The Trenton Times published the following article on November 7, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Employees of Lafayette Yard hotel ask Trenton council to protect workers’ jobs

By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton
on November 07, 2013 at 8:12 PM, updated November 07, 2013 at 8:13 PM

TRENTON— Employees of the city-owned hotel, which is set to be sold at a court-supervised bankruptcy sale this month, came to city council tonight to ask the members to do anything they can to protect the workers’ jobs after the Lafayette Yard hotel changes hands.

“Help me not become a statistic,” said Jamar Dowling, a lifelong Trenton resident who has worked at the hotel for more than two years.

Dowling said the job at the hotel has helped to keep him off the streets and from joining the unemployment line.

But since the hotel’s public nonprofit board, the Lafayette Yard Community Development Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Dowling said he has seen his hours cut from 40 hours a week to 25 or 30 hours a week.

“To make ends meet I am looking for a second job,” he said.

The hotel’s general manager has previously said they have cut hours for employees or consolidated jobs, where possible, to keep costs low during the bankruptcy process. The hotel union has said these cost saving measures constitute unfair labor practices and have violated the employees’ collective bargaining agreement.