Fired hotel employee testifies at hearing into Blackstone action

[Omaha Steve]

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=141127


Layton Ehmke/MEDILL

Unite Here Local 1 President Harry Tamarin speaks at a news conference last week to endorse Pat Quinn, at right, for governor. Tamarin is at the the center of the labor union's complaint against the Blackstone Hotel in the South Loop.

by Layton Ehmke
Oct 06, 2009

Several fired employees of the Blackstone Hotel claim that they were singled out for their union activities; a hearing this week is looking into the allegations.
The National Labor Relations Board, which administers labor law, has taken up the union’s charges against the hotel in the South Loop at 636 S. Michigan Ave. They say hotel management threatened union activists, silenced and were discriminatory against union members, all amid slow-moving labor contract negotiations.

In the second day of the hearing, Blackstone attorney Norman Buchsbaum cross-examined the NLRB’s first witness, former room service employee, Meghan Courtney. Courtney is among five other room service employees who were discharged.

Buchsbaum asked Courtney about conversations she had with management and co-workers about labor negotiations. Courtney said, upon direct question, that Unite Here Local 1 president Harry Tamarin had said the contract the union was asking for was tougher on Blackstone compared with other unionized Chicago hotels.

Alexandra Canalos, spokeswoman for the union, said room service employees took the brunt of the firings because those employees were more active about organizing the rest of the Blackstone workforce. She said the terminations were discriminatory against the heart of the organizing effort.

FULL story at link.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Eleanor Roosevelt's room was bugged there. Does the Maharishi still own it?

The 'smoke-filled' room was there also.