Fallsburg, NY – Employees at the former Raleigh Hotel say the owners left them in the lurch for weeks, refusing to pay them wages, even while the hotel continued to take guests.
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Some 13 employees gathered by the security gate of the hotel on Thursday evening and planned to stage a sit-in on Friday in the lobby.
Maids, security guards and three salaried employees hadn’t been paid since Oct. 2.
Employees also said they consistently were treated poorly and have had their paychecks delayed several times over the past year.
“Mister, this is the only income I’ve got,” said maid Priscilla Reynolds, who has an 8-month-old and a 4-year-old at home.
‘”I do all what they say, and I can’t get any money. Right now, I’m starving. I am running out of food.”
Other employees said they needed money for rent, and one employee said she had no money for prescription drugs. Most of the employees are owed $800 to $1,000.
Many of the employees have been with the hotel for two years, but are afraid to leave. “They know they have us by the (expletive) because there is no work out there,” security guard Bill McQueeny said.
The hotel is now owned by Ralhal LLC of Brooklyn, largely catering to an ultra- Orthodox Jewish clientele. Last week, the hotel hosted 200 guests during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
The 320-room hotel, which has been open through the fall most weekends, also recently took guests of a punk rock festival, which was held at Kutsher’s.
General Manager Ari Friedman said the Brooklyn office was closed during the two weeks of the Sukkot and Simchat Torah holidays. A payroll company sent paychecks to that office, but nobody was there to mail them to the employees.
He said the same thing happened last year, but other than these two times, the workers were paid on time. Employees were to get checks on Friday.
“My workers are basically happy there,” Friedman said.
Interesting enough!! You could have thought that the high end workers were delayed pay. I was at the hotel this summer & I recognise every single face in the picture. These a re the cleaning goites who half the time don’t do their jobs. They should be happy that even have a place to work. If I were the manager I would have fired them long ago.
Looking at the picture of the disgrunteled employees is very scary.
These employees look like they have been standing for 6 hours in 20 degree weather just so the photographer can get the right picture for this article.
The picture also reminds me of the mad cow disease.
My employer also didnt pay over Yom Tov but at least we got warned about it in advance. Of course the mortgage co, the credit card cos, the electric co, etc didnt want to hear that excuse. If they werent paid over Yom Tov for they reason they gave, its a bad reason. Someone should go to the offce to see if the checks are there and get them to the workers. Zult mich moychil zayn but it really sucks!
Volt eimitzer gevolt esen fin zeiere hent? Ich huf az zei huben nisht gearbet in kuch.
ask any counselor/rebbe that worked in yeshivah learning camps over the summer and you’ll see that they didn’t either get paid.
this really has nothing to do with the raleigh but i figured ill just throw it out
Its not mentchlichkeit! U pay your workers. If their bad fire them… If they work you pay them!
“General Manager Ari Friedman said the Brooklyn office was closed during the two weeks of the Sukkot and Simchat Torah holidays. A payroll company sent paychecks to that office, but nobody was there to mail them to the employees.”
HOW PATHETIC IS THAT??!!!
There are many, many honest frum businessman, including myself, who have non-Jewish employees and somehow “get it done”.
There is no excuse whatsoever for this tremendous Chillul Hashem! Shame!!
P.S. Besides the Chillul Hashem, it’s not good for business either, genius.
its no shock to me cause this happns in many heimishe co.
I will say that ari friedman is not at fault he works hundreds of hours and really deals with day to day operations!
the checks should of been there no doubt but I would blame mr. lazer the owner
we need to hare the odder side from this store before giving coments
anti semitism at its very best, a typical Record story, I have a news tip for the Record, there are thousands of employees who didn’t get paid over yom tov, maybe the Record can print an edition with thousands pages to cover all non paid employees over yom tov
What a chilul hashem!! Perhaps Mr. Friedman was not either paid by the owner who B”H has where to pay from. In middle of the Yomim Noraim there are people who forgot that what comes can go!!!
Just look at the Time Herald Record’s website recordonline.com at the comments for this article and you’ll see what kind of chillul hashem this is.
They worked there last year Sukkos and all knew they would not get paid until after Yom Tov These Guys are right about the fact that they can not go anywhere else because they would not last one day any other place
Maybe if paying an employee at the end of the work week was not D’oraisa but just a Tosefos maybe it would be better heeded.. Especially if that employee lives hand to mouth. With that in mind paying the workers during Chol Moed is not only permissable but an obligation.
what a major story wow it should be on every major newspapers front page. and to all the self hating jews all the negative comments that you post dont bring any kiddush hashem.
Self Hating people. How low could you sink by jumping to conclusions and these negative comments. After all, Mr freidmans explanation is very well taken. It could happen with anybody.
My guess these negative comments stem from some sect who wanted to buy this hotel but could not afford it…..
Jealousy – was the cause of the first sin in the torah, parshas eitz hadaas. I guess these commentators believe in the Nachash – Yetzer Horah ways.
what do you want from them thay will pay nobody should worry about them they are very nice people in these times its very hard to pay on time
I hope they fire this workers
Excuse me for pointing this out- but are these “employees” in the picture actually genuine. They look like they came out of central casting for a remake of “The Night of the Living Dead”—-I don’t know anything about the story/circumstances, or have an opinion on who is right. They look scarry- I wouldn’t let small children look at the picture, would you?
My Torah has what to say about paying employees promptly for their labor. It seems to me that many of you are Torah Yidden in name only, as you want a Torah that caters to your own disgraceful prejudice – your are embarrassments to Yidishkeit.
They haven’t been paid since October 2 this is less then one month! Of course it’s not right But you don’t go complaining to the newspapers for this. There are many dedicated people (hamavin yavin) in our community who are waiting over 3 months for checks.
Funny, but I dont see a picture of my husband in the paper. He was also not paid. No, he doesnt work at the Raleigh, he works in Boro Park, for a girls school. Hint…this is their second year as a school. For shame
Well i dont know about the raleigh hotel, but mit a bisel seichel, if he didnt have the money yet or whatever reason, he should have told the workers look its money is tight now give a week or two we will straighten everyting out – and everything would be ok.
If you cant pay dont hire – if you can pay hire and pay on time – if you cant pay on time TELL THEM NICELY the situation – most workers will understand but it still a Chulul Hashem.
Now lets hear the publics opinion whats with those heimeshe – I stress HEIMESHE CHASSIDISHE – because we are SUPPOSED I say SUPPOSED to expect from them more…. after all they wear large tzitiz and huge kapelech -I would like to know what you do to those guys that buy goods from you and DONT PAY their bills.
Look we understand most of them dont know what it means PAYNG A BILL – they most probably hardly pay any bills – food they get free, housing free, doctors free, if you live in the projects electric is free, if he has vouchers again its free, oh they wouldnt let him have a PESACH KITCHEN…. so when they sometimes DO HAVE TO PAY FOR GOODS they cannot figure out WHY THEY HAVE TO PAY – everything is free in this world.
I have a chassidisher guy – that dosent like when people talk by davening who once bought from me merchandise and never paid me, its already a few years he owes me the money, – in between those years I know he once traveled with his wife to Israel for pesach to visit his REBBE in Israel and for vocation, – what do you do with such a fellow? he found money to go on vocation, (or used my money which he owes me to go to Israel – does anybody know if the airlines give free tickets? or maybe there is a hidden goverment program that pays for vocation with free tickets to Israel that I am not aware off) – What should I do with such a OISVORF – I know he has a store I once thought of standing in front of his store with a huge sign telling people coming in the store what a thief he is, but I cant see myself doing it, anybody has a solution for that GANEV?
I feel very bad for the workers. When they say that they can’t find other work, believe them—-there are places, including the Catskills, where most of the people either work in hotels or in prisons. You drive around upstate NY, you’ll see many areas that are incredibly poor. Some of these areas are classified by New York State and by the federal government as economically the same as the worst neighborhoods in NYC.
I don’t see what is so hard about paying your workers on time. If you can’t afford to pay them lay them off so they will at least know that a paycheck is not on the way and can try to find a new job. If people expect to be paid on a given day then as an employer you damn well make sure that they are. If that day is Yom Tov then pay them the day before or get a goy to pass out the checks.
It may shock you but people who work do so for the money so that they can pay their bills and live. If a paycheck is a week late it can mean that someone can’t put food on the table or the like.
This ain’t rocket science folks, its just basic human behavior. Oh and its also required by state law and Torah.
i think people should mind thier own business and keep their comments to them self. why does everybody think that someone elses business is their business???
Well, I am a teacher that worked for a school, still open, that has been waiting for 2 YEARS to get paid up for the school year 2006! They keep promising and I even went to the’ Rabbi’ of the ‘owner’, who has done nothing to help..the technique they use is to say I should call on a certain day, and theyll have it for me, and then disconnect their celll/home phones..pretty ‘erlich’, huh? So I am not surprised by this at all…I am still unpaid, and now teach elsewhere….and its thousands of dollars, not hundreds, that I am owed…