The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) was a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing workers of the

hospitality industry The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and beverage services, event planning, theme parks, travel agency, tourism, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, and bars. Sector ...

, formed in 1890. In 2004, HERE merged with the

Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees The Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE, often stylized UNITE!) was a labor union in the United States clothing industry from 1995-2004. History UNITE-ILGWU/ACTWU Merger UNITE was formed in 1995 as a merger between t ...

(UNITE) to form

UNITE HERE UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with roughly 300,000 active members. The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries. The union was formed in 2004 b ...

. HERE notably organized the staff of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1984. Other major employers that contracted with this union included

Harrah's Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven go ...

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

Wynn Resorts Wynn Resorts, Limited is an American publicly traded corporation based in Paradise, Nevada, that is a developer and operator of high-end hotels and casinos. It was founded in 2002 by former Mirage Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn and is now r ...

Hilton Hotels Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton Worldwide. The original company was founded by Conrad Hi ...

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...

, and

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

. HERE was affiliated with the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

Female participation and leadership

Female membership in HERE grew from 2,000 in 1908 to 181,000 in 1950. The rise in women membership reflected the

feminization Feminization most commonly refers to: * Feminization (sociology), a perceived societal shift of gender roles toward the characteristically "female" * Feminization (biology), the hormonally induced development of female sexual characteristics * Fem ...

of the hotel and restaurant industry and the increase in the performance of waiting work by women. Women's presence in leadership positions of HERE also increased. Waitress activists sat on the General Executive Board (GEB) from 1909 on and participated in various conventions, though as a

minority Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...

status. Participation was highest in the 1920s. Though female participation in HERE dipped in the 1930s and 1940s, it was still disproportionately higher than in other unions. Women also enjoyed leadership positions at the local level. A national estimation written in 1926 held that 43 culinary locals had female secretaries; in 1944 California, 21 out of 75 locals had female secretaries, a prominent position in labor organizing. Women were able to enjoy such success in HERE due to the separation of workers by trade, which provided waitress activists "space apart from male hostility and … the development of female perspectives and leadership skills."

Gertrude Lane Gertrude Lane (died 1953) was an American trade unionist and labor organizer active in New York City from the 1930s. Lane led the Office Workers Union and held roles in the Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union. Educa ...

was an organizer within a

local union A local union (often shortened to local), in North America, or union branch (known as a lodge in some unions), in the United Kingdom and other countries, is a local branch (or chapter) of a usually national trade union. The terms used for sub-bran ...

of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union.

Presidents

:1893: John Mee :1894: :1899: Joseph R. Michaels :1902: Robert A. Callahan :1904
T. J. Sullivan
:1911:

Edward Flore Edward Frank Flore (December 5, 1877 – September 27, 1945) was an American labor unionist. Born in Buffalo, New York, Flore worked in the saloon owned by his father from his teenage years. In 1900, he joined the Hotel and Restaurant Employ ...

:1945:

Hugo Ernst Hugo Ernst (December 11, 1876 – July 22, 1954) was a Croatian-born American labor union leader. Born in Varaždin in Croatia, Ernst's father was the city's rabbi. Hugo studied journalism, and when he was 26, emigrated to New York City to become ...

:1954: Ed Miller :1973: Edward T. Hanley :1998:

John W. Wilhelm John W. Wilhelm was elected president/hospitality industry of UNITE HERE at the union's founding convention on July 9, 2004. He was elected president on June 30, 2009, at the union's first constitutional convention. Previously, Wilhelm became pres ...

Female participation and leadership

Archives

Presidents

Footnotes

Further reading