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Hotel Bel-Air Closes For Renovations, Laying Off 250 Union Workers
LATimes ^ | September 30, 2009

Posted on 09/30/2009 7:18:10 PM PDT by Steelfish

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.

By Hugo Martín and Patrick McDonnell 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.

Shelton said the severance package offered to give workers two weeks' worth of salary for every year on the job plus a contribution to a health plan that could last about six months. But she said that the deductibles on the plan were so high that workers could not afford them. And she said the severance package did not include the most important benefit to workers: a guarantee that the hotel employees would have jobs when the face-lift was completed.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: belair; hotels; travel; unions

1 posted on 09/30/2009 7:18:10 PM PDT by Steelfish
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To: Steelfish

Re-open AFTER the 2010 elections.


2 posted on 09/30/2009 7:21:56 PM PDT by Marty62 (former Marty60)
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To: Steelfish

That’s some pretty sweet severance. Just five years working there gives two and a half months of full pay. That would leave someone quite a bit of time to dedicate full-time to finding another job, or even get some training to get a better job.


3 posted on 09/30/2009 7:30:11 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: Steelfish
"Union busting! Time to bring in the Rat!"


4 posted on 09/30/2009 7:32:49 PM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Steelfish

SEIU union? Business probably sucks too due to O Depression.


5 posted on 09/30/2009 7:34:20 PM PDT by Frantzie (Do we want ACORN running America's healthcare?)
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To: Steelfish

That’s one way to do it!

Good for the hotel.


6 posted on 09/30/2009 7:49:23 PM PDT by markomalley (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus)
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To: Steelfish

There are no guarantees that anyone will have a certain job two years from now. There is no requirement to provide income and benefits while the hotel is closed. There is no spoon. Here’s a taco for your inconvenience.


7 posted on 09/30/2009 7:58:10 PM PDT by Sender (It's never too late to be who you could have been.)
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To: Steelfish
SWEET!

every time a union worker loses his job, an angle smiles.

8 posted on 09/30/2009 8:00:41 PM PDT by TexasFreeper2009 (Obama lied, the economy died)
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To: Steelfish

You’d think all those wealthy celebrities who frequent the Bel Air would get together and pay these people’s salary and benefits until they can find other work.


9 posted on 09/30/2009 9:16:29 PM PDT by Lorianne
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To: TexasFreeper2009

TexasFreeper2009 wrote:
SWEET!

every time a union worker loses his job, an angle smiles


I smile tooo! BTW you mislpelled ANGEL but i’m sure an Angel forgives you.
:-)


10 posted on 09/30/2009 9:46:38 PM PDT by 1FASTGLOCK45 (FreeRepublic: More fun than watching Dem'Rats drown like Turkeys in the rain! ! !)
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To: TexasFreeper2009

A right angle, maybe. A left one, probably not.


11 posted on 10/01/2009 5:46:26 AM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)
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