmat Certificate, Homeland Security Certification, New York City Fire Safety Directors License and various other City licenses. He has taken courses in Labor studies for Arbitration and Negotiations and Labor Law.

Recording Secretary of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, AFL-CIO, and President of Local 6, UNITE HERE. She began working as a Room Attendant at the Vista Hotel in 1982. She was soon elected as a Union delegate by the co-workers in her department. When a terrorist bomb at the World Trade Center destroyed part of the Vista Hotel in 1993, she went to the Union's headquarters to help find jobs for her coworkers. She became a Business Agent in 1994, a Vice President of Local 6 in 1997 and Executive Vice President in 2003. In 2020, she became Recording Secretary for the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council.

Vice President of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and an Assistant Business Manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 3. He has been a member of Local 3 since 1975 and is a graduate of the Labor College (1985) with a Bachelor of Sciences. Mr. Van Arsdale has had great success as an organizer. He has spearheaded successful organizing drives of cable TV employees New Jersey and Staten Island. He has also negotiated more than 270 different IBEW collective bargaining agreements. He was appointed Assistant Business Manager of Local 3's 9000-member Maintenance Department in 2006 and elected Executive Vice President of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council in 2008.

Vice President of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and Local 6, UNITE HERE, Hazel Hazzard began working as a Room Attendant at the Four Seasons Hotel when it opened in 1993. Ms. Hazzard and her coworkers approached HTC after suffering multiple abuses and indignities from management, and she served on the Union’s organizing committee for the successful organizing drive at the hotel. After serving as a delegate and helping organize other non-union hotels, Ms. Hazzard joined the Union’s staff in 1997 as a Business Agent and was elected as a Vice President of Local 6 in 2003. Ms. Hazzard was appointed Vice President of HTC in 2020.

Vice President of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and Executive Vice President of Local 6, UNITE HERE. Steve has been working for unions his entire adult life. He came to our Union's attention while working with his father and brother for Miller Photography, a company that photo-documented events for numerous labor unions, including HTC. Steve was hired as a Local 6 Business Agent in January, 2003. Two year later he was appointed as a Local 6 Vice President-at-Large, a position he held until 2021. In 2018, Steve was named Gaming Director for the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, a position he still holds in overseeing contract enforcement at all 11 casinos and racetracks that have contracts with the Union. In 2021, he was named as a Regional Director for HTC and later in the year, Steve was elected as a Vice President of Local 6 and as a Vice President of HTC.

Eddie Cedeño began his career with the Union at just 18 years old as a Busser in the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel. After leaving to serve in the Marine Corps, Eddie returned to the Plaza in 1991 and took on the role of Union Delegate there for the next 10 years. In 2001, Eddie joined Local 6’s staff as part of an apprenticeship program. Within just 3 years, Eddie was promoted to the role of Local 6 Vice President and became responsible for supervising new Business Agents. Today, Eddie serves as a Senior Vice President of Local 6, HTC Vice President, and HTC Regional Director. Highlights of Eddie’s career include the 2006 contract fight with Hilton, the 2007 landmark decision for banquet servers and campaigning with our Union for Obama ahead of the 2008 Presidential election.