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• Jingle bells rang through the Union office on Saturday, December 9th, as members and their families celebrated at the Union’s annual Children’s Holiday Party. The children enjoyed face painting, balloon animals, crafts, a visit from Santa Claus, and presents wrapped specially for them by elves in the North Pole Toymaker’s Union.

• Early this Fall, we launched the Protect our Union’s Power Training, which walks members through the biggest threats the Union is currently facing and our strategy to defend and build our power. Over 200 members attended the first few PUP sessions. Join us for the next one!

Recent Contract Wins

Legal Victories

• In October, the Union won a 115% penalty (totaling $1.3 million) for workers at five Manhattan hotels managed by LuxUrban after the company failed to pay members on time on multiple occasions. The penalty was split by over 300 members at the Herald, Hotel 57, the Blakely, the Tuscany, and the Washington.

HTC in the News

City Journal — Expensive Visits

Of the roughly 130,000 rooms in New York City, more than 54,000 were built between 2007 and 2019. Most of these newer units are in non-unionized, limited-service facilities. Supply expanded during this period largely because hotel construction occurred as-of-right: developers could establish hotels in any commercial or manufacturing zone.

For the Hotel Trades Council (HTC), the union that rep- resents more than 35,000 workers in New York and New Jersey, these new nonunion hotels threatened to outcompete union shops. Its members had previously enjoyed a near-monopoly on hotels, most of which were full-service providers. And then came home-sharing, drawing the union into a multimillion-dollar, decade-long war that ultimately culminated in its greatest victory: Local Law 18.

Given these issues, it’s little wonder that the HTC is one of the most powerful and aggressive political players in the city and state. 

Industry News 

NBC News — Outcome of Hollywood actors’ contract vote could be close amid criticism over parts of deal

Members of the SAG-AFTRA union, which represents more than 150,000 film and television performers, have been voting on the tentative deal over the last several weeks [...] the culmination of a historic 118-day strike that brought Hollywood to a virtual standstill earlier this year, snarling productions of everything from blockbuster movies to network series and streaming shows.

[...] ‘Is it perfect? No. But it is groundbreaking, and it’s a deal that achieves what our members need us to achieve with very significant increases in economics, more than the last three negotiations combined and something to build upon with AI,’ [SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator, Duncan] Crabtree-Ireland said.

Salamanca Press — Hochul, Seneca president agree to extend gaming compact

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Seneca Nation of Indians President Rickey L. Armstrong Sr. met Friday in Buffalo and signed an extension of the current gaming compact between New York and the Nation, which expires Dec. 9. [...]

‘This short-term extension will provide additional time for our governments to complete compact negotiations and to seek all necessary approvals in accordance with Seneca Nation, New York state and federal law,’ the Seneca president said. ‘Under the extension, our three gaming properties will continue to operate without interruption, alleviating any concerns about potential impacts for our thousands of casino employees, which was a priority for the Nation.'

In June, the state and Seneca Nation announced that a preliminary compact agreement had been reached — with one of the provisions reported to be a new Seneca-owned casino in Monroe County. Lawmakers representing the Rochester area cried foul, claiming that a casino had been planned for the city of Rochester and they knew nothing of the Seneca-related plan.

The outcry from the Rochester area put a hold on the tentative agreement between the Senecas and the state.

State of the Union Movement

Casino workers reach contracts in Las Vegas, Detroit 

Las Vegas:

Hotel and casino workers in Las Vegas narrowly avoided what would have been their first strike in more than 20 years. Hours before the strike deadline, their union leadership reached a tentative five-year deal that included guaranteed daily room cleaning, panic buttons for front-of-house workers, new language around the introduction of new technology and artificial intelligence, and increases to wages, retirement, and healthcare benefits. 

Detroit:

In October, nearly 4,000 workers went on strike at Detroit’s three casinos. After 32 days on strike, their union reached a five-year deal with immediate and annual raises, no increase to member healthcare costs, more funding toward retirement benefits, and stronger protections on the job. HTC HEAT Organizer Tyrone Connell flew out to Detroit for four days to help run the picket line.