Unite Here Local 6

The union is a member of the New York City Central Labor Council and the Hotel Trades Council. Hotel Trades Council president Peter Ward is also the leader of Unite Here Local 6. ¹

Unite Here Local 6 also has a political action committee (PAC) called Local 6 Committee on Political Education. The PAC has donated large amounts of money to Democratic Party officeholders such as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Democratic Party-affiliated committees such as the New York State Democratic Committee. ²

Background

Unite Here Local 6 is a Unite Here (sometimes styled UNITE HERE or Unite HERE) affiliated labor union that represents employees in the hotel industry in metropolitan New York. Local 6 is a member of the New York City Central Labor Council and the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council (known as the Hotel Trades Council or HTC).

Unite Here Local 6 is headed by Peter Ward, who serves concurrently as president of the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council, a child organization of the AFL-CIO. Ward is also the vice president of New York City Central Labor Council and vice president of the New York State AFL-CIO. ¹

Political Activities

The Hotel Trades Council, which is closely associated with Unite Here Local 6 through its president Peter Ward, is a major force in New York City politics. HTC, which has been described as one of the City’s four most-powerful labor unions, was the largest political spender in New York City’s often-determinative 2017 Democratic primary elections. ^{3 4} HTC, through its PAC Hotel Workers for Stronger Communities, spent $400,976 on six city council primary races during the election period. ⁴

The union has lobbied aggressively for “special permits” for hotel construction which would effectively require unionization. The permits were promised by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2015 and will force developers to consult with the union while building hotels in manufacturing zones. ⁴

HTC-backed members of the City Council led legislative efforts to enact union-backed restrictions on short-term rentals service AirBnB. ⁵ Council members Keith Powers and Laurie Cumbo both accepted nearly $115,000 from HTC during the 2013 and 2017 election cycles. ⁶

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s now-defunct Campaign for One New York also received a donation of $200,000 from Unite Here in 2015, while positive talks between City Hall and AirBnB were being conducted. Despite the positive discussions between the company and City Hall, communications were reportedly severed days after Bill de Blasio’s Campaign for One New York received the donation. ⁷

Unite Here Local 6 has a PAC called Local 6 Committee on Political Education. The committee has donated $235,850 to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) between December 2005 and July 2018. ²

The PAC has also donated $200,000 to the left-wing Working Families Party between 2008 and 2012, and $108,000 to the New York State Democratic Committee between 2005 and 2014. ²