Who We Are

The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, AFL-CIO, (Hotel Trades Council for short), is the union for hotel and gaming workers in New York and Northern New Jersey.

Our union represents nearly 40,000 non-managerial hospitality and gaming employees working in all departments, including: housekeeping, public space, dining room, banquet, room service, kitchen, stewarding, bar, mini-bar, audio-visual, front desk, reservations, PBX, bell and door services, concierge, night auditing, laundry, valet, engineering, maintenance, electrical, carpentry, painting, upholstery, business centers, night cleaning, health spas, security, garage, purchasing and receiving, storeroom, cage, slots, poker, and table games employees.

More than 300 hotels and other related businesses employ our members and are under contract to our union. This accounts for approximately 75% of the hotel industry within the five boroughs of New York City.

Our Membership

The membership of our union is united and militant, but also incredibly diverse. They come from many nations and backgrounds and speak more than 50 languages.

The workers represented by our union enjoy the best union contract for hotel workers in the world, guaranteeing excellent wages, benefits, working conditions, and standards of fair treatment.

Labor unions are the most important progressive and grassroots organizations in the United States. Unlike many other nonprofits, unions are controlled and funded entirely by the constituency they serve - the working people who make up their membership. Every day, unions are on the front lines in the real fight for democracy and justice.

Our History

The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council was formed in the late 1930's in a massive city-wide campaign to organize the hotel industry. Every previous attempt at unionization, including a general strike by New York City hotel and restaurant workers in 1912, had been crushed by the hotel owners.

Our first industry-wide contract was signed on January 18, 1939 and included a ground-breaking provision banning discrimination in employment. The Council, and its affiliated locals, have since been at the forefront of the civil rights movement.

 

For over seventy years, our union has been a powerful force for social justice, progress, and human rights.

Read more about our proud history HERE.