“With HTC, I’m keeping darn good company” – NJ Gov. Phil Murphy Celebrates our Endorsement
October 28, 2021 12:50 PM
On Friday, October 1st, at the Doubletree by Hilton Newark Penn Station, our Union proudly endorsed New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy for reelection on November 2nd. Over 100 HTC members cheered “4 more years” as Governor Murphy entered the ballroom, joined by HTC President Rich Maroko.
HTC Member Ana Taveras, a Room Attendant at the Residence Inn Elizabeth and New Jersey resident kicked off the event. “Since being elected four years ago, Phil Murphy has fought every single day to support worker’s families and all the issues that matter most to the hotel workers,” Ana told the crowd. “He has always been our friend and ally.”
Ana, like most of our members, was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a pro-worker leader like Governor Murphy in the State House made all the difference. During his first four years as Governor, Phil Murphy signed laws helping all workers like raising the state minimum wage to $15.00 by 2024, increasing paid family leave from six weeks to twelve, and requiring that all employers provide up to 40 hours a year of guaranteed sick pay. He also signed legislation specifically affecting our industry and required all hotels in the state with 100 or more rooms to install panic buttons, a protection pioneered by our Union in 2012.
Further taking into account the lives of hotel workers, in January 2020, Governor Murphy signed into law a labor peace bill that requires developers that build hotels to have labor peace agreements with a union.
Governor Murphy’s commitment to working families and hotel workers over the last four years inspires trust that he shares our values and speaks to his work ethic. “Not only has he shown that he shares our progressive vision and our pro-worker ideologies,” President Maroko told the crowd, “But he can get things done.”
“In the middle of the COVID Crisis, he passed unparalleled, unprecedented, hotel worker protection legislation, that guarantee paid leave, minimum staffing levels, and real safety protections for hotel workers, protections that exist no where else in our country. And that’s because of Governor Murphy,” President Maroko continued, describing how early on in the crisis, Governor Murphy signed critical legislation requiring minimum staffing requirements for front desk agents and daily room cleanings in hotels, preventing hotels from slashing their labor costs at the expense of worker and guest safety as the major chains have done throughout the rest of the country.
“From his first day in office, Governor Murphy has been a real friend and a fierce advocate for working people,” President Maroko told the crowd. “There is no one I would rather have leading our state through this crisis than Governor Murphy.”
As Governor Phil Murphy took the podium, he recalled words of wisdom from his late mother Dorothy Murphy, “[She] would always remind us, ‘you’re known by the company you keep,’ and when I’m with HTC, I’m keeping darn good company.”
During his speech, Governor Murphy recognized the unique challenges our members have faced throughout the pandemic, “In many respects no industry, and no group of organized workers, have suffered more in terms of their livelihood from this pandemic than HTC members, on both sides of the Hudson River.” But he also expressed hope for the future as the event came to a close, “I’m here to say we are going to get through this and stand taller than ever before…”
How to cast your vote
To exercise your right to vote in person this upcoming November 2, 2021 you can find your nearest polling center here: https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/polling-place-search.
Important Dates:
Early Voting: 10/23 - 10/31
Deadline to Request Absentee Ballot: 11/1
Deadline to Return Absentee Ballot: 11/2
Election Day: 11/2
