The city’s powerful labor unions, which are pushing legislation to ban New York hotels from outsourcing certain front-line jobs, have noted that records show they have routinely outsourced administrative work at their Manhattan headquarters, including to non-union companies.
According to records filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, over the past 10 years, the Hotel Labor Council has spent more than $700,000 on contracts with outside companies for maintenance and cleaning services at its offices at 701-709 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.
HTC/Local 6 Unite Here spent more than $240,000 on Sterling Cleaning Services, a non-union cleaning company, in 2022-2023.
The company also paid more than $53,000 to RJR Maintenance Group, a non-union company.
In addition, the union outsourced millions of dollars a year to legal, consulting and computer services.
HTC/Unite Here Local 6 owns 701-707 Eighth Ave. and 709-715 Eighth Ave. through subsidiary Hacels, LLC.
Marcia Azeez serves as Chief Financial Officer for both groups.
In 2023, the union spent $109,296 on computer services and $83,000 on political consulting.
Records show $2,149,365 was paid to legal counsel and $702,568 to general consultants.
The union-backed hotel bill would require core hotel staff, such as housekeeping and maintenance, to be employed in-house rather than outsourced.
Supporters of the measure argue it could be particularly useful in combating sex trafficking because hotel employees are more stable and can more easily spot aberrant and potentially illegal behavior.
Hoteliers have opposed the measure, likening it to an economic nuclear bomb being dropped on the industry.
Critics of the bill add that the fact that the HTC seeks to deny hoteliers and managers the flexibility and option to outsource certain services that their own management relies on to manage their hotels is a blatant hypocrisy.
“The hotel unions’ anti-outsourcing campaign is nothing more than hypocritical theatre,” said Charliss Bozzello, communications director for the Labor Union Fact Center, a labor union watchdog group.
“It’s outrageous that they are pushing regulations that they themselves ignore by outsourcing their core services,” Bozzello said. “Their double standards should make workers question the union’s intentions.”
Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the New York City Hotel Association, said it’s important for New York hotels to have the flexibility to outsource operations.
“Both union and non-union hotels have an absolute need to hire outsourced workers for various needs to keep costs down and to perform tasks that union workers (union hotels) will not or cannot perform,” Dandapani said in a statement.
“For example, in unionized hotels, deep cleaning of marble and granite floors and certain types of HVAC maintenance and repair work are almost always outsourced,” he said. “Non-union hotels, especially smaller suburban hotels, keep costs down in an environment where operating costs are very high, with New York City boasting the highest operating costs and highest real estate tax levies in the nation.”
The union said comparing its outsourcing spending to that of hotels misses the point.
“Comparing a hotel to a midtown office building is as absurd as comparing apples to pianos,” HTC spokesman Austin Shafran said in a statement.
“You don’t have people selling methamphetamine or trafficking women in office cubicles. Most office buildings use outside contractors for cleaning and maintenance because that’s not an office worker’s job. But a hotel employee’s core job is cleaning and spotting criminal activity. That’s why this law requires that only core hotel employees be directly employed by the hotel,” Shafran said.
He also said it was standard practice to hire outside lawyers and political and media consultants.
“Unfortunately, unions’ use of outside law firms and consultants is a common defense against attacks from greedy hoteliers and ruthless media outlets like this one,” Shafran said.
According to sources, the hotel bill was proposed by Councilwoman Julie Mennin (D-Manhattan), who is running for the position of City Council Speaker.
