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Unite Here Local 25 and Hotel Association of Washington, DC Pension Plan
The Unite Here Local 25 and Hotel Association of Washington, DC Pension Plan was founded in 1962 as a jointly trusteed multiemployer defined-benefit plan.
Unite Here Local 25 and Hotel Association of Washington, DC Pension Plan
The Unite Here Local 25 and Hotel Association of Washington, DC Pension Plan was founded in 1962 as a jointly trusteed multiemployer defined-benefit plan. It covers unionized hotel, restaurant, and hospitality workers across the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. The board is split evenly between union-appointed trustees — led by Executive Secretary-Treasurer Paul Schwalb for labor — and management trustees appointed by the Hotel Association of Washington, DC, whose president Solomon Keene Jr. serves as a plan sponsor. Associated Administrators, LLC handles day-to-day plan administration. The plan's investment strategy blends core passive exposure with opportunistic alternatives. Its largest public-market sleeve is held through Vanguard Target Retirement funds, providing broad equity and fixed-income diversification calibrated to participant retirement dates. On the private side, the plan has made commitments to Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners Fund IV, a global opportunistic real estate vehicle, and maintains a portfolio spanning venture capital, buyout, co-investments, and fund-of-funds structures. Stage coverage runs from early-stage seed and start-up to expansion and late-stage venture. Asset classes include private real estate, private credit, and hedge funds. Total assets are estimated at $319 million (Altss estimate). The plan's governance extends beyond investment oversight: trustees John Boardman and Solomon Keene serve on the board and committees of Events DC, the city's convention and sports authority, creating direct overlap between pension capital stewardship and the hospitality infrastructure that employs its members. The plan also supports labor-aligned philanthropic organizations including the Peggy Browning Fund and We Are Labor. No dedicated in-house investment staff is publicly identified; investment management is conducted through external managers and consultants. Structurally, the plan operates as a classic Taft-Hartley multiemployer fund — governed by a joint labor-management board rather than a single corporate sponsor. This architecture creates built-in fiduciary checks, requiring consensus between union and employer trustees on all allocation decisions, manager hires, and benefit changes — a model that prioritizes capital preservation and steady returns over aggressive growth.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1962
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Washington, DC
Corporate office
Sparks, MD, United States
Principals
Emebet Samuel Kassa
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Paul Schwalb
Plan Administrator and Executive Secretary-Treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 25
Solomon Keene Jr.
Plan Sponsor and Trustee; President of the Hotel Association of Washington, DC
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions for the plan?
A joint Board of Trustees, split evenly between UNITE HERE Local 25 appointees and Hotel Association of Washington, DC appointees, governs all investment decisions. The board operates under Taft-Hartley multiemployer rules requiring consensus between labor and management trustees. No single named Chief Investment Officer is disclosed publicly; the plan relies on external investment consultants and fund managers for portfolio execution.
What is the plan's allocation to alternative investments?
The plan commits to private real estate, venture capital, buyout, and co-investment funds alongside its public-market Vanguard Target Retirement portfolios. One known commitment is to Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners Fund IV, a global opportunistic real estate fund. The alternatives program spans early-stage venture through late-stage and expansion, with exposure to private credit and hedge funds.
How is the plan's governance structured differently from a corporate pension?
As a Taft-Hartley multiemployer plan, governance is jointly administered by a board of trustees split equally between labor and management representatives. This structure requires fiduciary consensus across parties with different incentives — the union prioritizes member security and benefit levels, while hotel employers focus on contribution stability and cost predictability. No single sponsor can unilaterally change investment strategy or benefits.
Which employers participate in this pension plan?
Participating employers are hotels and hospitality businesses in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia that have collective bargaining agreements with UNITE HERE Local 25. The Hotel Association of Washington, DC represents many of the contributing employers and jointly administers the pension and health funds. Specific hotel chains or properties are not individually disclosed in public plan documents.
Does the plan invest in union-built or union-operated real estate projects?
The plan's real estate commitments, such as the allocation to Brookfield's global real estate fund, are not publicly tied to specific union-labor requirements. However, the trustees' overlapping governance roles at Events DC — the city's convention authority — and the plan's labor roots suggest a preference for investments aligned with the hospitality ecosystem that employs its membership.
What philanthropic organizations does the plan support?
The plan maintains relationships with the Peggy Browning Fund, which provides law students with labor- and employment-focused fellowships and education, and We Are Labor, a labor movement organization. These affiliations reflect the plan's union heritage without commingling plan assets with charitable giving.
Is the plan's AUM publicly disclosed?
No. The plan does not publish a current audited AUM figure on its public-facing website or through its union's communications. The $319 million estimate reflects Altss research triangulation from regulatory filings and benefit obligation disclosures.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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