New York City hotel workers represented by the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council (HTC) union voted to ratify an eight-year contract on May 21. The union and the Hotel Association of New York reached a tentative agreement on the contract on May 18, six weeks before the current contract was set to expire. Of the 27,000 workers across 250 hotels covered by the contract, 6,050 voted to approve the agreement, while 11 voted no.
According to HTC, the new contract provides workers with “8 years of financial security and stability.” Hourly wages will increase by 5% every year – an average annual hourly wage increase of $2.65 and $1.32 for non-tipped and tipped workers, respectively. HTC states that room attendants will make $100,000 per year by 2031, although it does not specify whether this reflects the average worker or those at the top of the pay scale. The contract also includes the continuation of employee health insurance benefits, increases in employer pension contributions, and stronger job-protection language, according to HTC.
While some hotel workers told The Worker that they are satisfied with the wage increases, others expressed frustration.
“Why would anyone want to sign onto an eight-year contract?” one worker asked. “You’re trapped.”
“$100,000 won’t be much in eight years,” another worker stated. “It’s never enough.”
Additionally, other workers pointed out that inflation and the cost of living had risen much faster than their wages under the current contract, which was seen as a win at the time of its ratification in 2012. According to HTC, 93% of the workers it represents now earn below NYC’s cost-of-living threshold, with 42% living over an hour away from the hotels where they work.
Workers also shared that workloads have increased as hotels maintain pandemic-era staffing cuts. One worker stated that he now does the work that two workers did before the pandemic.
The agreement comes just three weeks before the start of the FIFA World Cup in NYC. FIFA’s economic impact summary estimates that the games will bring over 1.2 million tourists and $3 billion in revenue for New York and New Jersey, where matches will take place. On its “FIFA Hotel Strike” webpage, HTC states that “there is a distinct possibility that there will be strikes, pickets, and lockouts at some NYC hotels during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.”
Last December, Transport Workers Union Local 234 reached an agreement with Philadelphia-area transit authority SEPTA, citing the need to “not to interrupt service” during “the FIFA World Cup, MLB All-Star Game, and America’s 250th birthday.”
During the 2026 World Cup Draw, FIFA President Gianni Infantino awarded ultra-reactionary President Trump the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize – Football Unites the World.”
Image credit: Hotel and Gaming Trades Council.
The Worker is an entirely volunteer-run revolutionary newspaper free from and radically antagonistic to corporate influence. We rely on the support of our readers to sustain our editorial line in service of the working class and the reconstitution of its party, the Communist Party. Make a one-time or recurring donation to our newspaper today:
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
