Celebrities from Cardi B to Tom Cruise who are staying at a tony Manhattan hotel for the posh Met Gala will be confronted with an ugly labor dispute before walking the red carpet Monday, union bigs warn.
Members of the Hotel Trade Council union say they will be holding a protest outside The Surrey Hotel, where many A-list attendees of the famed Met Museum event are staying on nearby East 76th Street.
Olga Ginzburg for NY Post
The Surrey closed in 2020 during the pandemic and went into bankruptcy, then reopened in October under the Corinthia Hotels brand and new ownership by the Reuben Brothers, a global investment company based in London, Geneva and Milan.
But nearly 100 of the hotel’s workers who lost their jobs during the closure were never rehired by the new management when it reopened, a move that the trade council is blasting as a union-busting tactic.
The displaced workers filed a lawsuit in March against the new ownership, claiming the loss of their jobs violated a law approved during the pandemic aimed at retaining workers, even during a change in ownership. The case is pending.
Stars staying at The Surrey for Monday’s fete include Cardi B, Cruise, Alicia Keys, Shakira, Cristiano Ronaldo, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, Angela Bassett, Tommy Hilfiger and executives from the Burberry, Valentino and Stella McCartney brands, according to the HTC.
The union said it has contacted reps from each of the celebrities and asked for them to show their support for the workers. The labor activists said they will make another round of calls to the celebs early Monday.
The fired workers and their union are pressuring the stars “to step off the red carpet and stand with them” by demanding The Surrey rehire them.
The Surrey is offering its gala customers an ultra-deluxe spa treatment featuring Sisley Paris for those seeking “a transformative, red-carpet-ready experience,” with “expert sculpting massage, LED light therapy, and a rejuvenating eye treatment” available.
Among the former Surrey workers who want to look the entertainers and sports figures to back them is Merry Coronado, who was a room attendant at the hotel since 2010 before getting the heave-ho.
“I am a single mom, so my job at The Surrey means everything to me,” Coronado said in a statement to The Post. “This job fed my two daughters, paid for us to live in a good apartment, and enabled me to buy a car.
“When I lost this job, it was devastating. I’ve had to go into debt just to survive, to keep food on the table and the lights on. I’m fighting for my job back, so I can get my family’s life back.”
Donna McCammon, a room attendant at the hotel since 2002 before getting laid off, said, “Losing my job at The Surrey has been one of the hardest experiences of my life.
“I am the sole breadwinner for my household, and without the steady income, it was incredibly difficult,” McCammon said.
“I went from a stable job at The Surrey that allowed me to provide for my family, to having to take a job working the overnight shift just to survive. After working at The Surrey for decades, I had the expectation that my coworkers and I were going back to our jobs. We’re not giving up that hope.”
