A nationwide scarcity of late-night transit options is taking a toll on workers and businesses that operate outside of the traditional 9-to-5 schedule. Insufficient public transportation options forces employees to rely on more expensive means to get to and from work. Instead of paying only 3% of their income, a security guard making roughly $14 an hour may have to pay close to half of their income leasing a car and 31% of that income to afford gas.
Labor Day 2019
DC-ist-WAMU: Coalition to rally in support of stronger rent control laws this weekend
At a time when widespread immigration raids are commonly occurring, two major hotel chains with headquarters in D.C. have announced that they will not permit federal immigration enforcement agencies to utilize their hotel rooms as detention centers for immigration families due to a shortage of space in traditional detention centers.
Statement: UNITE HERE Local 25 Slams Threatened Raids and Deportations
The Daily Beast: Is this Embattled D.C. Hotel Sleazier than Trump's?
Last spring, two real estate developers named Matt Wexler and Brian Friedman barreled into a local community meeting in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., for a board called the Business Improvement District. The two had just opened a new hotel in the area, and they wanted more cops on the street. Furious that the board had not complied, Wexler read a four-page letter, demanding the leaders’ resignation over what he called “unethical,” “blatantly outlandish,” and “disgusting hypocrisy,” according to a report in Current Newspapers. The performance left the room in shock. “To come in and run roughshod over everyone because of your size—that’s not right,” BID Vice President Arianne Bennett, who runs a local falafel shop, told the outlet at the time. “I got bullied by my own personal Adams Morgan Donald Trump.”
Local 25 Testimony on QHTC Tax Incentives
Good afternoon. My name is Samuel Epps and I am the Political Director of UNITE HERE Local 25, a union representing over 7,500 hospitality workers in the D.C. region.
We support Councilmember Nadaeu’s amendment to scale back the ineffective QHTC incentives. The District’s Chief Financial Officer himself concluded in 2018 that QHTC had a minimal impact on creating jobs and revenue for the District. There’s simply no reason to hand out money to companies that aren’t investing in our residents, or providing meaningful benefits to our workers.
WAMU: MGM Grand National Harbor Workers Worried New Ownership Will Cost Jobs
The MGM Grand National Harbor is one of the top-grossing casinos for its parent company MGM Resorts International. But union employees are concerned that changes to its ownership structure could result in downsizing at the casino.
In a precautionary move, union workers gave public testimony Thursday asking Maryland’s Gaming Commission to increase regulation on hedge funds seeking stakes in casinos. Union workers are worried that MGM’s new relationship with hedge funds Corvex Capital and Lands & Buildings could influence staffing levels at the National Harbor casino.
Statement: Wall Street Investors Threaten Maryland’s Gaming Industry
Amidst growing concerns nationwide about the potentially corrosive influence of Wall Street Firms on casino management, UNITE HERE Local 25 will testify before Maryland’s Gaming Commission Meeting on Thursday, April 25th. Local 25 staff and members will call on the agency to work with stakeholders across the region to address these worrying changes in the industry.
WAMU: An Update On Metrorail’s Late-Night Service
The Federal Transit Administration announced that it might pull $1.6 billion in funding from the Washington region if WMATA decides to extend its Metrorail hours. The FTA cites safety concerns: Extended service hours would cut into overnight Metrorail maintenance.
This puts a wrinkle in the debate about extending Metrorail hours. Proponents of longer hours say that the current schedule disproportionately affects workers in the hospitality industry, who struggle to find reliable, affordable transportation once Metrorail closes. But others are worried that extending the hours would lead to more delays for daytime riders and an economic loss for the WMATA, since Metrorail maintenance would need to shift to daytime hours.
Statement: Ride-sharing won’t fix Metro’s problems with District workers
Washington Post: Metro to subsidize Uber & Lyft fares to fill late-night service gap
UNITE HERE Local 25, a hospitality union representing about 7,500 workers in the D.C. region, seized on the Metro plan as a “PR stunt.”
“Local 25 is deeply skeptical of [Metro’s] reported plan to subsidize ride-sharing instead of reinstating extended service hours,” the union said in a statement. “That [Metro’s] plan essentially proposes to privatize a part of our public transportation infrastructure in the process only adds insult to injury.”
Curbed: D.C. Council gives final approval to Airbnb regulations
D.C. residents who use Airbnb or similar booking services to rent out their homes will likely have to abide by new regulations starting next October, when they are set to go into effect. The policies represent the first time the city has charted comprehensive laws for short-term rental units—an effort that has sparked a fierce debate spanning roughly the past two years.
Jaffe Report: Winners and Losers in the DC Election
“John Boardman and Dyana Forester: The District’s unions went head to head with the developers and the business community in the at-large race — and beat them badly. Boardman’s UniteHere Local 25 of the Hotel Workers union put feet on the ground for Silverman, along with Forester’s United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400. Service employees (SEIU) and the Laborers union backed Silverman as well. In the coming political and policy battles, the unions put themselves in position to push around the business side, thanks to their support of Silverman.”
The Washington City Paper: The Line Hotel in Adams Morgan Draws Scrutiny Over D.C. Job Numbers
The D.C. First Source program was created to provide D.C. residents with job opportunities generated by development. However, the Department of Employee Services failed to effectively implement 80 percent of the law. Its failure is painful to say the least. One in every five D.C. residents lives in endemic poverty, while one in four children suffer from poverty.
The Line Hotel doesn’t deserve a “progressive” brand
NBC Washington: Downtown DC Residents Beg for Relief From Street Musician Noise
WAMU: District Wharf Phase II Faces Challenge From Labor Unions
Four labor unions oppose the development of phase II of the District Wharf development, arguing that it will perpetuate inequality and price out District families. The second phase will include mixed use buildings, waterfront piers and new public parking spaces. The unions will make their case on Nov. 6 and Nov. 9 at the D.C. Zoning Commission hearings
The Washington Post: Tourism is booming in the nation’s capital. So why aren’t hotel jobs?
Independent: Millionaire groped Washington hotel maid on visit for Donald Trump's inauguration
On January 19, millionaire John Joseph Boswell was a guest at the Mayflower hotel in downtown D.C, where he sexually assaulted a maid in his room. Boswell was in town to celebrate the inauguration of Donald Trump, when he took his celebrations too far by approaching the maid from behind and rubbing her buttocks as she made his bed .
The Washington Post: Workers at Trump’s Washington hotel vote to join union, casting spotlight on potential conflicts
Last Week around 40 housekeepers and guest-room workers at the Trump International Hotel Washington voted to join Unite Here Local 25. This is the first major unionization vote of Trump-company workers following Trump’s inauguration. This is not however the first time Unite Here has been affiliated with the Trump Company, in December the company reached negotiations With Unite Here Nevada to offer new benefits to employees at his Las Vegas hotel. Although Unite Here was not apart of Trump’s union talks early on, in the coming months another 80 Trump hotel workers are expected to vote on union membership.
The union marched during the Women’s March in Las Vegas the day after Trump’s inauguration, saying in a statement, “We will fight and ensure that all people who make this country great have a seat at the table.” John Boardman, executive secretary and treasurer of the Unite Here’s D.C. affiliate, said 95 percent of Trump housekeepers and guest-room workers voted to join the union, which will push to adopt the same benefits and protections offered to workers at other downtown Washington hotels.The union will serve as the workers’ bargaining agent with the Trump company, said Boardman, who expects contract negotiations to begin “very soon.” He said he thinks the company “would like to reach an agreement” and that negotiations would end fairly quickly. The union, Boardman said, hopes to cover Trump hotel workers under a broader multi-hotel agreement providing for pension plan increases and raises for workers, with housekeepers and dishwashers’ annual income rising to $52,000 by the end of the five-year contract.