Hotel Bel-Air closes for renovations, laying off 250 union workers (hotel won't commit to rehiring)

[marmar]

from the Los Angeles Times:



Hotel Bel-Air closes for renovations, laying off 250 union workers
The hotel has refused to commit to rehiring the employees, many of whom are immigrants, when work is done in 2011. Many are worried about losing affordable health coverage.

October 1, 2009


The Hotel Bel-Air closed quietly Wednesday, shutting for two years of renovations without agreeing to a severance package with its unionized employees.

The resort -- for more than 60 years a retreat for presidents, movie stars and others -- has refused to commit to rehire 250 union employees after its multimillion-dollar face-lift is complete in 2011. Leaders of Unite Here Local 11 have accused the hotel's managers of using the renovation project to rid itself of the union.

Management has offered workers a severance package but union leaders have rejected the deal, saying it provides inadequate health insurance coverage and no guarantees that the employees will have jobs when the hotel reopens. A federal mediator is expected to oversee further meetings, starting today.

"We think it's a tactic to close the union and clear out the workers," said Leigh Shelton, a spokeswoman for Unite Here Local 11. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-belair1-2009oct01,0,1184124.story