The hotel workers union in New York City yields outsized political influence, blocking projects that would turn hotels into residential housing or homeless shelters. That helps keep rents high and people on the streets, but protects jobs. It also ruins hotels.
It’s no surprise the city threatened to fine hotels tens of millions of dollars if they didn’t re-open and so some did bare bones re-opening, bringing back some workers, just to avoid the fines even though the projects were going to be money-losers for awhile.
The New York Times summarizes their power.
The Hotel Trades Council ranked among the top independent spenders in the election cycle of 2017, when all 26 City Council candidates endorsed by the union won. Some of these officials ended up on powerful land use and zoning committees, giving the union influence over important building decisions in New York.
The union is also powerful in dealing with hotels,
Some hotel owners, speaking on the condition of anonymity, say they are fearful of crossing the union, which has a $22 million fund that can compensate workers during strikes. In an interview, Mr. Maroko pointed out that the hotel industry is particularly vulnerable to boycotts.
New York hotels are a different world. One of my cousins was a food and beverage manager at a large convention hotel in the city while she was in college. She had to fire someone for drinking on the job – and when they went to replace the employee, that same employee was the only one the union would send to interview. There were few consequences for people who hid out in corridors and break rooms instead of working for most of the day.
One major luxury hotel in the city eliminated room service, and instituted delivery from their restaurant, as a strategy to renegotiate how room service would work. They couldn’t revamp the operation without closing it down for a year.
The union scored a victory last year getting the city to require a special permit to build a new hotel, a move that even the New York’s own planning experts said was insane. It limits hotel rooms in the city, driving up price. That’s good for existing hotel owners, but bad for visitors and the economy. It’s also bad for tax revenue as the city’s budget strains. The benefit to the union? New hotels might be non-union, but to get a permit they’re going to have to submit to the union.
@ Gary — There are probably plenty of empty rooms at Trump’s NYC hotel(s). You might even find some nuclear secrets in your room safe.
Oh, Gary, Gary, Gary, talk about wantonly stirring the pot of shite.
You could just as easily have written:
“The Real Estate Board of New York City, which opposed the moves by City Council to protect the wages of local hotel workers, yields outsized political influence as the leading trade group advocating on policy changes in the real estate industry, backs political candidates deemed friendly to real estate companies…”Few industries gave more — and frequently in large amounts — than real estate.”…Thanks to the enactment of the 1994 New York state Limited liability company (LLC) law millions of dollars are donated to Albany and local politicians “from luxury residential buildings, office towers and parking garages controlled by some of New York City’s biggest tycoons.” All owned by “LLCs, a structure shielded from New York’s tight restrictions on corporate campaign donations.”
…and…
“”REBNY members gave a tenth of all N.Y. campaign money,” in 2015 “which represents only some of the political spending by New York’s real estate industry.” Michael McKee, treasurer of Tenants PAC, said he “was concerned that state leaders would be more likely to heed REBNY’s positions than his own as a result of the contribution levels… “This is legalized bribery,” he said. “They’re quite used to buying what they want and getting it, and the legislature—both houses—has proven to be quite willing to give it to them.”Affordable housing and rent controlled apartments are disappearing as landlords exploit a “broken system, pushing out rent-regulated tenants and catapulting apartments into the free market.”
Now to continue with your claims:
“It’s no surprise the city threatened to fine hotels tens of millions of dollars if they didn’t re-open”
No, Gary, take about wanton misrepresentation to manipulate your narrative – it seems that the hotels were not being threatened by “fines” as you speciously and incorrectly claim, rather a requirement to pay hotel workers’ wages in the event hotels did not reopen / employ as percentage of their workforce.
And then you claim:
“The union scored a victory last year getting the city to require a special permit to build a new hotel, a move that even the New York’s own planning experts said was insane. It limits hotel rooms in the city, driving up price.”
Of course you don’t qualify your claim – for example, you ignore the pre-COVID growth in hotel rooms with 21,000 new hotel rooms added 2015 to 2019, you don’t mention that the special permit only applies to limited zones (mostly some areas in lower Manhattan) and you speciously presume that such permits would stop new hotel development.
Of course, all you need to round things off nicely, is some anecdote from a cousin, because, we all, like, know a cousin who did a hospitality job whilst at college with a sorry tale to tell. It’s called hearsay, Gary, and based on a very tenuous premise (union refused to send alternate candidates).
Here is the market analysis of NY hotels released by the City Council for those with a genuine interest:
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/planning-level/housing-economy/nyc-hotel-market-analysis.pdf
@Gary – If @platy is correct, it kind of looks like you’re trying to do a hatchet piece. Over the years I’ve seen you write a number of pieces that skewer unions but I don’t remember any that speak well of them. While a union with poor leadership can be a catastrophe, unions overall are vital for large companies and organizations since neither management nor customers are likely to fight for employees not to get hosed. Somebody’s gotta look out for the little people. Who else would you suggest besides these highly flawed instruments?
@Christian – platy is offering misleading non-sequiturs. And he’s offering complete misrepresentations.
““The Real Estate Board of New York City, which opposed the moves by City Council to protect the wages of local hotel workers, yields outsized political influence” obviously untrue since the hotel workers union has been winning these political battles. Read the New York Times (not an anti-union source, at least with respect to non-NYT unions!) piece I link to.
“No, Gary, take about wanton misrepresentation to manipulate your narrative – it seems that the hotels were not being threatened by “fines” as you speciously and incorrectly claim, rather a requirement to pay hotel workers’ wages in the event hotels did not reopen / employ as percentage of their workforce.”
I used the term fine colloquially. The city legislation never envisioned workers getting a payout, it was a threat of huge financial punishment for not re-opening and giving workers their jobs back, so hotels (like the old Grand Hyatt) partially re-opened when they saw no economic reason to do so – because the city-imposed cost would have been greater.
“you ignore the pre-COVID growth in hotel rooms with 21,000 new hotel rooms added 2015 to 2019,”
total non-sequitur, hotel rooms were added in the city, now it’s tough to do so in parts of the city without first acquiescing to union demands and to protect owners of the rooms that have already been added.
As for past stories that are pro-union, I’ve written quite a few for instance about hotel housekeepers.
Fair enough. Thanks for the details and now that you mention it I do believe I recall you writing favorably about housekeepers. My apologies.
@Gene
It makes me happy how angry President Trump makes.
No charges yet!!! =)
@platy
I’m surprised you can show your face here after your little transgender pseudoscience meltdown.
Powerful unions. Is there some news here somewhere?
@ Gary Leff says:
December 12, 2022 at 12:15 pm
“obviously untrue since the hotel workers union has been winning these political battles.”
Gary – your misrepresentation is that the City Council policy is solely determined by the advocacy from the union. Your misrepresentation is that you ignored the powerful and cashed-up lobbying from the very organisation that has opposed the union on occasion. This was never mentioned, nor the extent of the REBNY cash donations and influence.
Now, to cover the glaring hole in your article, you want to claim that the sole determinant of Council Policy is are just conflicting drivers – one advocated by the “union” and the other by the REBNY (?).
And now you want to justify the aforementioned misrepresentations you’re claiming it’s all a battle that the union is predefined to win because of their overwhelming lobbying (thus creating a self satisfying circular argument) (?)
‘You are inferring that councillors endorsed by unions are necessarily doing their unions bidding and not acting in the City’s best interests (?)
“I used the term fine colloquially.”
But such usage creates another and immediate misrepresentation in your article. You did use that word wantonly, it served your purpose in ranting against the City Council and “union” because you know damned well you’re more likely to trigger the outrage and BS in readers and commentators here, being the shite stirrer that you’ve become.
“The city legislation never envisioned workers getting a payout”
Eh – your article and reposts offers no evidence for such a statement.
“it was a threat of huge financial punishment”
Yep, again, that’s your spin, Gary. That’s the sort of statement that makes it clear you are engaged in a hatchet job rather than a reasoned and balanced take on the topic. Your website – your choice. It reveals your bias.
Others may view the City Council’s decision in the light of protecting workers’ incomes, assisting the local economy to recover during the difficult challenges post COVID, and stimulating the hotel industry to re-open for business. But, hey, it’s inconvenient to look at both the upside and downside, right? It undermines your one-sided ranting narrative.
“so hotels (like the old Grand Hyatt) partially re-opened when they saw no economic reason to do so – because the city-imposed cost would have been greater.”
Perhaps, for balance, Gary, you’d like to point out that the “punishment” you are asserting is likely a very small amount relative to the financial benefits of 40 years of tax breaks on local taxes that particular hotel has enjoyed in the period 1980 – 2020 (I’m seeing figures of around USD380-400 million in tax breaks).
“total non-sequitur, hotel rooms were added in the city”
Actually, not. It provides relevant context. There had already been substantial growth in hotels rooms in he two decades leading up to the pandemic. The city was not lacking rooms.
“now it’s tough to do so in parts of the city without first acquiescing to union demands and to protect owners of the rooms that have already been added.”
Your statement assumes that the permitting process is “tough”.
Your statement assumes that the union determined such council policy.
Your readers may be surprised to look at the map of those “parts of city” – they’ll find that the areas are relatively very small and are in very established districts, mostly in Lower Manhattan. Did you even look at that map before writing your article – we can assume, no, since you evidently rarely do any actual research for your articles.
Your readers may be surprised to read the document I have referenced in my post above, which is a comprehensive assessment of hotels in the city, exploring number of factors in play that affect the industry / city, and the balancing of stakeholders and their impacts, and the predicted oversupply / shortfalls in hotel rooms over the next few years.
Did you even look at that document before writing your article? Seems that the city council has done its own homework, Gary, not just done what the union tells it to do, per your simplistic and biased narrative.
“As for past stories that are pro-union, I’ve written quite a few for instance about hotel housekeepers.”
IIRC you’ve also written a swag of union bashing articles.
There’s a syndrome, I dont know the name of it, but it happens when someone who is the world’s leading expert in a particular field – or close to it – decides to write about an unrelated subject…
…making the assumption that because they are expert in one area, they must be equally expert in this unrelated field. Whereas what they write is glaringly incorrect and shows only how much life has passed them by while they were focused on their one great pastime.
@ Christian
“it kind of looks like you’re trying to do a hatchet piece.”
Please may I encourage you to click on the link my first post above – it’s immediately clear from this document that the City Council has been doing its research to back its policy.
Please spend a few minutes on Google to investigate the lobbying power of the Real Estate Board on NY, their intentions and claims of levels of political influence and the amounts of money being splashed around (in a structure that avoids limits on such).
Please look at the map of those areas where hotel permits are to apply on the NYCC website.
Please draw your own conclusions (don’t take my word for this stuff – the evidence is at your fingertip)
Be well…..;)
@platy – comparison to the REAL ESTATE BOARD also complete non-sequitur. Lots of corrupt machine politics in New York but that doesn’t distract from the narrow point of this post which is that the NYC hotel worker’s union is both making the hotel experience worse and more costly and doing it in a way that’s unique compared to most cities in the U.S.
Gary,
Your whole article is a non-sequitur.
Believe me the power of REBNY dwarfs that of the Hotel workers union.
If you are so pro housekeeper, you should be encouraging them to unionize across the country.
The housekeepers in expensive NYC actually earn a living wage. I am sure you will not begrudge them a living wage!
@ Gary Leff says:
“comparison to the REAL ESTATE BOARD also complete non-sequitur.”
No, it’s not, Gary. It offsets your characterisation of the “union” being the primary political force in play, which in turn is already feeding the prejudices of your readers (see Judy’s comment above).
“the narrow point of this post which is that the NYC hotel worker’s union is both making the hotel experience worse and more costly”
Your article and subsequent posts totally fails to substantiate that position.
You have presented a one-sided and biased “opinion piece ” without any context, balance, or actual evidence.
Your position is predicated on a list of unproven implicit assumptions, ranging from the implied level of influence of the union on city council, to the inference that councillors are failing in balancing the best interests of the city in their policy platform, to the difficulty of obtaining permits, etc.
You provide a very simplistic downside-only economic broad brushstroke (e.g. you ignore any upside in encouraging re-opening of the city’s hotels).
You select the exceptional case of a hotel that was about to close down (which ironically had entertained USD100s millions in tax breaks, of course not mentioned), as if representative of the city’s hotel collegiate.
Your use language in a careless and misleading fashion to suit your opinion and encourage prejudice in your readers.
“in a way that’s unique compared to most cities in the U.S.”
And now you change the argument (again), as ever, with zero actual data / evidence.
Your website – you choice. But repeatedly beset with wantonly misleading titles and content – the Burger King headline a recent and very obvious example (confusing the corporation with an individual).
@ Gary Leff
Now impress me – tell me honestly that you had actually read the City Council’s own assessment of the NY hotels industry linked in my first post before you wrote your article…
So which of the five families do palty’s cousins work for?
@ Chad — It’s pathetic that you think that espionage by the former POTUS and gray-mailing the US DOJ with stolen documents is some sort of joke. It is treason and carries stiff penalties. The wheels of justice may move slowly, but they will prevail (see Lockerbie bombing…).
Last month, I attended a conference at the Sheraton Times Square. My room wasn’t ready at check-in so I left my bag at the bell desk and went to my meeting. When I got the call that my room was ready, I went to front desk. Between the elite and non-elite queues, there were 25 people in line…and one employee at each desk checking in. When a friend ahead of me asking if a manager or a concierge could come in and process the backlog quicker, he was told the front-desk union rules only allowed their members to check people in.
I’m never attending a conference at that hotel again.
First of all, hotels are run by management companies. The Union’s fight is with the owners of the hotels. A 22 million dollar war chest is nothing against the billions the billions in the hands of the owners (hedge funds, Blackrock, Sunshine, etc”. ). That said, the New York Union can be very unfair to non union subs and some of the contracts they require owners to sign are ridiculous. “3 beers per cook ,per shift.” How do you prove a drunk cook half asleep had more? Today, we have impossible to fire union employees that laugh at management. Subs have to do the real work, since there just aren’t enough Union employees with specialty skills Believe me, Union’s may have been a needed in the past and there time has gone – except for the fact that Covid hit the industry very hard. Companies that had 20 years with hotels were never hired back, employees were not paid, many small businesses with 10, 15 and 20 years with hotels were fired without 30 day notices, not hired back, etc. Only those with Union Contracts were respected enough to be hired back to work. You don’t need the Union’s until you do. Capitalism didn’t get better, Covid taught us that much. You may never need the union but when you do , you better thank your lucky stars they are there.