191 Search Results for "Workers' Rights"

The Coronavirus Safety Protocol Agreement

Click here to read a summary of the significant pieces of the safety agreement. 

Union negotiates casino re-opening agreement

September 7, 2020 2:50 PM

On September 3rd, 2020, New York Governor Cuomo announced that casinos in the state will be allowed to reopen at 25% capacity beginning Wednesday, September 9th.

In the weeks leading up, HTC President Rich Maroko and the Union’s staff have been in negotiations with the casinos to make sure that those workers who are recalled have adequate safety protections and equipment. We are pleased to announce that we have reached agreements with Resorts World NYC, Resorts World Catskills, Rivers Casino, Empire City Casino, del Lago Resort & Casino, and Saratoga Casino Hotel. These casinos have agreed to sign the Union’s Coronavirus Safety Protocols negotiated with the Hotel Association of New York City in March and June of this year, and to a number of casino-specific safety provisions. Read more...

A Letter from HTC President Rich Maroko

Six new business agents. A mobile app for contract enforcement. The debut of the “electronic business agent.” A new Midtown Health Center. An expansion of the Queens Health Center. Access to CityMD. 65 New Union Contracts. Brand-New Child Care and Housing Funds. The largest wage increases in any renewal contract in our Union’s history.

In early 2023, I laid out a bold plan for the future of our Union. Ever since, we’ve been hard at work, taking our Union from one of the best in the country to the next level. Read more...

More Criminal Justice Reform Measures Enacted in New York

Hotel Voice — April 30, 2019

"As many of you know from an editorial we published in Hotel Voice in 2017, our union has been working closely with the Innocence Project on criminal justice reform. It is my belief that this is the single most important civil rights issue in the United States, followed closely by immigration reform. The unfair incarceration of poor, disadvantaged and working class people who disproportionately are Black and Latino is a stain on the soul of our country."

-HTC President Peter Ward

Stalled HEROES Act would benefit working people

July 2, 2020 12:56 PM

The HEROES Act contains essential relief for working people who have lost income, face evictions and foreclosures, and need protections as they return to work. The bill also extends important protections from the CARES Act, which was passed earlier in March. Our Union is demanding the passage of the HEROES Act as the vast majority of our members have been laid off due to the crisis. The Act contains an extension of the extra $600/week in federal unemployment benefits, which would otherwise expire on July 31, 2020, and is absolutely essential for our members to make ends meet. Read more...

Division A Members Ratify Contract Extension

A large number of Hotel Trades Council Division A members voted overwhelmingly on October 15 to approve a contract extension similar to the extension of the IWA approved in June by their brother and sister HTC members employed in non-Division A hotels.

A Letter from HTC President Rich Maroko

In July 2026, our union’s Industry-Wide Agreement in NYC is set to expire after more than a decade. Our union has been preparing and setting the stage for these negotiations for years. And while we are still many months away from the start of negotiations, we need to start mobilizing our members now. Read more...

Hotel strike likely in Puerto Rico

The latest round of contract negotiations between Hilton and Local 610, which lasted three days, started off well, but ended badly. The first two sessions, held November 11 and 12, were productive. They began by revisiting the union's economic proposal, which had been put on hold temporarily while the union waited for quotes from insurance companies for an improved health plan for employees of the Condado Plaza and El San Juan Hotel and Casino.

HTC and the Little Rock Nine

“This year marks the 60th anniversary of our union honoring the Little Rock Nine — a group of incredibly brave students who were the center of the battle to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and who even today serve as an enduring symbol of the courage and resolve of the civil rights movement and the fight for equality.”

Those were the words of Hotel Trades Council President Peter Ward, on Tuesday, June 12, when the ties between our union and the Little Rock Nine officially spanned 60 years at a luncheon held in Gallagher’s Steak House.