70 Search Results for "economy"

Why de Blasio’s the Candidate for Working Families

Throughout most of the last century, if you had a job at a manufacturing plant, it was hard work, but it also meant stability and opportunity. Whether you worked with steel, textiles, rubber or any of the industries that fueled America's economy, it meant you could have a house, a car and the ability to put food on the table for your family.

While many of those jobs no longer exist, their legacy of unionized work creating a pathway to the middle class lives on in the hotel industry. Hotel workers are the modern-day manufacturing plant worker.

Members Celebrate Tentative Agreement to Renew IWA at Radio City Music Hall

On February 7th, 2012, nearly 6,000 union members packed Radio City Music Hall to hear HTC President Peter Ward detail the tough negotiations with the Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. (the organization that represents many of the city's hotel owners).

Despite the anti-union sentiment growing in the United States and a precarious economy, our Union’s leadership managed to extend the Union’s Industry Wide Agreement (“the IWA”) for 7 years. Not only did the leadership fight back against the industry’s outrageous list of give backs, but they won big wage increases, increased funding for the union’s pension and medical fund, and won vital job security protections in the new contract.

Largest hotel outside of Manhattan planned for Queens

A Japanese-based hotel company is planning to build a 699-unit hotel in Long Island City.

Mark Levine, a Pro-Union Candidate for Manhattan Borough President

Our Union is happy to announce our support of Mark Levine for Manhattan Borough President. Throughout his career he has proven himself to be an unwavering advocate for the workers of New York. Read more...

Local 2 members walkout at Hyatt Regency, San Francisco

As reported in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, about 400 Hyatt Regency workers represented by Unite Here Local 2 staged a three-day strike last week to pressure Hyatt hotels to negotiate a fair contract, stop unilaterally increasing workloads, and lower health care costs.

Inn crowd grows in Times Square: Rivalry heats up with InterContinental’s arrival

When the InterContinental New York Times Square opens in July, the 36-story property on West 44th Street and Eighth Avenue will be the largest hotel to be built in the city since 2002.

HTC ally Chuck Schumer to become Senate Majority Leader

The new Congress and Biden administration are days away from taking on the monumental task of implementing a national strategy to combat the coronavirus pandemic and rebuild our economy in a way that lifts up working people. The election of Georgia Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the United States Senate on January 5th not only delivered the Democratic Party a majority in both chambers of Congress and put President-elect Biden in a position to realistically enact his ambitious agenda, but it also elevated New York Senator Chuck Schumer to the powerful position of Senate Majority Leader.

This is great news for workers across our country. Throughout his 40 years in Congress, Senator Schumer has been an advocate for working people, a fierce supporter of the labor movement, and a very loyal friend to our Union. His new power will likely translate into more COVID-19 relief, dramatic labor law reforms that make it easier to organize a union, and a national $15 minimum wage. Read more...

Marathoners boost NYC hotel occupancy rates

Marathoners running in the New York City marathon pushed occupancy rates to above 90 percent in a good many Manhattan hotels this fall, and even gave rates in other boroughs and New Jersey a lift.

Eric Adams, Our Choice for NYC Mayor

By HTC President Rich Maroko

In February, our Union endorsed Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams in his campaign for New York City mayor.

This election may be the most consequential one we’ve faced since we started our Union’s political program 15 years ago. The leaders we elect this year will decide how to rebuild our City’s economy, drive tourism, and reopen the hotel industry after the COVID-19 pandemic. They will have a huge say over how working people – and our members – are treated during the economic recovery. If that weren’t reason enough to take these elections seriously, in all likelihood, whoever wins the mayoral election will also be elected to a second term. That means that the mayor who is elected this year will likely be in power when our industry-wide contract expires in 2026. Read more...

Republican “HEALS” Act is really the “HURTS Act”

July 31, 2020 12:06 PM

Back in May, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act, a comprehensive bill that would extend the emergency increase of $600/week in unemployment benefits through January 31, grant nearly $1 trillion dollars in emergency support for local and state governments, fund and expand programs to help working people during this crisis, and shore up the teetering U.S. economy. 

For over two and a half months, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the Republican-controlled Senate have refused to vote on - or even debate - the HEROES Act, and they have also exhibited no sense of urgency to propose their own bill.

On Monday, July 27th, McConnell finally released a Republican proposal: the “HEALS Act.” The inaptly named bill fails miserably to address the current crisis facing many Americans. Read more...