191 Search Results for "Workers' Rights"
Union Victory in Puerto Rico
When members of Unite Here Local 610 in Puerto Rico entered into a contract fight with Hilton in June 2009, the life of their union was hanging by a thread.
The new contract that was ratified in February 2010 saved their union. It stopped decades of decline and concession bargaining. It significantly raised the members’ standard of living and greatly increased their power.
Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage Continues
As we reported briefly in last week’s edition, hundreds of members of our Union turned out at a May 7 rally to raise the minimum wage. The featured speaker at the Union Square rally was Governor Andrew Cuomo, and he did not mince words in saying that New York’s working poor deserve a raise. Cuomo’s remarks were not political rhetoric. He backed them up with executive action.
The Story of the First Contract
The “Industry-Wide Agreement” (“IWA” for short), is the Hotel Trades Council’s master union contract with the Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. (which is the union of the hotel owners). Today, the IWA covers 28,000 members of the Hotel Trades Council in New York City – the vast majority of our union’s members, including employees of every type of hotel and motel, large and small, not only in the center of Manhattan but throughout New York City, including the outer boroughs.
Come support Boathouse workers at rally in Central Park on April 21
The Union is holding a rally outside the Boathouse restaurant. Union members are urged to participate. We intend to support the Boathouse workers and we are confident that our membership will respond strongly to assist in this effort. The rally will be held at 4:30pm on April 21.
Contract Won at Courtyard Newark Liberty International Hotel
Courtyard employees unanimously ratified the agreement and they can now look forward to a new era of higher wages, better benefits, scheduling rights and strong job protections as part of the GRIWA.
Marriage Equality Act passes in historic 33-29 vote
On Friday, June 24, 2011, the New York State Senate passed the Marriage Equality Act, voting 33-29 to allow same sex marriages in our state. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law at 11:55 pm, enabling it to become law within an hour and a half of the Senate approving it. The law became effective 30 days later, at midnight of July 24.
A Letter from HTC President Rich Maroko: New Trainings for Union Delegates
It is not enough to have the best hospitality contract in the world – if the terms of that contract aren’t enforced, it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. Over the last 18 months, we have been working on several major initiatives to make our Union even stronger at contract enforcement. The plan includes hiring more business agents, using artificial intelligence to catch more violations, introducing new technology to ensure grievances are effectively and efficiently processed, reinstituting a grievance officer to shepherd cases through the process, speeding up the arbitration procedures, and providing new trainings for the first line of contract enforcement: our union delegates. Read more...
The 2021 Freedom Rides: HTC Marches with Thousands in Washington D.C. to Fight Voter Suppression
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Rides, when a brave group of civil rights activists organized protests against segregation from Washington D.C. through the South, facing angry mobs and violence during their journey. Sixty years later, the fight for civil rights is far from over with an assault on the voting rights of Americans — specifically Black, Brown, and working class people—in full force in present day America. Read more...
Growing in GRIWA
In the past 15 years, our Union has taken a foothold in New Jersey and the greater New York region. Today we represent 8,200 workers outside of New York City, with 99 shops covered by the GRIWA master contract. This is a report on how we got here, and where we’re headed. Read more...
