Jul. 13--The Murphy administration has directed the operators of the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel to recognize a hotel union, reversing a decision the administration made last month. 
 

But the hotel's operator, Denver-based Sage Hospitality Resources, is rejecting the city directive, claiming a series of events preceding it violated labor law.  Sage has a pending unfair labor practice charge filed against Local 57 of the Hotel Employees, Restaurant Employees Union and Pittsburgh City Council, alleging council members conspired with the union to force hotel employees to unionize.

Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel

Sage filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the union on June 28 and against City Council on July 2, saying that the council measure was illegal and so was a truce brokered by Mayor Tom Murphy between Sage and the union in February. 

That was one month before the 310-room hotel was opening and after council had moved to repeal the subsidies, saying Sage had not allowed for unionization as required by its bill. 

Murphy's truce, called a neutrality agreement, allowed the union to conduct an organizing drive, and it named city Personnel Director Barbara Parees a third-party referee to determine whether the union could get 51 percent of the hotel's employees to join. 

The drive was done through a card check procedure, in which hotel workers signed representation cards, and it was performed without a representation election conducted by the NLRB. 

On June 19 Parees ruled the union did not collect enough signatures. The union took her decision to an arbitrator (which Murphy's truce allowed), and on July 3, arbitrator John J. Morgan ruled a majority of hotel employees had designated the union to represent them. So on Wednesday, Parees reversed her previous decision and directed Sage to recognize the union also. 

"I'm living by the neutrality agreement," Parees said yesterday of her reversal. 

Sage attorney John M. O'Donnell said Parees's letter had "no effect on anything," since the hotel is trying to get the labor board to throw out the neutrality agreement and council's 1999 bill. 

The unfair labor practice charges say the union coerced employees to join, that council's bill violates employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act and that some council members conspired with the union by implementing legislation and helping with organization efforts. 

Yesterday O'Donnell singled out council bill sponsors Gene Ricciardi and Alan Hertzberg, who also sent letters to employees urging them to join the union. 

Ricciardi could not be reached, but Hertzberg defended his legislation and lobbying efforts, saying they were done to protect city tax money and guarantee good jobs for residents. He called Sage's charges "groundless, baseless, frivolous and baloney." 

Council had a private executive session on the matter yesterday morning with city Law Department attorneys. Deputy Solicitor George Spector did not return phone calls, nor did Local 57 attorney Terry Leckman. 

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