PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Richard Hurd, Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, on Hotel Industry Subcontracting
2:33:59
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145 sec
Richard Hurd, Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, testified about the need for legislation requiring hotels to directly employ core employees due to changes in the hotel industry structure. He emphasized how subcontracting practices lead to declining wages, eroding benefits, and inadequate protections for workers.
- Hurd highlighted research by David Weil and others showing the negative impacts of subcontracting on workers.
- He mentioned a recent academic conference where the consensus was that increased subcontracting creates a need for more attention from governments.
- Hurd argued that New York City should continue to be at the forefront of protecting workers' rights through this legislation.
Richard Hurd
2:33:59
Good afternoon.
2:34:02
My name is Richard Heard.
2:34:04
I'm Professor Emeritus in the School of Labor Relations at Cornell University.
2:34:11
The proposed legislation requires the hotels directly employ their core employees.
2:34:19
This legislation is needed because the structure of the hotel industry has changed.
2:34:25
Typically, hotel brands do not own hotels, rather they franchise hotels.
2:34:31
And even the franchisees and the owners of specific properties do not directly employ most hotel workers.
2:34:40
The reason the owners are looking to maximize the return on investment by minimizing labor cost.
2:34:47
In other words, it's a pure profit motive.
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The most common practice is to subcontract.
2:34:53
To subcontractors such as cleaning services, compete fiercely with one another, and the result is a decline in wages, eroding benefits, inadequate health and safety protections, and strong incentives to skirt or ignore federal state and local labor regulations.
2:35:12
The research of David Weil, which he summarized earlier in this hearing, as well as Richard Freeman from Harvard and other academics, has clearly indicated that this is the case.
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This June at a joint conference of 3 professional associations that focus on labor markets, labor relations, and dispute resolution was held here in New York City.
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There were over a dozen sessions that addressed the impact of subcontracting on workers.
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For example, one session addressed the deteriorating conditions for hotel workers globally and was vital in hospital work.
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The consensus of the participants in this conference, academic, legal, labor management was very clear.
2:35:58
There's a trend to increase subcontracting, and this creates the need to increase attention
UNKNOWN
2:36:05
Thank you for your testimony.
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Your times expired.
Richard Hurd
2:36:08
5 federal, state, and local governments.
2:36:11
It is this that it is appropriate that New York City continued to be at the forefront of protecting workers' rights and this legislation demonstrates and reinforces that role.
2:36:23
Thank you.
