40 Years Later, We Celebrate the Courage of the 1985 Strikers
Spring 2025
Forty years ago, in the Spring of 1985, the union hotel workers in New York City faced an uncertain future. At that time, our Industry-Wide Agreement in New York City was nearing expiration, and negotiations with the hotel industry were progressing poorly.
Our union made every attempt to reach a good, reasonable agreement – but the industry refused to budge. The hotel industry was insisting on aggressive givebacks, presenting the union with a list of more than 30 demands, including a call for hotel workers to pay for part of their medical coverage, give up part of their sick leave benefits, and impose “complete flexibility and interchange of jobs” across the hotels.
In April 1985, the Hotel Voice reported: “The issue in these negotiations,” said then-HTC President Vito Pitta, “is not money. The industry is making money and can afford to give us substantial raises. But there are a few hotelmen who think this is the time to break the union’s back so they can get away with anything they want.”
In June of 1985, with negotiations stuck and no signs of resolution in sight, our union had to make a difficult but necessary decision. For the first time since our founding in the 1930s, our union called on the hotel workers of NYC to walk off the job in a city-wide strike.
The 1985 strike was not easy by any measure. At that time, striking workers had to wait for seven weeks before they could collect unemployment under the law. Our union only had a small strike fund that allowed us to pay a $50 weekly strike benefit. After a few weeks on the picket line, funds began to run low. Despite the financial hardship, our members stayed solid. One striker, a pastry chef at the Palace, said in June 1985: “I'm a family man and have bills to pay — but I'll stick it out till we win.”
After 26 long days of picketing, the industry pulled back its giveback demands. We were able to walk away from the 1985 strike with a contract that, while not perfect, included significant wage hikes, an increase to the pension, and the creation of the Scholarship Fund and the Pre-Paid Legal Fund.
“I was a new delegate in the Banquet Department at the Grand Hyatt during the '85 strike,” recounted Lynn Hoffard, the former Regional Director of Local 6 Clubs. “The Grand Hyatt was one of the few hotels to sign a Me-Too agreement and remain open during the strike. It was a smart tactical maneuver by the union, because it meant we could focus our resources on the holdout hotels who were refusing to make a good deal. My coworkers and I would join the strikers on the picket lines when we got off of our shifts. A group of us raised some money to stock a van up with a bunch of cases of soda to deliver to the workers. It was our way of contributing to the fight and keeping morale up on the line.”
The 1985 strike was one of the most decisive moments in the nearly 100-year history of our union. Had the union hotel workers conceded to all of management's givebacks, had they demonstrated any less resolve and determination on those picket lines – the consequences for them and future generations of hotel workers would have been dire.
Forty years later, while still many months away from the start of negotiations, we are starting to prepare for the possibility of a strike, if needed. While the decision to strike is never an easy one, we have to be ready to stay out for longer and hit management even harder, if that's what it will take to win a strong contract.
While the industry has changed since 1985, our union has advanced significantly too. Our union has learned from the 1985 strike and subsequent strikes. We have built up the operation required to pull off large-scale actions, from running logistics to using the HEAT SYSTEM to mobilize our engaged membership and turn out large crowds at a moment's notice. We've passed legislation to maximize the impact of a strike, and have the resources to sustain our fight for as long as it takes.