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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Union vs. hotel will be heard Nov. 4

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

The National Labor Relations Board has filed 15 complaints against the manager and owner of the Pacific Beach Hotel, accusing the company of not bargaining in good faith and firing workers who participated in union activities.

The case will be heard by an administrative judge on Nov. 4 in Honolulu. The hearing is the result of years of dispute between the hotel and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142, which is fighting to represent the hotel's 367 employees.

Both sides have filed charges against the other with the labor board since 2004, when the hotel's hourly workers voted 180-179 for union representation.

The board has dismissed all of the hotel's charges and have consolidated more than two dozen union accusations into 15 complaints.

Thomas Cestare, NLRB officer in charge in Honolulu, said one of the biggest issues is the company's refusal to recognize the ILWU as the legal representative of the employees. Cestare said the NLRB has ruled that the ILWU has had standing since the ILWU was certified as the collective bargaining representative in August 2005.

But over the past four years the employees have not been able to reach a contract agreement and the hotel refuses to negotiate with the union.

The ILWU had negotiated with hotel owner and manager HTH Corp. until January 2007, when management of the 837-room hotel was contracted to PBH Management LLC, an affiliate of Outrigger Hotels Hawaii. Negotiations between the new management team and the union were fruitful, with the two sides reaching tentative agreements on several contract issues.

But at the end of 2007, owner HTH Corp. canceled its contract with PBH Management and turned over operations to Pacific Beach Corp., an affiliate of HTH Corp. Pacific Beach Corp. then announced that all employees would be laid off, but would be given the opportunity to apply for work at the hotel.

The ILWU has claimed that many employees who took part in labor activities were not rehired. The Waikiki hotel now employs about 365 workers.

In the complaint filed against HTH Corp. and Pacific Beach Corp., the NLRB accuses the hotel of engaging in unfair labor practices, not bargaining in good faith, and negotiating "with no intention of reaching an agreement," according to the complaint. The hotel also is accused of discharging seven employees who were actively involved in labor activities in order to "discourage employees from engaging in these activities."

Robert "Mick" Minicola, HTH regional vice president, said none of the allegations has any merit and the hotel looks forward to "settling things" at the hearing.

"They're allegations, but there is no proof that that's happened and that's why there's a hearing," Minicola said. "Until the hearing's done, right now we're not guilty of anything."

He said the hotel upholds the rights of its employees and, based on a petition given to management in July, Minicola said the workers do not want to be represented by the ILWU or any other union. He said the petition was signed by more than 200 of the 367 employees.

"We respect their choice," he said.

The ILWU, however, has contended that many of the employees were pressured into signing the petition, which is not legally binding and differs from a decertification vote that is conducted by the NLRB. The union said many employees continue to support the union, but are afraid to speak out, fearing they would lose their jobs.

Dave Mori, ILWU O'ahu Division director, said he's pleased that the NLRB will pursue the charges against the hotel.

"We have always maintained that the hotel's treatment of its employees was illegal," Mori said. "The NLRB conducted the most thorough investigation possible, and they came to the same conclusion that we did — HTH Corp.'s refusal to recognize the employees' union is simply illegal."

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.