Workers at the Jewel Hotel win the IWA!
Summer 2026
Workers at the Jewel Hotel win the IWA!
Workers at the Jewel Hotel in Midtown have won their first union contract – a victory 7-years in the making. While nothing about this fight has been easy, everything about it has been life-changing.
The housekeeping, front desk, and engineering workers at the Jewel organized in an August 2019 NLRB Election, with over 85% voting to join our union.
When Havo Djeka, one of the earliest union supporters, thinks back on the organizing drive, she still remembers the fear they all once held inside. “A lot of my coworkers wanted the union, but they were scared. We were told so many lies about what would happen to us if we joined.”
Six months after the election, COVID hit and the Jewel Hotel shuttered its doors for over a year. Many non-union hotels, including properties with the same owner as the Jewel, got rid of their long-time workforces and replaced them with agency workers. But not the Jewel, where the workers had union representation. “Because we had the union, after COVID they brought us all back,” said Havo. “Thank goodness.”
Our union returned to the negotiating table, pressuring management to agree to a fair contract, but the hotel dragged their feet. The workers didn't let up. When management tried to break their spirits, the workers pinned their union buttons onto their uniforms and wore their union t-shirts and hats during their lunch breaks. The message to management: we're with our union, and we're not going anywhere.
In June, workers at the Jewel Hotel authorized a strike.
Following the negotiation of the new IWA contract, our union's organizers prepared the workers for a strike. On June 24, 2026, the Jewel workers unanimously voted to authorize a strike.
The workers' once-pervasive fear turned into confidence, and after years of hard bargaining, confidence turned into determination.
Management saw that the Jewel workers were united and serious about striking. They watched as the Jewel workers and thousands of union members showed up day after day to the nearby picket line at the Fairfield & Four Points Times Square in solidarity with their union brothers and sisters.
Fearing an impending strike outside of their own hotel, management caved and signed the IWA.
“I feel like I won the world”
On July 13, 2026, the Jewel workers voted to ratify their first union contract. The room was alive. As each worker cast their ballot, the room buzzed with excitement, triumph, emotion. After a multi-year effort, the best contract for hotel workers in the world now belonged to them.
“I was one of the first ones to come and try to unite, to get the crew together,” said Edward Tapia, a Houseperson at the Jewel. “I just can't believe the time has come. I mean, it's surreal.”
“Thank you all for putting your faith in us, for believing in the union enough to stick your necks out for yourselves, for your coworkers, for your families,” HTC President Rich Maroko told the workers.
“For me, for my family, for the pain we have in our bodies – it means a lot,” said Oana Georgescu, a Room Attendant at the hotel. “I feel like I won the world.”
“500 pounds just came off of my shoulders”
“My wife had a bottle of champagne that she was saving for a special occasion. When I first started working at the hotel, when a union contract still felt so far away, we decided: When we win a contract, we're going to pop this champagne. We're going to bring a pie and cut it; when we get a contract, everyone will get a piece of the pie.”
On Ratification Day, that's exactly what Arnold and his wife Elayne did.
“I wanted to honor the moment. Talking to my coworkers about what this moment and this champagne meant to them, my wife started crying (Happy tears). This battle for a first contract – this war – will never come again.”
“I'm still processing it all. I feel like a load was lifted off. 500 pounds just came off of my shoulders. I go to work on cloud 9.”