- 2 days ago
During remarks to the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) spoke about issues in New York's hospitality industry after President Trump traded blows with Canada.
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00:00And now, 57th governor of the great state of New York, Governor Kathy Hochul.
00:30Good morning, everyone.
00:37Good morning!
00:39Look, it is a real privilege to be joined on the stage today by elected leaders that I consider to be the most effective that working New Yorkers could hope for.
00:50And, look, just a few months ago, these elected leaders, with very little fanfare,
00:59delivered what is most likely the most impactful labor legislation in years.
01:06And what I'm talking about is the quiet overhaul of our state's broken unemployment insurance system.
01:13The truly groundbreaking changes that they made have transformed that broken system into the most pro-union, most worker-friendly in the country.
01:24And they did that in two ways.
01:26The first is that it provides for the largest single increase in the maximum benefit that laid-off workers can receive in the history of New York.
01:39And second, it cuts in half the waiting period for striking workers, making New York State the leader in the nation in terms of supporting workers who are fighting for a fair contract.
01:53Well, look, let me start at the beginning.
01:59At its core, the fundamental purpose of the unemployment insurance system is to provide a safety net.
02:05It is a safety net that's supposed to catch workers who lose their jobs and provide to them short-term benefits that are at least enough for them to be able to keep their heads above water during that difficult period between jobs.
02:19And look, almost everyone in this room, at one point or another in their lives, have had the misfortune of having to rely on that safety net.
02:28And to give you a sense of scale, over one million New Yorkers lose their jobs every year, and almost half of them are out of work for long enough that they have to rely on unemployment benefits.
02:42And that problem is particularly acute in seasonal industries like the hotel industry, where fully one in six of our members are laid off for some period each and every year.
02:55Now, the fundamental problem with our unemployment system is that it just doesn't provide benefits that are enough for workers to keep their heads above water while they're looking for work.
03:08Look, and that is because in New York, that benefit is capped at just $504 a week.
03:16And if I could quote Governor Hochul from a few weeks ago, that's bullshit, right?
03:23Look, the average rent in New York City is between $3,500 and $4,000 a month.
03:33$504 doesn't even cover rent, much less the other basic necessities like groceries and utilities and health care.
03:43And that is unacceptable.
03:46But the elected leaders standing here with me, they recognized that problem, and they fixed it.
03:51So thanks to them, this October, that maximum benefit will increase from $504 to $869 a week.
04:16Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
04:29So that is an increase of almost 75 percent and the largest
04:35increase in the history of our State. And it is it is a game changer. It is a
04:42lifesaver because of that hundreds of thousands of new yorkers will be okay they won't lose their
04:50homes they won't have to choose between putting food on the table and keeping the lights on
04:55they and their families will be able to get by while they're looking for work
05:00and look as impressive as that benefit increase is and it is impressive it is not even the most
05:07impressive part of this change so almost a hundred years ago during a particularly bloody mine workers
05:15strike in harlan county kentucky labor began asking one simple question that question is
05:22what side are you on right and the second change to this law answers that question it answers it
05:29clearly it answers it unequivocally the governor the leader the speaker they are on our side
05:34they are on the side of working people they are on the side of regular new yorkers because this law
05:42also cuts in half the waiting period for striking workers making new york the most pro-union state
05:50when it comes to supporting workers who are fighting for their futures for their families and for a fair
05:56contract and that is and look and that is because these leaders had the courage to stand up and say
06:06and say loudly when the battle lines are drawn we are on your side right yeah so
06:16and look while all of the leaders here certainly stand with all working new yorkers no one in this room
06:23should have any doubt that they stand with you in particular with hotel workers with members of htc
06:34because everyone here was determined not just to enact this law but to enact it now because they
06:41were fully aware that exactly one year from today our city-wide master contract expires
06:48on july 1st 2026 the largest hotel contract in the world covering almost 30 000 workers in more than 250 hotels
06:58will for the first time in more than a decade expire and on that day if we don't get the wages
07:06the benefits and the protections that we demand that we deserve mark my words there's going to be a fight
07:13and look and look we're ready we've been preparing we are strong and if we don't get what we need at the
07:27bargaining table we sure as hell will get it on the streets because look management man is going to
07:35learn that it is htc members that are the backbone of the hospitality industry it is their hard work
07:43that powers new york city's 50 billion dollar a year tourism our members work really hard but they will
07:50fight even harder to get what's coming to them and so we are grateful that when we ask these elected
07:57leaders when we ask the governor whose side are you on they didn't hesitate they didn't equivocate
08:04they said we are on your side we are on the side of working new yorkers we're on the side of htc
08:10and look with them on our side we can't lose
08:20so we do we do and it is now my pleasure and my privilege to introduce someone who i consider to be
08:29the smartest the toughest and the most principled elected leader that this state has ever seen
08:36someone who is a true champion for working new yorkers someone who is a real friend to the hotel
08:43trades council and someone who was a driver behind these groundbreaking changes because without her
08:49grit without her determination without her ingenuity none of it would have happened so it is my pleasure to
08:56introduce our governor kathy hokal
09:14thank you thank you everyone thank you
09:17is htc in the house
09:26then i'm in the right place
09:30so great to see a group of people who understands the power of leadership and in rich morocco you have
09:38the very best he is he has been he has been rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich rich
10:08the speaker. I don't think we had a single conversation for months where he didn't raise
10:15the issue of like, Governor, can we finally fix the unemployment insurance issue? Then
10:20we get to everything else. So he was dogged in his determination to make sure we got this
10:26done. I want to thank him and Harry Bronson as well, our assembly member from upstate
10:31New York. Anybody find upstate New York on a map? It's a great place. I know we have
10:36members up there as well. So Harry, but Carol, thank you, thank you, thank you for being
10:40the conscious man. And Leader Stuart Cousins, making sure that the Senate was on board to
10:47drive this and get this over the finish line. These are the leaders that worked with me to
10:52say it is time we stood up for our workers. This is how we get it done. So thank you to
10:57them so much. Also, we have an extraordinary Commissioner of Labor who hearkens back to
11:11the legacy of Frances Perkins, who was so forward thinking when she was Commissioner of Labor
11:18for FDR when he was governor. Do you know he was governor first? Yeah, okay. Then he wanted
11:23to be president. He took her with him. And they changed the course of history by lifting
11:28up people in the greatest time of need. And I want to thank Roberta Reardon for being
11:31our 2025 version of Frances Perkins.
11:36All right. It's time to just talk. Is this on? Is this on? All right. All right. All right.
11:50These are really tough times for our people. And when we can do something like this, it
11:56sends a message that we care so deeply about every stress that people are going through,
12:04especially the high cost of living. It is oppressive. It is so discouraging because you work hard.
12:12And many of you came from immigrant parents or grandparents or yourselves. You came here to
12:19live the American, in fact, I'll say the New York dream. And no matter how hard you're working,
12:25and you're getting good wages because you have a great fighter.
12:32Sometimes it just feels like we're not getting ahead. No one counted on a pandemic to slam us down
12:39and to stop people from coming to our city, which is the bread and butter of this union.
12:43Remember those times. We tried to help you with resources at that time.
12:48And then when you think we're out of the woods now, we're going to be okay. This is New York.
12:52Then inflation knocks us down. Everything you bought for your little kids, taking care of your
12:59teenagers, your adult kids who needed your help. Sometimes they didn't even leave the basement,
13:03right? They couldn't find a place to live, right? People have struggled. No fault of their own. So I
13:12have declared for a long time that your family is my fight. I announced that with a whole set of reforms
13:21back as part of my stay of the state. You know what we got done? Everything I wanted to. It's $5,000
13:28back in families' pockets. And I want to thank our leaders once again. Because when I said we need a
13:34middle-class tax rate cut the largest in seven years, they said yes. When I said we need an
13:39inflation rebate to put $400 back in families' pockets, they said yes. A child tax credit. Anybody
13:47with little kids? They're pretty expensive, aren't they? I'm New York's first mom governor. I know.
13:55And I'm a grandma too, so I know what it costs for families today. $1,000 for families with a child
14:03under the age of $400 or $500 for older kids. And we're going to pick up the cost of school lunches
14:08and breakfast. That adds up to $5,000 for New York families. So we have been...
14:15So we have been laser-focused on affordability. And we're just getting warmed up. We know we can do
14:27more. When I think about our union men and women. Now, we are the most unionized state in America.
14:36The most pro-union state in America. And I happen to come from the most unionized, part of the most
14:42unionized state in New York. And that is Western New York, where everybody... We got a Western New
14:48Yorker out there? Really? Where are you from? All right. I'll know you're a real Western New York
14:55if you say, go Bills. All right. I'll stop. I'll stop. I know. I'll keep that for the season. All right.
15:03Let me get back on track. I am trying to unite upstate and downstate. There are three teams.
15:10Couple placed somewhere else. But okay, we'll work on that.
15:16But it's in my blood. Because grandpa was a very poor immigrant who lived in great poverty,
15:25worked as a migrant farm worker himself, came to Buffalo to make steel with his hands.
15:32My dad did the same. His brothers did the same. My next door workers worked at the GM plant. So it
15:37is in my blood to fight for working men and women. And when I know there's something that happens
15:43periodically, because I've been on so many strike lines, then people need to strike for better wages
15:49and conditions. That first of all, to wait three weeks for those benefits to take effect,
15:58that's a long, hungry time for your family. Long time. My dad was on strike when we were little kids
16:07at the steel plant. His parents tried to help him out. They struggled. I remember him telling me this.
16:12I didn't know this story until much later in his life. So families suffer when the parents are out
16:17there fighting for good wages and benefits. We can't let that happen. It's now three weeks down to two.
16:22We made that happen for you. But to think, because there was this huge debt owed to our unemployment
16:35system, and I want to give everybody, give another round of applause to Roberta Reardon,
16:39who made sure the checks went out during the pandemic.
16:43We owed a lot of money, and they said under the rules, you can't raise that amount up from $504 a
16:54week. I said, $504 a week? Who can live on that? Nobody. Nobody. I said, well, why aren't we able to
17:02raise it? Well, you have to pay down the debt. All right? So we have this reserves. It's got to be $7
17:09billion that we shift from here over here to pay it out. And that's a lot of money. I worked hard.
17:15I said, I'm saving that for a rainy day. And all of a sudden, I declared, it's raining. It's raining.
17:21It's time to make sure that if people are on strike or unemployed, lose their jobs. $869 a week.
17:29That's how we lift people up. And I'm going to continue because we have a long road ahead.
17:36But I'll tell you, we're all New Yorkers. There's nobody tougher than us. Right?
17:41We are strong. We're resilient. And all these policies out of Washington, scarier than hell.
17:49Talk about the hotels losing business from the Canadians. It's hard to blame them,
17:55because they were insulted by our president. Right? We're trying to win them back. I was up in
18:00Elise Stefanik's district Friday, meaning hotel owners up there and small businesses and people
18:07in the restaurants. They're going to be starving because the Canadians used to come over. They're
18:11our friends. They're our neighbors. They used to spend weekends here in New York City staying at your
18:14hotels. And now they're saying we're not coming. The president needs to reset that relationship now.
18:22Let them come back. Fix that relationship now.
18:25And we're on a high. We're having a good time. This is New York. But if those bills that you hear
18:34about, the big, ugly bill that is being worked on by the Senate right now to give tax breaks to
18:40millionaires and billionaires out of your pockets, that is going to be devastating for people on Medicaid
18:45and people who need the support for child care and SNAP benefits. My gosh, so many families rely on this.
18:53So I'm excited about what we can do here in New York, but we must continue to be the firewall
18:58to stop the insanity in Washington. No matter what they do, we have your back here in the great
19:04state of New York. You can count on that. Thank you, everybody. Thank you.
19:10Let me bring up, let me bring up Carl Heastie, the man who helped make this happen. Carl Heastie.
19:17Ladies and gentlemen, Speaker Carl Heastie. Thank you. Thank you. You know,
19:34the governor mentioned that New York is the most union state in the nation, but yet we weren't the
19:42most union when it came to unemployment benefits, actually 29th out of the 50 states in the nation.
19:50But with the changes that we did in the budget, we will have the highest unemployment rates,
19:55highest unemployment benefits of any state in the nation by going up to $869. And it couldn't be
20:03more important based on what may happen. And the governor alluded to the disaster bill that the
20:10Republicans in power are using. It can devastate our healthcare industry. It can, as she said,
20:18with the tariffs, it's devastating the trade and people coming to New York and helping to stay in
20:26the hotels that all of you work at. So this was something that was hugely, hugely important.
20:33And it was able to get done, really. And the governor's right. I did bug her,
20:36myself and our incredible chair of labor, uh, Harry Bronson about why this was good. It was good for
20:43the businesses, but it was also good for the workers. As long as we owed that debt to the federal
20:49government, we could not enhance worker benefits, but we wouldn't have been able to pay that debt
20:54without the great stewardship of the governor in terms of the finances in the state of New York,
20:59you know, $7 billion is a whole lot of paper. And so being able to put that and still have the state in
21:05a, in a, in a good place in terms of the amount of reserves for other rainy days, which may happen
21:11again, based on, on Washington. But it's true, $504 couldn't sustain anyone. And then on top of that,
21:21and Rich, your wonderful, I'd say president, uh, mentioned this, you're all about to go into a,
21:27a tremendous negotiating session. And sometimes people think they can wait you out
21:32and starve you because they think that you're not going to get benefits. So hopefully, Rich,
21:38this helps you in your negotiation next year, knowing that workers still, if a strike has to
21:44happen and go beyond that, they'll be able to get, uh, enhanced benefits. But just always know that the
21:50New York State Assembly, I was the former labor chair, uh, before I was elected speaker. I'm a member of
21:56three unions. So the union spirit, the union love never leaves you. It's always with us in the
22:02assembly. And I do want to mention, we do, we have two other assembly members here, Alex Boris from
22:07Manhattan and Noah Burrows from Long Island, who's with us. But just congratulations to, to all of you,
22:16the workers who keep the state moving, you take good care of us. Um, and I just want to say congratulations to
22:24everyone who's involved to get this done. And yes, Rich was on me all the time about how important this
22:30was, uh, to get this done, not only enhancing the benefits, but really the, uh, shortening the time
22:37for striking workers to be able to get unemployment was a huge, huge thing. And to be honest, not a lot
22:43of people were talking about it except for Rich. So you should give your president a big round of applause.
22:54Yes, we love you Rich. So now it's my honor. Um, you know, I often tell people governing New York is,
23:09it's a tripod. We have our great governor, you have the assembly, and then we have a wonderful partner
23:14in the New York state Senate, but as, but is led by an extraordinary, caring woman,
23:20and, and our amazing majority leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
23:31So, you know, I like to, I like to chant and, and, and I love that when we fight,
23:39when we fight. When we fight. One more time. When we fight. All right. Okay. Okay.
23:52And I wanted to say that because what we have here are people who are fighters.
24:03That's right. The great governor. The great speaker. Your tremendous leader, Rich.
24:15Our, our, our, our commissioner. Our legislative family. The good news about all of us
24:27is that when we fight. We fight for you. That's what we do. When we fight, we fight for you.
24:41We don't fight each other.
24:45Because we know that energy. That is not, that's not what we came to do.
24:50We do stand together. And I want to say that I couldn't be happier than to stand with labor
25:07in this moment where working people are being told on a national level that you really don't matter.
25:17That we don't need unions. We don't need to raise a minimum wage on a national level that's $7.25.
25:25We don't need to do that. And by the way, by the time they get through with this bill,
25:30we won't have healthcare for so many people. Millions of people. New York is rowing against that tide.
25:39We know that you are the backbone of our economy. You are the backbone of this great city and this great
25:50state. And we also know we are leaders. And in order to do that, we've got to work together.
25:59I hope you never need that unemployment benefit. Okay? But, you know, if you do, we got your back.
26:13I want to thank my chair of labor, Jessica Ramos. I want to shout out to Senator Jackson,
26:28who chairs civil service and pension. And all of my colleagues in the Senate. You know,
26:36when Speaker Hastie was talking about, you know, the unemployment and the governor and I were listening
26:42and paying it off, we're trying to figure it out. But again, we're afraid of the clouds that were
26:49around us because we know that we're going to have to take care of people regardless of what.
26:58But then, as the governor said, with the tariffs and with the uncertainty, every day is a new day.
27:05It's a new tariff. It's a new retreat. It's a new, it's a new assault.
27:09It was clear it was raining. We didn't want it to continue to rain on our businesses that support
27:18so many of our local communities, that support the workers, that support their families,
27:23that support our economy, that support us. So we will be that umbrella.
27:30So thank you so much. I get the privilege of giving it back to my great, he's my wonder twin. Where is
27:49him? My great, my great friend, the speaker who has a special introduction to me, Speaker Hastie.
27:57Thank you, Madam Leader. You know, there were so many things we discussed in the budget and the
28:05governor mentioned, many of them trying to put more money back into the people of the state of New York
28:13and just make things a little more affordable. And oftentimes during the budget, we have negotiations
28:18when we come to conference. And as soon as I saw that Harry Bronson put his name on the list to speak,
28:24I knew the first thing Harry was going to say is, what are we doing to retire the unemployment
28:29debt so we can enhance the benefits for workers? Harry could have just won a sign on his forehead
28:36because he said it every single time we went to conference. And so I just wanted to thank him for
28:42that. And oftentimes when you're the chair of a committee, you have to be a nudge, even if it
28:47looks like you're annoying people. But Harry was standing up for working people across the state.
28:54And so I want to bring forward our great Labour chair, Harry Bronson.
29:01Thank you, Speaker. Thank you so much. Rich, first of all, I want to thank you for one, hosting us today
29:09with your members, all brothers and sisters of HTC. But also, I want to thank you for your leadership
29:15to make sure that we increased unemployment benefit and to make sure that we reduced the striking time
29:23in case you have to go strike. So give it up to Rich.
29:32Governor Hochul, you know, I'm not sure you all appreciate
29:35the leadership that the governor exhibited in making this decision.
29:43This was not an easy decision. You know, we know that the federal government is attacking us.
29:53We know they're attacking workers. We know they're cutting Medicaid potentially in New York State to the
29:58tune of roughly 14 billion dollars. And we know that hard times may be coming. Most economists believe
30:09that it's coming. And because of the tariff and other things that's happening at the federal government.
30:14So so as governor, Kathy Hochul has to manage the fiscal state of our of our New York State,
30:24and she has to be fiscally responsible. So asking her to take seven billion dollars from reserves
30:31to pay down the unemployment insurance trust debt so that we could increase the benefit for workers
30:38was a hard ask because she knows that there's other rainy days coming.
30:43But ultimately, Governor Hochul made the tough decision because she knew that if we got into 2026,
30:51it would be five years of debt. And with five years of debt, then businesses would double the amount
30:56they have to pay in principle. Interest payments would continue. And if layoffs are coming because
31:02of what's happening at the federal level, we could not rely on five hundred and four dollars maximum benefit.
31:08And so the governor, the speaker, majority leader came together and ultimately made the tough choice.
31:20Let's do this. This is the right time. This is the time to do it. It's the right thing to do.
31:26As the governor said, and as majority leader just said, it is a rainy day,
31:30and we need to take care of the rainy day for the workers in New York State.
31:33Thank you. So and majority leader, I know we couldn't have done this without you.
31:41Thank you so much. Commissioner, you just paid six billion, 6.2 billion on Friday, I think.
31:48Thank you for doing that. But what this really means to all of you and I and you know, as a as
31:55chair of the Labor Committee and as a union labor attorney for decades, I strongly believe that when
32:03management and labor work together, you get the best solutions.
32:09But if you don't work together, you got to get tough. And Rich is going to get tough for you.
32:17And we're going to make sure we're going to make sure that if you do have to use that really difficult
32:25choice of a strike, then your members are going to get unemployment benefits.
32:34So the speaker's right. Every conference, I said unemployment. I think at one point when he said,
32:41Harry, we don't have partners. It's dead. I'm like, really? It's dead. And he and so then I believe I
32:49said it. Wizard of Oz, you know, when the house falls on the witch and then the mortician comes
32:55out and he declares absolutely undeniably dead. Well, the speaker declared that. But we didn't
33:03stop and we went back and we knew we had to do this. We had to do it for you and all of the workers
33:09across the state so that we could increase the benefits. So again, thank you, Mr. Speaker, for
33:14everything you did. Thank you. Thank you, majority leader for all you did and your leadership,
33:22Kathy Hochul. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
33:28And it's my honor to announce the next person who is one of your own brother, Kevin McQueen,
33:36HCC member, restaurant server at Hyatt-centric Wall Street. Kevin.
33:44Good morning. Good morning. Welcome, everyone.
33:48My name is Kevin McQueen and I'm a proud ACC member and a parent of two. I am so happy to be here with
33:53all of you. And most of all, I'm happy to be here with our champion, our governor, Huckle.
33:59We all know how important is today insurance. But I want to talk a little bit about my personal life
34:07during the pandemic. I was laid off and spent almost two years without working, barely able to pay rent
34:12and put food on the table or could or could provide a stable part of me, stable stability for me and my
34:20family. I want to thank everyone for that. I want to thankfully and thankfully, I found a job as a
34:25server at Hyatt-centric because I know I will not be able to live on unemployment in New York City.
34:32But all that has changed. Governor Hochul has delivered a big win for people like me. I am also happy
34:38to hear the benefit rate is finally going up. Increasing unemployment benefits would mean a
34:43stronger safety net and allow people like me facing tough times to live with dignity and stay above
34:48water. A few extra dollars every week can be different between keeping the lights on and being
34:54on the streets. Working in hospitality, we all know there are busy seasons and there are slow seasons
35:00as well. We have to plan for the slow seasons. The bigger and better unemployment insurance is an
35:06important part of that. But we also have a big contract fight this year. Governor Hochul reduced the
35:14amount of time striking workers to have to wait to collect unemployment insurance by week. This is
35:21clear signal the hotel industry. We are ready to fight and we have the governor in our corner.
35:26Governor Hochul. I want to thank you. I want to thank Governor Hochul. You are not just our friend, you are our hero.
35:38Thank you, Governor Hochul.
35:43To close out this program, thank you, Stephen, for sharing that story.
35:50I know you gathered to thank me and the legislature, but I need to thank you. I need to thank all of you
36:00for being the welcoming committee, the people who take care of our visitors, who put such a wonderful
36:06face on hospitality, particularly here in New York City. I see your faces. I walk into restaurants,
36:14walk into hotels. I say hello. I thank you. But I want you to know that that gratitude goes to every
36:21one of you. I walked into Weston yesterday where I used to stay for many years as Lieutenant Governor.
36:27It was a homecoming. I knew all their names. I asked about the kids. The people who used to check me in
36:32and people would come up and clean the rooms. People just made me feel part of the family. So don't
36:37underestimate the power that you have to make people love New York. Because of that, I love all of you.
36:43Thank you. Thank you very much everybody.
36:48That concludes our program. Thank you all for attending. If our guests can please exit through
36:55the back where you came.