Following an eight-month battle of demonstrations and boycotts against the Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel, the success of employees hoping to unionize now hinges on a National Labor Relations Board complaint, with a formal hearing scheduled for March 31 in Boston.
Hotel workers and the labor union Unite Here Local 217 allege multiple acts of “interfering with, restraining and coercing” employee organizing rights in the complaint. And Renaissance workers contend that their wages are “significantly lower than their counterparts” in unionized hotels in Providence such as the Omni and Biltmore, according to a Unite Here Local 217 press release.
The Proccianti Group, which owns the Renaissance Hotel, denied the complaint’s allegations and called for their dismissal, writing that “the allegations fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.”
The complaint lists the Renaissance Hotel’s “Standards of Behavior” as an example of the hotel management’s labor violations. Hotel workers point to two standards in particular — discussing or voicing complaints of internal matters to guests and behaving in any way that may have an adverse effect upon the reputation of the hotel — as support for their allegations.
According to the NLRB complaint, Director of Front Office Arnaldo Almonte, General Manager Agelo DePeri and Area Director of Sales and Marketing Giselle Moronta led a meeting in which they listened to complaints and promised workers free food and better working conditions and benefits to deter employee unionization efforts. DePeri and Almonte also “interrogated employees about their union activities,” according to the complaint.
Hipolito Rivera — who has worked for the Renaissance for over seven years — said management has employed various tactics, from intimidation to bribery, in order to deter unionization. Employees were taken out to restaurants to “discuss solutions and promises of more materials and changing night shifts,” Rivera said.
A “worker of the month” award was introduced just a few months ago with prizes of either a computer or TV for the winner, Rivera said, adding that he believes these management tactics were intended to stop the workers’ movement.
Rivera said he felt victimized by management after he was suspended and almost fired for using a phone charger in the lost and found for a few hours, adding that this move was likely made in response to his leadership in unionization efforts. He was able to keep his position at the hotel after a large group of his colleagues and Unite Here Local 217 went to the management to demand he get his job back but was placed under probation for 90 days, Rivera said.
The Renaissance Hotel also distributed campaign information to its employees, which said that even if its employees unionized, “No law says we would have to sign a contract.”
These alleged various attempts to coerce and restrain workers have been cited in the NLRB complaint as a violation of Section 7 and Section 8(a) of the National Labor Relations Act.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the national Department of Labor issued citations and fines to the Renaissance in October for violations regarding the use of dangerous chemicals, forcing the hotel to pay $8,000 in fines. When employees requested copies of the OSHA injury logs, hotel management wrote in response that it did not have the last five years’ records, despite being required by federal law to hold these records, according to a press release from Unite Here Local 217.
The Student Labor Alliance and the Brown International Socialist Organization have been involved in increasing awareness of the complaint.
“We don’t want alumni and staff to support a business that takes advantage of workers and taxpayer money,” said Mariela Martinez ’14, an SLA member.
Ian Georgianna ’15, a member of the Brown International Socialist Organization, participated in a December boycott to convince organizations to support the Renaissance workers. Following the boycott, the Unitarian Universalist Association canceled a block of rooms they had previously reserved for their annual convention. The Brown students involved in the movement are also trying to persuade the University to sign a pledge vowing not to do business with the Renaissance until the situation is resolved.
Jenna Karlin from Unite Here Local 217 said she is hopeful and confident that the workers’ rights will be recognized in the scheduled hearing in March.
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