Saturday, July 20, 2024 On July 18, members of the New York City Council introduced a bill that imposes additional licensing requirements for hotels operating in the city. This legislation mandates that non-union hotels eliminate the use of subcontractors for core functions, effectively enforcing unionization through government intervention. Furthermore, the bill requires that all hotel owners be treated as joint employers along with hotel operators, setting strict regulations for various hotel staffing functions.
“This abrupt and destructive bill would permanently alter how hotels operate and threaten the jobs of thousands of New Yorkers,” said AHLA Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey. “If it becomes law, thousands of hotel jobs could be lost, hotels will shutter, and New York City’s economy – especially small business retailers, restaurants, and other hotel service providers – will suffer substantially. The bill imposes workplace rules that should be negotiated at the collective bargaining table, and fast-tracking a proposal of this magnitude in the dead of summer without input from hoteliers is policy malpractice.
” “What’s more, the legislation creates a one-size-fits-all model that fails to take into account the unique staffing and operational needs of the city’s nearly 700 hotels. The legislation’s proposed ban preventing non-union hotels from subcontracting certain functions will ruin the ability of many small-business hotels to maintain consistent.