A Report from HTC President Rich Maroko

The past few months have shown encouraging signs of recovery in the hospitality industry – 70% of our members are back at work and that number is projected to rise to 85% by the end of the year. While the fact that our industry is improving is certainly welcome news, the harsh reality is that thousands of our members are still on lay off and waiting to be recalled. The hardships of the pandemic are still very real for those members. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. In addition to the projected continuing growth of our industry, three new casino licenses will soon be issued, bringing thousands of new hospitality jobs into New York City. Read more...

Newsfeed

A brief report on our Union's progress since the start of the year.

'Round And About

Community news from our Union brothers and sisters

Know Your Rights: Just Cause

Imagine you go to work one day wearing a blue shirt, only to discover that your boss hates the color blue, and he fires you for wearing it. Absurd, right? But this is perfectly legal in the United States because we are an employment-at-will country. Read more...

The HTC Chef

A simple, but elegant dish for summer time, crab cakes are an easy dish for the home chef to wow their guests with. The main flavor of these crab cakes comes from the fresh tarragon marinating in the mayonnaise base overnight.

While most recipes use breadcrumbs, Chef Michael prefers Oyster crackers as they add a more unique flavor to the crab cakes. They are naturally salty so you don’t need to add salt. He also opts for lemon zest instead of lemon juice as the natural oils in the zest create a much more potent flavor. Read more...

A Look Back at the 1912 Waiters Strike

The first president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), Samuel Gompers, once said that New York was the cradle of the American Labor Movement. In the early 1900s, New York workers across different industries were organizing themselves to fight against terrible conditions. Among these workers were hotel workers who attempted to organize against the exploitation of the hospitality industry. Read more...

HTC President Rich Maroko appointed to NYC Covid-19 recovery task force

In an effort to speed up New York City’s economic and health recovery, Mayor Adams launched the COVID-19 Recovery Roundtable and Health Equity Task Force. The commission will advise the Adams’ administration on long-term health care and health equity policies. Read more...

2021 Dues Increase Postponed Once More

As our members know, last year’s September 1^st dues increase was postponed until January 1^st of 2022. The 2021 dues increase has once again been postponed until September of this year. Read more...

HTC Expands Its Footprint In The Garden State!

On Wednesday, March 23, the Union celebrated the grand opening of its first New Jersey office in Montclair while simultaneously ratifying contracts with workers at 10 Extended Stay hotels throughout New Jersey! Read more...

Kathy Hochul, Our Choice for NY Governor

Our Union is proud to endorse New York Governor Kathy Hochul in her 2022 bid for Governor. In just a few months of her brief time as Governor, Hochul has stood out as a leader who is willing to listen to New Yorkers, find sensible solutions, and then execute them at lightning speed. Read more...

HTC Endorses Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for Re-Election

Our Union is proud to endorse New York Senator and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for re-election in 2022.

“Over the last two years, Senator Schumer has been an unwavering friend to our Union’s 40,000 members,” remarked HTC President Rich Maroko. “Not only has he been willing to fight for us when we needed him the most, but he has proven that he has the skills to win big and bold improvements for America’s working class.” Read more...

HTC VOTES: Letitia James for New York Attorney General!

Our Union supports New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ campaign for re-election in 2022. Since her election in 2018, Attorney General James has made it clear that her priority is fighting for working people and protecting middle class New Yorkers from the greed of big business and special interests groups. Read more...

HTC VOTES: Tom DiNapoli for New York State Comptroller

Our Union is proud to endorse Tom DiNapoli for re-election as New York State Comptroller. The State’s Comptroller is responsible for making sure the State uses taxpayer money effectively, managing New York State’s Public Pension Fund for over 1 million public employees and retirees, and reporting on the State’s finances. Read more...

HTC Rallies for Governor Hochul at the New York State Democratic Convention

On February 17^th, a delegation of over 100 HTC members attended the New York State Democratic Convention at the invitation of Governor Kathy Hochul. The convention, held at the Sheraton Times Square, is where the state Democratic Party nominates candidates for statewide elected positions such as governor, attorney general, comptroller, and lieutenant governor. Read more...

“Nobody does it better than HTC!” – HTC Celebrates NY Gov Kathy Hochul and More Pro - Union Candidates!

On Thursday, March 10th, at our Union auditorium, HTC proudly endorsed New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli in the upcoming 2022 elections! Nearly 200 HTC members filled the room and showed their support for the pro-worker and pro-union elected officials, hoisting up signs and shouting out chants. Read more...

A Recipe for Political Success

With a spate of recent political victories for our Union in New York and New Jersey, unions across the country are asking HTC what our secret recipe is for political success. For the first time ever, we’ve decided to share our union-family recipe, dating all the way back to 1939. Read more...

Hotel Association’s Attempt to Stop Hotel Worker Severance Law Fails

In September 2021, the New York City Council voted overwhelmingly to pass The Hotel Worker Severance Bill, designed to help laid-off hotel workers and incentivize closed hotels to reopen.The law, which was supported by our Union and signed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, required hotels with at least 100 rooms to reopen by November 1, 2021 and recall at least 25% of their staff. If hotels did not open by November 1st, they were obligated to pay employees a weekly severance of $500 for up to 30 weeks. This law both created an incentive for hotels to reopen and recall their staff, and provided a financial cushion for the staff of those hotels that chose to remain closed. Read more...

Yotel Union Members See Light at End of Tunnel

HTC members from Yotel on 42nd street recently triumphed in their legal fight against Yotel owner and anti-union law firm, Baker Hostetler. These Union members were left without any certainty about their futures during a pandemic that ravaged the country

During the pandemic, Yotel eliminated an entire department without bargaining with the Union. Not only was the failure to recall a whole department of workers with families to feed during a pandemic immoral, but it was also in violation of a 2016 agreement between the hotel and the Union. Read more...

Arbitrator’s Award Confirmed by Federal Court

In a recent victory for our Union, the US District Court of the Southern District of New York upheld an arbitrators’ decision that confirmed the strength of our Union’s contract language.

The owners of the Wagner Hotel, a company called Urban Commons, filed a motion to overturn an arbitrator’s award which determined they had violated the Industry Wide Agreement. When Urban Commons bought the Wagner in 2018, they agreed to be bound by the IWA. One of the provisions of the IWA requires that any change in ownership or control include binding the new owner or operator to the contract, meaning who’s running the hotel might change but the contract has to stay the same. Read more...

20 Years and Still Going Strong – the Union’s Writing Contest of 2022 Offers Cash Prizes to High School Students

Calling all budding writers and journalists! The Union is proud to announce the commencement of the 20^th Anniversary of the annual Writing Contest. The rules of the contest have remained unchanged from previous years. Entries can be submitted by children and eligible dependents of Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and/or Local 6 members, who are high school students in grades 10, 11 or 12. All entries must be submitted by Friday, August 19, 2022. Read more...

Tributes

During this difficult time when we can not come together and grieve in person and provide each other comfort, we wanted to take the space to remember and celebrate the lives of Union members who have passed during the last year.