Councilman Has Reservations About Hotel Layoffs

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Hotels in Los Angeles that lay off employees due to renovation projects may soon be required to offer those employees their jobs back later.

In a move targeting the prestigious Bel Air Hotel, which has been embroiled in a dispute with a labor union since shutting down last year for a two-year renovation project, an L.A. city councilman has called for an ordinance requiring hotels that lay off large numbers of workers because of construction or remodeling to offer any future jobs to those laid off workers.

Councilman Paul Koretz, who represents the Bel Air neighborhood, introduced a motion calling for the ordinance last week.

“While this reinvestment in Los Angeles is good news for our economy, these renovations mean that many quality workers are without jobs for an extended period,” Koretz said in his motion.

Among L.A. hotels that have announced plans to renovate are the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza and the Wilshire Grand.

While the motion refers to hotels that have closed for renovation or plan to do so, Koretz spokesman Paul Neuman acknowledged the driving force of the issue was the Bel Air Hotel, which is owned by the sultan of Brunei and managed by the Dorchester Group. Early last year, the hotel announced plans to shut down for a two-year renovation project that includes upgrades to all 91 rooms and suites, the main restaurant and private dining rooms.

Unite Here Local 11, which represented most of the 250 workers at the hotel, tried to make a deal with management to have the hotel rehire the workers upon reopening. But when the hotel shut down in September 2009, the workers were laid off with no promise of rehiring.

The union and hotel management continued their negotiations after the closure, but talks broke down this summer.

Union officials said hotel management is using the renovation as a way to drive out union workers at the hotel. They note that in the 1990s, the Beverly Hills Hotel, which was also owned by the sultan of Brunei, shut down for a major renovation. In that case, union employees were laid off and the hotel reopened with a largely nonunion work force.

“We support renovations that are good for workers,” said Unite Here spokeswoman Leigh Shelton. “But some hotels like the Bel Air Hotel see this as an opportunity to lay off longtime employees – many of them union employees – and hire new nonunion employees at lower wage and benefit levels.”

Hotel spokeswoman Carol Ann Kelley-Elwell said the Bel Air had no comment on the proposed ordinance or the labor negotiations.

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Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

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