The Hotel Trades Council has spent years fighting to ensure that gaming jobs in New York State are good, middle class jobs. When the state expanded gambling in 2013, our union was able to secure commitments that gaming workers would have the ability to join a union in an environment free from intimidation and harassment. This means that workers in these facilities will have the opportunity to have strong contract rights, medical coverage, pensions, good wages, and a dignified work environment—just like hotel workers have in our union.
Quiet Casino Winner: HTC
"The politically potent union has standing labor agreements with all three of the casino projects that got the green light from the Gaming Facility Location Board."
State of Politics
Union Wins $250,000 in Back Pay at Resorts World
Nearly 100 employees at Resorts World Casino received $250,000 in backpay as a result of seniority and overtime violations of the collective bargaining agreement.
Casino employees get raise following labor union deal
"'We have created a blueprint that will set a standard for future contracts with the gaming industry throughout the state,' Ward [president of the Hotel Trades Council] said. 'This is an expectation…If we’re going to give you license to run a billion-plus-dollar-a-year operation, we expect the people to be taken care of as part of the deal.'"
New York Daily News
Ruling Doubles Paycheck for 1,375 Employees at High-Grossing Queens Slot Parlor
"Peter Ward, president of the Hotel Trades Council, said 'This is the outcome we want, if we’re going to have gambling in New York. We’ve worked to create a situation where the middle class is suddenly within reach of gaming workers…not a bunch of minimum-wage jobs where people have to live on the dole to survive.'"
New York Times
New York voters approve 7 Las Vegas-style casinos
"Cuomo’s effort was supported by a powerful coalition of business and labor leaders who raised more than $4 million for the campaign to support the amendment."
New York Daily News
Expansion of Gambling in New York Is Approved
"New York voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment to expand casino gambling, authorizing as many as seven full-scale casinos as part of a plan meant to bring jobs to economically distressed upstate regions."
New York Times
New York union and Queens casino will battle proposal to bring gambling to northern New Jersey
"The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, which represents workers in New York and New Jersey, on Monday will begin running a television and digital ad campaign against the referendum. The union opposes the referendum because the legislation that allowed for it does not include a labor peace provision that would stop casino owners from blocking union organizing efforts. New York’s casino law included such a provision."
New York Daily News
N.J. voters overwhelmingly reject North Jersey casino proposal
"The ballot question appears on pace to fail by more than 1.5 million votes, according to projections by the Associated Press—which would make it the largest margin of defeat for any referendum the state has ever seen."
NJ.com
Peter Ward Named #18 On Albany Power 100
"Ward is a top labor leader, and his close ties to Gov. Andrew Cuomo underscore the point."
City & State
How One Homeless Woman Helped Double the Paychecks of 1,400 Workers
"Natalie Abreu, a single mother of three, lived in a homeless shelter in the Bronx, while commuting to her job as a cleaner at a casino in Queens. The trip could take two hours each way or longer, depending on the time of day...For Abreu and nearly 1,400 other workers at the casino, wages have nearly doubled. Non-tipped workers now make around $22 an hour, and their pay will rise every year, until it reaches around $32 an hour by 2014."
WNYC News
