Newsfeed

Hotel Voice, Fall 2021

REOPENING NEWS

  • A total of 284 Union hotels, casinos, clubs, and restaurants are now open.
  • NYC hotel occupancy rates rise to 65% in early July, with 10 million tourists estimated to come back to NYC this summer
  • With HTC’s support, de Blasio signed an executive order to eliminate the guest occupancy tax of 5.875%, lowering prices, from June 1- August 31.
  • NY Post - NYC launches historic $30 million ad push to get tourists back to the Big Apple
  • 70% of HTC members in casinos recalled to work
  • HTC protects daily room cleanings and, by extension, over 7,000 housekeeping jobs.

LEGAL AND ENFORCEMENT VICTORIES

  • HTC wins 3 first contracts for new HTC shops and 10 extensions in 2021!
  • Over $370 in severance pay awarded to members
  • Over 48 arbitration awards issued since January (with over 75% decided in favor of the Union)
  • Union negotiates over 120 settlement agreements and 33 side agreements since January

COVID-19 RELIEF

  • HTC works with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to win 100% free family COBRA for laid off workers from April 1st - September 30th.
  • HTC helps resolve issues with unemployment for over 6,000 members
  • Over 13,000 COVID-19 vaccines distributed at Union Health Centers
  • May 10: Over 100 HTC members join HTC President Rich Maroko and NY Senator and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to celebrate the partial reopening of our Brooklyn Health Center
  • August 16th: Harlem Health Center is the last union health center to reopen!
  • Brooklyn Health Center reopens dental facility!

POLITICAL WINS

  • HTC volunteers knock on 10,000 doors ahead of the NYC primaries.
  • July 15th: NYC Mayoral Candidate Eric Adams celebrates his victory in the Democratic Primary with 200 union members.
  • Over 75% of Union-endorsed candidates for the New York City Council win their elections.
  • HTC’s picks for Borough President Mark Levine (Manhattan), Donovan Richards (Queens) and Antonio Reynoso (Brooklyn) all win their primaries!
  • At HTC’s urging, the New York State budget includes a significant tax break for the upstate casinos.
  • HTC allies in New Jersey pass law requiring daily room cleanings and minimum front desk staffing in hotels. The law is the very first of its kind in the country.
  • NYC Mayor de Blasio signs law enhancing worker protections in the event their employer files for bankruptcy and making it easier to notify hotel guests in the event of a union picket line.
  • June 26: Nearly 100 members journey 229 miles to Washington DC for the 2021 Freedom Rides
  • August, New York City Planning Commission to vote on Hotel Special Permits legislation, supported by our Union

ORGANIZING VICTORIES

  • 12 new shops organized in the past 12 months— over 500 new members join HTC!
  • 1st Union hotel on Roosevelt Island: 100% of Graduate Roosevelt Island workers signed cards in favor of HTC representation.

UNION BENEFITS

  • Over 150 members celebrate their retirement!
  • 21 college scholarships, totaling $252,000, awarded by our Union

HTC IN THE NEWS

  • City & State: The 2021 Albany Power 100: #52 Rich Maroko, President, Hotel Trades Council, “Rich Maroko’s track record as a fierce negotiator has positioned him well to lead the Hotel Trades Council during this perilous period for both the hospitality industry and its workers. An estimated 20% of hotels in New York City closed, with a similar fallout being felt statewide. Maroko has been a steadfast advocate through it all, winning vaccine eligibility for hotel workers across the state in February and continuing to build the union’s power beyond New York City.”
  • NY Post: Hotel workers added to New York’s vaccine eligibility list. “My coworkers and I in housekeeping do our best to stay safe, but given the nature of our work, we are exposed. I myself caught COVID-19 last spring, and I am so relieved that my coworkers and I will be better protected now,” - Alexis Santiago, Hilton Garden Inn Times Square
  • New Yorker: Behind the Scenes at a Five-Star Hotel "For years, employees of the Pierre enjoyed some of the most enviable union jobs in New York City.”
  • The American Prospect: The Union Difference: How one of America’s strongest locals protects workers in the pandemic
  • NY Post: Powerful Hotel Trades Council backs Eric Adams for NYC Mayor
  • NY1: “I never forget my first”: Adams vows to back Hotel Trades Council after early endorsement
  • City & State: This week’s Winners & Losers: WINNER Rich Maroko “A lot of labor unions endorsed Eric Adams for mayor, but it was only Maroko’s Hotel Trades Council that Adams celebrated with this week and compared to the first girl he ever loved, Linda Perkins. But Maroko’s also got a friend in the current mayor, who’s still moving forward with the controversial Hotel Special Permit – and securing approval from community boards. No matter where you lay your head at night, don’t sleep on the political sway of HTC.”