Local 17 gains victory, truce with Holiday Inn

Hotel and Restaurant Employees Local 17 expects to sign a labor peace agreement this week with the Holiday Inn RiverCentre and Mississippi Mud River Grill, gaining a victory in round one of its drive to reclaim the hotel and restaurant as a union house.

Under the deal, Local 17 will end its boycott and public campaign against the Holiday Inn, said organizer Kyle Makarios. In return, hotel owner Ken Golder agrees to remain neutral in a union organizing drive and to recognize the union if a majority of hotel and restaurant employees sign cards seeking representation by Local 17.

“It’s clear the boycott is paying off,” Makarios said. “We’ve clearly impacted their ability to do business in St. Paul.”

Former workers not forgotten
Once the deal is formally signed, Makarios said, Local 17 will shift into full organizing mode. The agreement, which remains in effect for six months, gives organizers access to the property and provides contact information for employees, he said.

If Local 17 is successful in organizing the workers, Golder will give hiring preference, as openings occur, to the four former union workers who continue to seek a job at the hotel: Joe Longstreet, Jeanne Guertin, Vicki Amundson and Jennifer Adams.

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“We were not going to take a deal that leaves them out,” Makarios said.

Campaign began last April
The hotel, located across the street from the Xcel Energy Center, is a former unionized Days Inn. In anticipation of increased business from the new hockey arena, the hotel closed in late 1999 for renovations.

When it finally reopened a year and a half later, the former owners had sold a majority share to Golder, who changed the hotel to a Holiday Inn. Golder refused to recognize the union, whose contract had expired during reconstruction, and refused to rehire any of the hotel’s 30 union workers.

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Local 17 began a series of noisy and colorful demonstrations, and took other actions behind the scenes to steer customers away from the hotel. It launched a formal boycott in August. Two months later, Golder called and begin seeking a truce.

As talks progressed, the union suspended picketing and other public activities. The union hopes to schedule a public signing ceremony of the agreement, perhaps with Mayor Randy Kelly as witness.

From the Jan. 16, 2002, issue of The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission. The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org

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