{"id":1897,"date":"2026-05-19T16:41:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T16:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/19\/new-york-hotel-workers-union-reaches-deal-to-avoid-strike-ahead-of-world-cup\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T16:41:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T16:41:18","slug":"new-york-hotel-workers-union-reaches-deal-to-avoid-strike-ahead-of-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=1897","title":{"rendered":"New York hotel workers union reaches deal to avoid strike ahead of World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"f0a4783c-12c6-41fb-96c9-fa3a8244c790\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"people hold signs that say 'HTC'\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9a9fe05a4c82cd376d196edfc78ae39548c08353\/0_0_8233_5489\/master\/8233.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310.01882667314464\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">People holding Hotel and Gaming Trades Council signs participate in a demonstration at Washington Square Park, New York City, on 1 May.<\/span> Photograph: Adam Gray\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"f0a4783c-12c6-41fb-96c9-fa3a8244c790\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">People holding Hotel and Gaming Trades Council signs participate in a demonstration at Washington Square Park, New York City, on 1 May.<\/span> Photograph: Adam Gray\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">New York hotel workers union reaches deal to avoid strike ahead of World Cup<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Eight-year contract between union and hospitality industry group will boost pay of hotel housekeepers to over $100,000<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A deal between a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/new-york\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">New York<\/a> hotel union and an hospitality industry group is set to boost the earnings of hotel housekeepers to more than$100,000, as part of a pact to avoid threatened strike action during the Fifa World Cup beginning in June<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The eight-year contract agreement between the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council \u2013 representing 27,000 hotel workers \u2013 and the Hotel Association of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/new-york\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">New York<\/a> City, which represents 250 hotels, establishes 50% wage raises along with free family healthcare, increased pension contributions, new benefit funds and expanded rights at work, union officials said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The terms of the deal were announced on Monday, on the same day that unions representing Long Island railroad workers called off a strike that had for three days crippled the rail transport system into the city.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The hotel workers\u2019 deal will raise the housekeepers\u2019 pay of nearly $40 an hour to more than $61 hourly over eight years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWage increases were our primary focus in this contract cycle because the cost of living for our members has been increasing so dramatically,\u201d the union\u2019s president,Rich Maroko, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/18\/nyregion\/nyc-hotel-housekeepers-pay.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">told the New York Times.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The hotel association\u2019s president, Vijay Dandapani, said in a statement to the Guardian that his group was \u201cproud the New York hotel industry will continue to provide the best pay and benefits in the country\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But Dandapani also cautioned that the group\u2019s members were facing \u201ctremendous economic headwinds\u201d and exceptionally high taxes. He said 20,000 hotel rooms had been lost since the Covid-19 pandemic, and demand had not fully recovered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Anticipated demand for hotel rooms for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/world-cup-2026\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">World Cup<\/a> has failed to materialize. Data from the commercial real estate company CoStar shows that bookings at many hotels in New York City area are only about one-third filled, or nearly 12% below levels in 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">New York City\u2019s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said recently that soccer fans may be waiting until second-round matchups are finalized.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Eight games are scheduled for the area, including the final, at New Jersey\u2019s MetLife stadium.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A pressure group, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifahotelstrike.org\/pledge-your-support\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">fifahotelstrike.org<\/a>, had warned that the hotel workers union\u2019s existing contract was set to expire midway through the games. It spoke of \u201ca distinct possibility that there will be strikes, pickets, and lockouts at some [New York City] hotels during the 2026 FIFA World Cup\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The group invited supporters to pledge: \u201cIf workers go on strike or call for a boycott, I will not eat, sleep, or meet at the hotel. Under [city] law, guests have the right to cancel their reservations and get a full refund in the event of a strike, and I commit to exercise that right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">After the contract deal was announced, Mamdani said in a statement that it \u201cis a win for our hospitality industry, our economy and for a city that works best when the people who keep it running can afford to live here, too\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Beyond staving off threatened strike action during the World Cup, the hoteliers union deal has raised concerns that New York City hotel room rates will need to rise to offset higher labor costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">According to CoStar, New York City has the highest average room rates of any major US city, at about $335 a night. New York City, however, also has the nation\u2019s highest occupancy rate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/new-york\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">New York<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-unions\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US unions<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/football\/world-cup-2026\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">World Cup 2026<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/football\/fifa\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Fifa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/travel\/hotels\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Hotels<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/business\/hospitality-industry\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Hospitality industry<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=New%20York%20hotel%20workers%20union%20reaches%20deal%20to%20avoid%20strike%20ahead%20of%20World%20Cup&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/19\/new-york-hotel-workers-world-cup-union-deal?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F19%2Fnew-york-hotel-workers-world-cup-union-deal&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/19\/new-york-hotel-workers-world-cup-union-deal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People holding Hotel and Gaming Trades Council signs participate in a demonstration at Washington Square Park, New York<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}