Hotel Calls for New Vote to Decertify Union

The general manager of the city’s only unionized hotel challenged union organizers this week to hold a new decertification vote on the anniversary of a disputed election in which employees narrowly voted to oust the union as their bargaining representative.

In a letter sent to Local 814 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, Miramar Sheraton General Manager William Worcester criticized union officials for filing objections to the decertification vote held last Oct. 1.

Worcester wrote that it was “unfair to our employees to keep this matter tied up in government bureaucracy any longer” and called for Local 814 to abandon its objection proceedings and agree to hold a new election.

Officials at Local 814, who have long held that Miramar management intimidated employees into opposing the union, said that until management changes are made, a new election would be unfair.

“Clearly, this is a move to better their P.R., which has been sullied to the point of the Mirarmar being known around town as a pariah,” said Local 814 lead organizer Kurt Petersen.

In July, a National Labor Relations Board hearing examiner ruled that hotel managers had interrogated and intimidated employees in hopes that they would vote against the union. The hotel appealed the decision, and a ruling on the appeal is pending.

In June, the labor board ordered the Miramar to rescind raises given to two anti-union employees and award retroactive raises to about 200 hotel employees represented by the union. A hearing on that issue is scheduled for November.