Labor Relations

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• Struck a landmark agreement with a hotel labor union in a marathon bargaining session that saved a historic east coast hotel from closing. The three-year agreement gave the distressed hotel a chance to get back on its feet while preserving jobs for hotel employees—and forged a new benchmark in hospitality labor agreements. The agreement provided an exit for employees from the national retirement fund while implementing a new 401(k) plan; increased employee healthcare premiums, but with a performance incentive to defray the increase; gave employees more flexibility in paid time off arrangements; and froze wages at a slightly elevated level for three years. The agreement also created additional novel performance incentives.
• Assisted a major international media company in negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement at a San Diego television station, ending a six-year labor dispute with the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET) representing bargaining unit. When the company acquired the TV station and other TV stations from another international media conglomerate in 2012, the TV station had been without a collective bargaining agreement since 2006 and had been subject to constant litigation and a boycott brought by the California Labor Council. We worked with NABET at the international and local levels to negotiate a three-year agreement that preserved many of the changes that had been unilaterally implemented by the previous company while providing for the transition of employees to the new company’s compensation and benefit packages. The terms of employment also gave the company the flexibility to operate on the Internet and elsewhere without being subjected to work jurisdictional claims by the union.
• Represented a client in successful opposition of a union organizing drive by the Teamsters, who waged a determined, heavy-hitting campaign against our client in an industry that does not have a history of unionization. The client had purchased the target company only four months before the union filed its petition. Within days we assisted the client in developing a comprehensive campaign plan that included helping the new owners develop camaraderie and trust with a largely Spanish-speaking workforce. Our attorneys worked closely with local and national leadership to ensure that the client ran a lawful and effective campaign. The employer won the initial election. The Teamsters challenged the results but walked away from a re-run election.