Omni woes continue as dispute heads to NLRB

By Alexander Dworkowitz

According to Warren Heyman, secretary treasurer and organizer for Local 217, employee Ovella Watts was called into a meeting with the restaurant's manager and chef on Fri., Jan. 23, where she was given a written warning for talking about the union on the job.

Heyman, speaking for Watts, said that she was unaware of the hotel's rules regarding conversation on the job. "As far as Ovella knows, there are no rules for what one can and cannot talk about while working," he said. That evening, Watts reported the incident to the union, which then filed a charge on her behalf.

Omni administrators defended the meeting with Watts. "The issue with Ms. Watts was that she was organizing on company time," Linda Libby, general manager of the hotel, said. "If it disrupts work, then it is counter to that which is productive to the hotel environment."

The issue is now out of the hands of Omni and Local 217 and under the jurisdiction of Jonathan Kreisberg, the NLRB attorney for the New Haven area. Kreisberg said he assigned the case to a board agent to investigate. The next step will be to "provide each side a chance to present any evidence they want, and then we make a decision whether to make a formal complaint." If the NLRB does decide to issue a complaint, it will give the two sides a chance to settle. Otherwise, the union will be able to bring Omni to court.

Ironically, the conversation between Watts and her employers took place on a day labor protests were taking place outside the hotel. From the day it has opened, Omni has been beset by labor controversy.

In 1994, developer David Cordish purchased the vacant Park Plaza hotel. As part of the deal, New Haven gave Cordish $10 million in exchange for signing a neutrality agreement requiring that the hotel hire at least 35 percent of its workers from the city of New Haven. Additionally, the agreement stipulated that if over 50 percent of the workers turned in union cards, the workers would have a union.

The agreement, however, also contained a clause stating that the policy did not have to be followed if Cordish sold the hotel. In 1996, Cordish signed on with Omni, and in February 1997, he sold his $10 million stake, opting instead to be only one-percent partners with Omni. Omni wishes to hold a secret ballot election to determine whether its workers will unionize; the workers and Local 217 demand solely the union card agreement.

According to Bob Proto, president of Yale's Local 35, Omni's current stance is to have meetings with the workers every other week for the next five months to discuss organizing. If one third of the workers turn in cards, an election of whether or not to have a union will be held a month later.

During that month, Omni is allowed to "run an education process of the workers," in which it can dissuade workers from organizing, Proto said. Libby confirmed that "we have requested that in the period before the vote we would not necessarily remain neutral." She insisted that Omni is committed to holding an election. "We at the hotel feel strongly that an election is important," said Libby. "It protects the worker's rights to make an informed choice." Heyman countered that "We're upset that the hotel, in essence, has reneged on its support to the community."

Omni workers have garnered the support of Yale's Student Labor Action Committee (SLAC) in addition to Local 217 and Local 35. From the day the hotel opened, the unions and SLAC have protested in front of the hotel nearly every Friday. "I think what happened this past week with this woman is a perfect example of why a neutrality agreement is needed," SLAC Chair Katie Unger, BR '98, said.

Although Libby said that the protests have not had a serious impact on business, the dispute has certainly not provided the hotel with a warm welcome. Walter Eisdaile, the city's development administrator, acknowledged that the Omni has not been recieved with open arms, but said that the city feels powerless in the dispute. "We are obviously not happy," Eisdaile said, "[but] it's difficult for us to intervene. We encourage the parties to work out their disagreements."

Photo by Julia Tiernan.

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