Remembering Fred Cristina,  a Plaza Hotel Employee for 64 Years

The Union lost an old friend last month, when Fred Cristina passed away at the age of 94. Fred was a member of our Union almost from its first day, beginning work at the Plaza Hotel in 1939. By the time he retired, in 2003, Fred had logged an extraordinary total of 64 years on the job at the Plaza—minus a few years while he was performing dedicated service to our country during World War II.

If you add it all up, Fred Cristina worked in the Plaza during eight different decades! It stands as a truly remarkable accomplishment by anyone’s standards. It was obvious at his retirement ceremony in 2003, which Hotel Voice attended, that Fred Cristina was liked and respected by management and co-workers alike.
Cristina’s 64-year career at the Plaza began when he took a job as a bus boy at the age of 19. During the many years that followed he was a fixture in the Oak Room, a gathering place for the elite and famous. Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, John F. Kennedy . . . Fred served them all. In fact, more than a few celebrities knew him by name, and with each passing year the legend of Fred Cristina grew.

“Fred is a credit to the Plaza Hotel, the Union and to his family,” Hotel Trades Council President Peter Ward said upon Cristina’s retirement. “His longevity on the job is only surpassed by his dedication.”

Fred Cristina told Hotel Voice on more than one occasion that his career at the Plaza had been a great opportunity to work with many wonderful people. At his retirement party he said, “It has been my privilege to serve the customer as a professional, and the company as an employee, and to work side by side with my colleagues and brother and sister union members. I feel blessed.”

In passing away, Fred Cristina leaves a indelible mark of excellence on the Plaza Hotel and the Union itself. We express our sincere condolences to his surviving family members, his friends and former co-workers, and to everyone else who had the good fortune to know him. We will truly miss Fred Cristina.

Plaza employees saluting Fred Cristina on his retirement in 2003. Cristina passed away in January.