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32 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1990
(313) 531-2600
ome of the 4,000 Jews
coming to San Fran-
cisco Nov. 13-18 for a
major North American Jew-
ish conference may be stay-
ing in a luxury hotel accused
of unfair labor practices by
the National Labor Rela-
tions Board.
Representatives of the
Council of Jewish Federa-
tions in New York, organi-
zers of that annual General
Assembly, are aware of the
labor dispute at the Parc Fif-
ty Five Hotel, and that it's in
a process of adjudication.
They say they're
"monitoring the situation,"
which involves a union seek-
ing to represent most of the
hotel's workers.
In 1984, the CJF had
signed a contract for the
General Assembly with
three nearby hotels and the
Parc, which then was still
operating as a Ramada Ren-
naisance Hotel. A
spokesperson for the CJF,
whose own employees are
members of a union, says
that pact is binding.
But Michael Casey, a
representative for Hotel
Employees & Restaurant
Employees Union, Local 2,
says it was negotiated in bad
faith and therefore should be
broken.
Furthermore, "it's Parc
Fifty Five's responsibility to
inform potential customers
about a labor dispute," he
charges, adding that CJF
delegates will definitely en-
counter union pickets if they
use the rooms and hold
meetings at the hotel.
The CJF already has
received some complaints
about the hotel's labor poli-
cies, according to Susan
Mall, San Francisco liaison
to the General Assembly.
"We passed the complaints
to the CJF in New York be-
cause it's strictly their con-
cern," she says.
Larry Myers, a former
president of the CJF who is
co- chairing the local end of
the General Assembly with
his wife Eleanor, reports
that "council leaders in New
York know that Parc Fifty
Five is involved now in a
dispute with the hotel
workers union, and they
know we are very concerned
about it."
But the assistant exec-
utive vice president of the
CJF and program coor-
dinator for the General
Assembly Richard Jacobs
repeats that although "we
have a binding contract with
the hotel, we will continue to
monitor and study the situa-
tion."
The NLRB, the federal
agency that protects
workers' rights, believes the
union has a case. Its general
counsel has charged the ho-
tel with unfair labor prac-
tices, and a hearing, which
began in March, will resume
Monday, Sept. 24.
It remains unclear how the
imbroglio developed. Hotel
general manager Dan King
asserts that Local 2 has been
trying to be certified since
1985, when Park Lane Ho-
tels International of Hong
Kong purchased the hotel at
Market and Fifth Streets.
Mr. King also claims the
union is trying to come in
without an election, preferr-
ing "pressure tactics and
civil disobedience to force
management to sign a con-
tract."
According to Mr. King,
"all along we've been asking
for a vote. We even sent
them an offer in writing that
we would abide by the
results of a secret ballot elec-
tion."
Mr. Casey, however, says
that 13 months ago Parc
employees came to Local 2
and that a majority of the
workers then signed union
authorization cards.
The NLRB complaint in-
cludes charges that the ho-
tel's management has
"threatened its employees
with discharge because of
their union sympathies and
activities." It also accuses
the hotel's management of
promising employees in-
creased benefits "if
employees rejected the union
as their collective bargain-
ing representative."
Furthermore, the NLRB
charges that the hotel's
management warned
employees that if they
become unionized, they will
lose existing benefits and
wages.
The NLRB also notes that
some hotel security guards
have "engaged in surveil-
lance of its employees" by
following them to Local 2's
office.
The hotel management
denies all the allegations.
Mr. King says, however,
that the hotel will abide by
the NLRB administrative
law judge's decision.