UNITE HERE Local 57 was today certified as the collective bargaining representative of the workers at the Pittsburgh Renaissance Hotel. The certification was based on a check of authorization cards revealing that a majority of the workers want UNITE HERE to represent them.
This certification comes after a long struggle by the workers and the union. The hotel and the union signed an organizing agreement in 2001 that provided, among other things, that the employer would remain neutral with respect to its workers’ decision whether to join a union and that it would respect that choice by means of a card check. After receiving benefits under the agreement, the hotel announced it was reneging on its own promises to its workers and declared the agreement void. The union sued to enforce the agreement in federal court in Pittsburgh, where it prevailed, and the hotel appealed.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the union’s position. Its landmark published opinion, written by then-Judge Michael Chertoff, rejected the hotel’s arguments, including ones that had been advanced by opponents of card check/neutrality agreements—and even a member of the National Labor Relations Board. First, the court held that federal labor law did not preempt the city’s labor-peace ordinance, which sought to protect the city’s investment in particular hospitality projects by requiring the project owner to get a labor-peace guaranty. Second, the court rejected the argument that Section 302 of the Taft Hartley Act renders unlawful agreements between employers and unions to set guidelines for employee organizing, including neutrality and card-check recognition. The Supreme Court denied the hotel’s request for additional review. Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees, Local 57 v. Sage Hospitality Resources, LCC, 390 F.3d 206 (3rd Cir. 2004), certiorari den. 544 U.S. 1010, 125 S.Ct. 1944, 161 L.Ed.2d 792, 177 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2192 (2005).
