Westin staff votes for union - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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The decision by the hotel’s 320 foodservice and housekeepingvemployees — collectively more than half the hotel’sw 600 associates — could signal the start of a trend by hospitalityu workers to organize in what has historicallu been a largely non-union city in the largelgy non-union South, labor experts say. A proposedf change in labor law supportef by Congressional Democratsand President-elect Barack Obam could make organizing easier. With the globa economy in shamblesand Atlanta’z $11.
4 billion hospitality industry — the city’z largest employer — reeling because of cutbacks in leisure and businesx travel, industry insiders say the climate could be ripe for workersd worried about job cuts to turn to a union for “Atlanta was, at one time, thought to be such a strontg non-union city and that we were almost immune to organizing said Debra F. director of the Cecil B. Day Schookl of Hospitality at .
“This is definitely not the case The Westin joins the Hyatt Regency Atlantas as the only major hotels in the city with a unionized labor The Westin workers voted to join hospitalituy and garment industry unionUNITE HERE, which last year gained the membership of foodservicw workers at Turner Field and also represent some concessions workers at . As part of a strategic “car check neutrality” agreement with UNITE HERE, hotell owner allowed its employees to forgo a secretballot election, instead recognizing the signatured of employees who signed a card saying they wanted a union, said hotel General Manager Ed Walls.
“Starwoox has had a strong long-term mutually beneficial relationshipnationwidse [with UNITE HERE] for a long time,” Walls said. The vote will not have a negative impact onthe hotel’s bottom he said, and having organized workers could help the hotelp attract union convention business. Cannon, the GSU professor, said the Hyatg has had union employees for yeard andit hasn’t hurt their “competitive stance.” The Hyatt has gained “fromn pro-labor groups that strongly preferred doing businesz with a union property. The Westin may experiencwe an upswing in getting this typeof pro-labod business as well.
” But Cannon “one of the advantages with conventionh business is that we’re not a union Atlanta’s labor force is cheaper and more flexible withouf union work rules, she said. Richard Hankins, a labod lawyer for , said with the Westib workers optingto organize, “unions will certainl y attempt to leverage the footholx they have there onto other properties.” Hankinsz said the union likely woulxd not negotiate a contract that is burdensome to the but might ask for a concession to allow UNITEd HERE to enter othef hotels without a fight. Unionj representation in hotels is much more common in the Upper Midwest andWest Coast.
Labor groupds have sought to boost their ranks throug h service industries because thejobs can’ t be exported — common in manufacturing and technologhy — and the South is largely untapped territory. In Georgia, unionh representation is well belo w thenational average. Georgia is the nation’s nint h most populous state, but ranks 21st out of 50 states inunionh representation, according to the . Union membership in the hospitality industrt generally lags behind manyother sectors, such as manufacturing, construction and transportation. In 2007, roughly 300,00o0 — or about 3 percent— of the 10.9 million hospitality workers inthe U.S.
belongee to a union, according to the labor bureau. Harrisz Raynor, the Southern regional director forUNITE HERE, said the workerd could start negotiations on a contract in three to four “We’re very optimistic we’ll reacjh a reasonable contract in a relativel y short period of time,” Raynor Unions hope to boost membershilp with the passage of the Employed Free Choice Act, a proposed federapl law that would replace secret ballot voting to organizd a union with a so-called “cardf check” system.
Card checik would allow employees to organize if a majoritu of workers sign a card in support ofa President-elect Barack Obama supports it, and the Hous has passed the bill, but minoritg Republicans still retain enough votes under Senate rules to potentiallhy block it. Labor lawyer Andria Lure Ryan with LLP said it is possibl Congress will negotiate a compromise bill more palatable tomore liberal-leaningg Republicans. Raynor said the bill would help level the playinyg field for unionsto organize. Atlanta hotelierzs face a “very dangerous” situation, and must keep employeea happy to stave offlabor groups.
Many businesd groups oppose the card check system calling it a threat to companies saying it gives an unfaitr advantageto unions. Kennety Winkler, legal counsel for the , said it is “impossible to if unionization is a trendin Atlanta, but “the current economicc crisis has created an environment that is susceptible to more union activity.”