N EWS "Bee" In Fashion 14k and 18k Gold and Diamonds, Rubies, Sapphires and Emeralds From $195 00 and up. Pickets May Mar Federation Assembly DONNA LURIE Special to The Jewish News S 32940 Middlebelt Rd. 855.1730 (At 14 Mile Rd., in the Broadway Plaza) JEWELERS HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 10-6 Thurs. 10-8, Sat. 10-5 Custom Designed Jewelry to Your Taste Dreisbach & Sons Compa.ni Is Pleased To Announce The Addition Of Tim Audette As Their Fleet And Leasing Manager Call Today For A Custom Quote. Dreisbach & Sons Cadillac Plaza .. . "Just minutes from your front door." 24600 Grand River Avenue • Detroit, Michigan • 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.