Exclusive | ‘Hypocritical’ NYC union wants to ban hotel outsourcing –

A powerful city union that is pushing legislation to ban Big Apple hotels from contracting out certain front-line jobs outsources work all the time to manage its Manhattan headquarters — including to some non-union firms, records show.

The Hotel Trades Council spent more than $700,000 in contracts with outside firms over the past 10 years for maintenance and cleaning services for its offices at 701-709 Eighth Ave. in Manhattan, according to records filed with the US Labor Department.

HTC/Local 6 Unite Here spent more than $240,000 on a non-union cleaning company, Sterling Cleaning Services, in 2022-2023.

It also paid more than $53,000 to RJR Maintenance Group, a non-union firm, too.

In addition, the union farmed out millions of dollars for legal, consultant, and computer services per year.

HTC/Unite Here Local 6 owns 701-707 Eighth Ave. and 709-715 Eighth Ave. through a subsidiary called Hacels, LLC.

Marcia Azeez serves as the chief financial Officer of both groups.

In 2023, the union also spent $109,296 for computer services, $83,000 for political consulting,
$2,149,365 for legal counsel, and $702,568 for general consultants, records show.

The proposed hotel legislation supported by the union would require hotels’ core employees – such as housekeeping and maintenance – to be employed by the hotels rather than be contracted out.

Backers of the measure say it could, among other things, help combat sex-trafficking, since hotel workers are more steady and can spot unusual and potentially illicit activity more easily.

Hotel owners oppose the measure, likening it to a financial nuclear bomb that would be dropped on the industry.

The fact that the HTC wants to deny hotel owners and managers the flexibility and option of contracting out certain services — which its own leaders use to manage their property — is blatant hypocrisy, critics of the bill add.

“The hotel union’s crusade against outsourcing is nothing but hypocritical theater,” said Charlyce Bozzello, communications director of the Center for Union Facts, a union watchdog group.

“It’s outrageous that they’re pushing for regulations they themselves flout by outsourcing their own key services. Their double standard should make workers question the union’s true intentions,” Bozzello said.

Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, said it’s critical that New York hotels have that flexibility to outsource work.

“Both union and non-union hotels have an absolute need to hire outsourced labor for different needs both due to keeping costs in check as well as doing tasks that union labor (in union hotels) will not or cannot do,” Dandapani said in a statement.

“For example, in union hotels deep cleaning of marble and granite floors or certain types of HVAC maintenance and repair work is almost always outsourced,” he said. “Non-union hotels, particularly smaller ones in the outer boroughs, keep costs down in a very high cost of operating environment as New York City has the highest operating costs in the nation along with the highest real estate tax levy.”

The union said comparing its own outsource spending to that of hotels is off-base.  

“Comparing hotels to a midtown office building is as ridiculous as comparing apples to pianos,” said HTC spokesman Austin Shafran in a statement.

“People aren’t selling meth or sex trafficking women in office cubicles. Almost every office building uses outside services for cleaning and maintenance because that’s not what office workers do. But a core job of hotel workers is to clean and be able to spot criminal activity, which is why this legislation requires only those core hotel workers to be directly employed by the hotel,” Shafran said.

He also said the hiring of outside lawyers, political and media consultants is standard practice.

“The union’s use of outside law firms and consultants is unfortunately a common protection against greedy hotel owners and pathetic press attacks like this,” Shafran said.

The proposed hotel legislation is sponsored by city Councilwoman Julie Menin (D-Manhattan), who is jockeying to become the next council speaker, sources said.