- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
HVLA signs proposed settlement agreement with union; workers indicate return, but issues remain
HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Hidden Valley Lake Association has signed a proposed agreement to settle a complaint filed against it by federal officials on behalf of its unionized employees.
The complaint was filed against the association by the National Labor Relations Board's Region 20 on behalf of Laborers Union Local 324.
As a result of the proposed settlement the association said it has received word that union employees who have been on strike and picketing since April will return to work next week.
However, there are still steps to follow before the settlement is finalized, according to officials from the National Labor Relations Board and Laborers Union Local 324.
“The employer signed a settlement but it's far from done,” said Kathleen Schneider, supervisory attorney for Region 20 of the National Labor Relations Board in San Francisco.
Schneider said the union has objected to the settlement proposal, and the National Labor Relations Board Region 20 has not yet approved it.
Paul Supton – attorney for the Northern California District Council of Laborers and its affiliated local union, Laborers Union Local 324 – confirmed that he filed objections to the settlement proposal.
“I thought the violations were so serious and so numerous that the settlement was inadequate in a couple of particulars,” Supton said.
HVLA General Manager Cindy Spears said the complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board alleged the association owed 13 union employees back wages due to unilateral changes to the now-expired union collective bargaining agreement and that HVLA committed certain unfair labor practices.
The two sides have reached a stalemate in recent months, with a main point of contention being a $1.95 reduction the association asked the union employees to take in order to cover health and welfare costs. “It had nothing to do with wages,” said Spears.
The association, she said, has numerous financial challenges it is trying to meet while dealing with the union's demands, including a $700,000 annual subsidy for the golf course and lake sediment issues that likely will require about $500,000 to resolve.
She said the association has to look at ways to reduce some of its costs and has asked the union to work with it in finding solutions.
A complaint hearing was set for June 15 in Santa Rosa. Two weeks prior to the hearing, Spears said the National Labor Relations Board offered the association a settlement to the union’s filed grievances.
“We received the offer as an opportunity for HVLA and the union to work cooperatively in the best interest of both parties,” Spears said.
She said HVLA’s counter settlement offer was accepted by the NLRB, allowing both HVLA and the union to save tens of thousands of dollars and what she anticipated would have been contentious hearing.
Altogether, HVLA would pay less than $1,800 to employees under the settlement, Spears said, noting that had the case moved to court, the association was facing as much as $30,000 in legal fees.
The proposed agreement doesn't require the association and union to return to negotiations at a specific date, Spears said.
Spears said every time the two sides have sat down for negotiations, the union has never shown up with a counter proposal.
Nonetheless, “We're going to go back to the table with them and try to resolve whatever we can resolve,” she said, with the association optimistic that the proposed agreement will serve as a positive step toward negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement between HVLA and the union.
As a result of this settlement proposal, Spears said the union workers have notified HVLA – through a letter from Supton – that they will return to work on Monday, June 22.
Another indication that the situation has cooled off is that a giant inflatable rat that had accompanied picketers and was meant to symbolize the association – complete with a cigar and dollar bills pouring out of his pockets – has been taken down, Spears said.
On the union side, concerns remain about the settlement proposal. Supton said he's asked that certain portions of the proposal be expanded to include all of the violations and remedies, but he hasn't heard back from the National Labor Relations Board yet.
Among his main objections is that nonwage compensation – health insurance, retirement and annuities – wasn't included in the proposal. He said that's important because the association's union employees are very low paid.
In a letter dated June 12 to the National Labor Relations Board, Supton listed his concerns, including those related to nonwage compensation.
Another key concern is entering into an informal settlement with the association, which he said has demonstrated a propensity to violate labor law, including unilaterally changing terms and conditions of employment. He also alleged that such violations have occurred even since the association signed the proposed agreement.
Other issues Supton raised include not informing employees of their right not to be discriminated against because of union activity, not addressing the association's installation of surveillance cameras and what Supton called “unlawful surveillance” of employees engaged in protected union activities.
The informal settlement proposal, according to Supton, was drafted by the National Labor Relations Board and taken to Spears to be signed before it was shown to the union.
That's a practice of unilateral action that Supton – a former National Labor Relations Board attorney who has been working in this area of the law for 30 years – said is typical.
“With this employer’s track record, it would be foolish to take an informal settlement,” Supton said.
However, he said he expects the board will confirm the proposal. That would leave Supton with the option of filing an appeal, which – based on his analysis of board decisions – are approved only in about 5 percent of cases.
Supton also is not clear about the status of additional charges against HVLA that the unions have filed. He said the informal settlement proposal only deals with about 40 percent of the charges that are still pending.
“There's another eight to 10 charges that they haven’t addressed,” he said.
Said Spears, “He may have some more out there, but so do we,” explaining that the association recently filed five new labor charges against the union.
HVLA staff was in San Francisco on Wednesday to testify to federal officials about issues involving coercion, the blocking of golf carts and garbage cans by picketers, and aggressive treatment of management as well as a board member who Spears said has been followed and photographed by union employees.
“This is just bullying,” Spears said.
Schneider said the board can take settlements unilaterally over the union's objection. “But we will consider what their objections are before taking it unilaterally.”
She said the board postponed the scheduled trial pending completion of the settlement, but added, “It's not over till it's over.”
Schneider estimated a decision on whether the union's objections are meritorious – and whether the board director will approve the deal – could come down in the next week or two.
For his part, Supton said, “I really would like to have peace with this employer like we have in the past.”
He said the union wants to get back on the right track with HVLA. “But it's hard to do.”
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