Badreddine Hafid

Our union grieves the passing of Badreddine Hafid, a dedicated union member of 32 years and Local 6 Assembly Delegate.

Hafid started his union career as a Banquet Waiter at Tavern on the Green in the late 1980’s, where he went on strike in 1989 and later became a Union Delegate and HEAT Captain. The photos he took at the 1989 picket line now decorate the walls of the union’s headquarters. Hafid was an avid photographer: “We used to go out on a lunch hour and I would lose him. He’d be off taking pictures — of everything: buses, every character in Times Square. It was his passion,” said coworker, friend, and fellow Assembly Delegate Sal Marciante.

After Tavern closed in 2010, Hafid started at the InterContinental Times Square, where he worked as a Banquet Server for 13 years and served as a Delegate for 11. He is loved and missed dearly by his coworkers. “He always said, ‘peace over fighting’. When we disagreed, Hafid made us work it out later. He didn’t like us to fight among ourselves,” said fellow Banquet Server and Assembly Delegate Rafelina Moreno. “Hafid was a union man. There are not enough words to describe what a great guy he was,” added Sal.

“Hafid was the kind of person we all hope to be: warm, generous, selfless, loyal. He was universally loved and will be missed immensely by us all,” said HTC President Rich Maroko.

Hafid is loved and missed dearly by all members of his family. His memory will live on in the hearts of everyone who knew him, and in the thousands of photos he took throughout his life. We offer him our union’s deepest thanks for his passion and commitment to improving the lives of working people in New York.