A new twist has emerged in a dispute between UNITE HERE Local 17 and the management of the Ramada Inn Airport ? formerly the Thunderbird Hotel and Convention Center. The company, Sanford Hospitality, LLC, has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging that UNITE HERE Local 17 "has attempted to enforce an illegal contract."

The NLRB scheduled interviews with the union and employer for the week of March 13 to investigate the charges.

Last November, during a purported management and ownership change, Sanford readily signed a contract with UNITE HERE Local 17 in apparent compliance with the successor clause of Local 17's contract with the Thunderbird, a longtime union hotel. At the time, management voiced no objections to the contract and assured Local 17 and 70 workers that everyone's jobs would be maintained, said Rita Leckie, Local 17 business representative.

In mid-December, however, 25 employees received final paychecks and abruptly learned they no longer had jobs. Many of the workers discharged were longtime employees age 40 and older.

Seven of those workers, meeting at Local 17 offices March 8, said they had filed age discrimination complaints with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Those complaints have been referred to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

One of the seven, Ruth Clay, who had worked six years at the former Thunderbird as a waitress, reported that she had found a new waitress job at the Millennium Hotel, also a Local 17 shop.

Others in the group, however, said finding restaurant work at wages comparable to their former union-wage jobs is difficult. "Once you attain that level of buying power it's tough to go in reverse," said waiter Tom Pieschel. "Plus you're not going to have the health care."

Pam Siewert said she's finding only part-time jobs that pay $6-$8 per hour for less than 30 hours a week. At the Thunderbird, she earned $12.76 per hour, she said.

Workers: 'tapping credit cards'
The workers are collecting unemployment but life without a paycheck is tough. "I'm in the same shape as everybody else," said one worker. "I'm tapping my credit cards."

All workers now face the expiration of their employer-paid health coverage. They can continue to pay the premiums on their own ? at a cost that will rise to more than $380 per month for individuals.

The workers said they received letters from Ramada offering three additional months of health coverage and a $2,000 cash payment ? if they would drop their age discrimination complaints and efforts to reclaim their jobs. Only two people took the deal, workers said.

"For the amount of money we're out, $2,000 is a slap in the face," Pieschel said. Plus, the workers noted, the offer was sent to them as individuals, and not presented through Local 17.

The management also went outside union channels to rehire two developmentally disabled workers, Joe Skluzacek and Pat Weber. "Joe and Pat were longtime workers there," Leckie said. They were favorites with many of the hotel's regular customers.

As a longtime union hotel, the Thunderbird often received union bookings for conferences and other events. "Unions are upset that this happened," Leckie said. "I know [the Ramada] has received a lot of letters of support to the general manager asking them to hire back the workers."

Local 17 has filed a grievance with the NLRB over the workers' discharge, but, because the union maintains that its contract remains in place, other tactics to pressure management are out-of-bounds.

Valentine's Day: A noisy wake-up call
Not so for other unions. Local unions from the new Change to Win Federation, which includes UNITE HERE, staged a noisy early morning wake-up call at the Ramada February 14 ? Valentine's Day. At 7 a.m. that morning, 100 Change to Win representatives gathered with two semi-trucks, bullhorns, whistles, drums and sirens to wake up hotel customers.

In addition to the early and loud wake up call, customers also received a Valentine's Day card under their door explaining that the new owners of the hotel unfairly terminated 25 longtime workers. Customers were asked to bring the Valentine's Day cards to the hotel management and encourage them to rehire the employees.

"We are asking all union organizations to cancel events at the hotel until this matter is settled," said Brad Slawson, Jr. chair of the Change to Win Federation in Minnesota and Teamsters Local 120 secretary-treasurer. "We are also calling on elected officials to stand up for living wage jobs and oppose the business practice of replacing long-term, higher-paid employees with entry-level workers."

Letters may be sent to:
Craig Scott, General Manager
Ramada Inn Airport at Mall of America
2300 East American Blvd.
Bloomington, MN, 55425
Phone: 952-854-3411

Steve Share edits the Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council.