In their battle with new management, immigrant workers for the luxury hotel Urban Resort NYC in Hell’s Kitchen say it’s been nothing short of “hell.”
Despite a union contract meant to protect them, immigrant workers at Urban Resort NYC, formerly Cachet Hotel, say they are still facing contract and payment disputes. They have also raised safety concerns over the conditions of working in the hotel.
Several workers at Urban Resort NYC, who spoke exclusively with Documented, claim that hotel management has continued to violate their union contract despite a Sept. 17, 2024 arbitration agreement reached with the workers union, UNITE-HERE Local 6, a member of The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council.
In response, the new hotel CEO Richard Lemmerman insists that it operates in accordance with the union’s agreement and strives to comply with all labor requirements.
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Previously, the hotel, then called Cachet Hotel, was managed by Aimbridge Hospitality before closing its doors in 2023 after six years in operation. By the end of May 2024, the hotel had reopened under a new owner and a new name, Urban Resorts NYC. In the months since the reopening, Documented spoke to five workers who returned to the hotel and reported significant declines in their take-home pay and the perception that the quality of their working conditions and treatment declined.
“It changed completely within five months. We suffered a lot,” said Kung Sang Tenzin, an immigrant room cleaner from Tibet.
Guofu Huang, a housekeeper from China, alleges that after June 23, when he resumed work, “I noticed my salary started decreasing.”
Paystubs provided by Huang and reviewed by Documented show that his take-home pay decreased by 36% from June 23 to Aug 10.
Huang said upon returning to work, employees’ shifts were shortened from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This reduced their pay despite a contractual requirement that workers be paid for a full 8-hour shift if they leave within two hours of their scheduled end time after completing their work quotas.
This stipulation in the contract allowing for being paid for a full 8-hour shift is a holdover from the previous hotel owner’s contract, Tenzin says.
“The hotel was not initially aware of the special letter from the previous management during COVID,” Lemmerman told Documented in a statement. “Once discovered, we made arrangements to compensate employees for any unpaid hours, with payments continuing through 2025.”
According to Lemmerman, when Urban Resorts took over the management of the hotel, they were unaware that the hotel’s previous owner, Cachet, signed an agreement during the pandemic that allowed the housekeeping staff to leave early if they completed all their duties after working a 6-hour and still receive 8 hours of pay.
Lemmerman said that that provision is not normally part of a standard labor contract and upon learning of it, the hotel made efforts to try to remedy the issue. As a result, Lemmerman says that management and the workers reached an agreement to pay 673.24 hours of pay to 9 employees, with the first installment of 400 hours paid in December, with the remaining payments due in equal installments during the first four months of 2025.
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Huang and Tenzin also claim that the hotel is violating the terms of the arbitration agreement by hiring third-party contractors to work as housekeepers during the night shift as a way for the hotel to partially replace the union cleaners to avoid paying union wages. They accuse management of using these tactics to pressure them into quitting, adding to their growing frustration and financial strain.
“The hotel complies with the terms of the union agreement and does not engage in practices designed to pressure employees to leave,” said Lemmerman in a statement. “Any third-party contractors are used only when operationally necessary.”
Tenzin, who is also an assistant union delegate and the primary breadwinner for his family, says because of the loss of hours and income, he has since struggled to earn enough to feed his 2-year-old and 4-year-old. “They are bullying us, they are trying to make us leave,” he said.
They add that their situation has only been complicated by the hotel’s staff’s inability to communicate with management while doing their work in the hotel. Workers say they are not provided with walkie-talkies, raising concerns about workplace safety.
Daisy Li, 56 expressed a fear of being accosted by an unruly guest in a room as she cleaned and not being able to call for help. “I don’t feel safe working at the hotel,” she said in Mandarin.
Li’s concerns are not unfounded, as sexual harassment remains a persistent issue for women in the hospitality industry. Earlier this year, a female hotel worker in Pennsylvania was reportedly raped by a male guest. Whenever workers need to reach management, they say they can only contact them through their personal cell phones.
Still, these concerns are not exclusive to female employees. Tenzin expressed similar worries after he was confronted by a drunken guest. “There is no walkie-talkie,” he said. “If there is a danger, we are done.”
Lemmerman told Documented in a statement that they were addressing communication issues.
“We are reviewing any equipment-related concerns to ensure workplace safety and efficient communication.”
According to the arbitration consent award reviewed by Documented, the hotel management agreed to “desist from violating the Collective Bargaining Agreements layoff, recall, and scheduling provisions.”
The hotel also agreed to pay damages owed regarding violations of the union contract, cease hiring certain non-union workers, pay employees weekly, and provide them with pay stubs and uniforms.
Responding to Documented’s request for comment, a spokesperson for the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council said they empathize with the plight of the workers and insist that they are doing all they can to help resolve the worker’s issues.
In August, the union said it initiated another emergency arbitration because the hotel was continuing to violate the contract regarding the hiring of third-party contractors. Then in September, the workers were able to reach an agreement with management.
Still, another arbitration hearing was held in December and the hotel agreed to stop hiring third-party contractors for certain categories of workers. Despite the legal efforts of the union to remedy the situation, the workers have grown impatient with the legal process.
Bhav Tibrewal, political director for the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, understands how frustrating the constant back and forth with the hotel management could be for the workers, but assures them that their union is working diligently to win.
“Since the Cachet Hotel reopened in May 2024, our union has been working aggressively to rectify hotel management’s numerous violations of our contract,” he said in a statement. “While legal results rarely occur as quickly as any of us would like, we’re proud that our contract enforcement efforts have resulted in our members being recalled and offered back pay at this hotel. We’ll continue to fight until every one of our members at this hotel is made whole.”
Additionally, Lemmerman claims that employees have access to their pay stubs online, and if needed, may request printed copies. He also stated that paid leave, sick days, and uniforms are provided per the terms of the union contract.
“We are committed to addressing individual concerns directly with staff or union representatives,” he said.
Lemmerman insisted that he purchased sweatproof shirts as uniforms from Uniqlo.
“Uniforms have been provided to staff, and additional items, including warmer clothing, have been ordered based on staff feedback to meet their needs during colder months,” he said.
He also expressed a commitment to address payment issues.
“We are addressing payroll errors as they arise to ensure timely resolution of all outstanding matters.”
Since Documented began investigating this story in November, the hotel workers say they have started to receive payments for unpaid wages. The agreement signed by the hotel representative CEO Richard Lemmerman also noted that the hotel agreed to repay all 10 workers in five stages. The first payments were issued in December, and the rest are scheduled to be issued monthly until April.
Although Huang and Tenzin said that they did receive their first payments, they claim that they have not received any resolution around the other issues like sick leave, or paid vacation, nor have they received any payments for the uniform cleaning fee.
Feeling frustrated by management, Tenzin said he is unsure what else he can do.
“It’s really hard to pay my rent and expenses in this situation,” he said. “We really need help.”
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