NYC hotels to equip workers with panic alarms Feb 8 11:10 AM US/Eastern NEW YORK (AP) - Hotels in New York City have agreed to equip their employees with panic alarms that would summon help in case of an emergency. New York Hotel Trades Council spokesman John Turchiano (tuhr-shee-AH'-noh) says the provision, which must be implemented within a year, is part of a new seven-year labor contract that the Hotel Association of New York approved last year. Turchiano says the provision was not spurred by the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case. Authorities had charged the former head of the International Monetary Fund with attempted rape after a hotel worker said she was attacked in May. The criminal case was dismissed after prosecutors said they lost faith in her credibility. The agreement was presented to the union on Tuesday. It is scheduled for a vote on Monday.