HTC Union Wins 8-Year Hotel Deal With 50% Pay Rise as Healthcare Stays Free
Updated
Updated · hotelworkers.org · May 19
HTC Union Wins 8-Year Hotel Deal With 50% Pay Rise as Healthcare Stays Free
4 articles · Updated · hotelworkers.org · May 19
An 8-year tentative industry-wide agreement would lift wages by more than 50% on average, with room attendants and other non-tipped workers reaching six-figure pay by the end of the contract.
The deal keeps free family healthcare intact despite late-2025 cost spikes, with employers raising Health Benefits Fund contributions by 3 percentage points to 30.25% of payroll—nearly $65 million a year.
Employer pension contributions will also rise, while the contract adds housing and child-care funds, fully paid parental leave, Juneteenth as a paid holiday, and protections against AI-driven job losses.
A union ratification vote is set for May 21; members at me-too hotels will be covered automatically, while a handful of holdout hotels face a June 30, 2026 contract expiration.
The union said the breakthrough came from strike leverage, mass member mobilization and political steps that would have made any walkout more costly for hotels.
Will six-figure salaries for housekeepers make New York City hotels unaffordable for most tourists?
As housekeeper pay soars, will robots soon be cleaning New York's most expensive hotel rooms?
Is this landmark union deal a new blueprint for service workers or an unrepeatable NYC exception?