
GGA Board Member
Peter Ward
Former President of the New York Hotel Trades Council (HTC)
As President of the New York Hotel Trades Council (HTC), Peter Ward represents approximately 32,000 non-managerial employees working in the hospitality & gaming industries in New York and New Jersey. He works closely with hotel industry officials and elected leaders to keep New York a prime destination for travelers, the tourism capital of the world, and a source of good employment for his union’s members.
In 2012, Peter successfully guaranteed respect and dignity for tens of thousands of union members through a new collective bargaining agreement. The long-term contract he secured provides excellent wages, benefits and working conditions, as well as ground-breaking protections for immigrant workers. Peter started working for Local 6 in 1979, became a union organizer in 1980, business agent in 1981, and vice president in 1984.
In 1985, he was appointed the HTC's director of organizing. In 1995, he was elected business manager of Local 6, and in 1996, president of the New York Hotel Trades Council. He was chief negotiator for the union in the 2001, 2006, and 2012 negotiations for the Industry-Wide Agreement.
Among his many civic and community activities, Peter has co-chaired the Labor Luncheons for the Boy Scouts of America and been honored by the Center Against Domestic Violence for his work on behalf of abused women. He received the New York City Labor Council's top award for contributions to the labor movement, and the Irish-American Labor Coalition's award recognizing "outstanding contributions to the American labor movement and for the cause of Irish freedom." Last year he was he received the Yitzhak Rabin Leadership and Public Service Award.