San Francisco Hotel Contract Talks Resume

Contract negotiators for 13 San Francisco hotels and the union that represents their workers are scheduled to resume talks today about wages and other economic matters that they have been unable to reach agreement on for nearly two years.

The employers are due to make a contract proposal, and in the company of a federal mediator, the two sides have booked bargaining sessions at the Palace Hotel through Friday.

An accord could be reached this summer because one of the primary issues separating the two sides since 2004 was the union's campaign for a contract with a 2006 expiration date. The union, Local 2 of Unite Here, has wanted an agreement that synchronized with those of other Unite Here locals across the country, in order to strengthen its bargaining power. Because the union has reached 2006 with an expired contract, it will have achieved its goal if a settlement is reached.

The 13 hotels are joined in an entity called the San Francisco Multi-Employer Group, which exists to negotiate labor contracts. There were 14 hotels in the group, but the Argent Hotel has been sold and opted out of the employer group. There are some 4,300 union workers at the 13 hotels, and the contract they agree to will be replicated at other San Francisco union hotels employing an additional 5,000 workers.

Whether the issues will be resolved this week, however, is anyone's guess. The employers' group had no comment Monday but said in a recent message to employees on the Multi-employer Web site that it "wanted to try to reach a deal on a new contract by the end (of) bargaining on the 21st.''

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Source - San Francisco Chronicle


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