One of the unions’ most successful strategies in recent years has been to align themselves with the cause of “consumer protection.” It’s great PR – so much more appealing to the general public than saying, “Help us protect our members.”
On Wednesday, the Providence City Council’s ordinance committee is considering a measure that’s the epitome of this strategy. Dubbed the “Providence Hotel & Convention Consumer Protection Act,” it would require hotels to warn potential guests about ongoing labor strife.
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On its face, it looks like a perfectly reasonable idea. If a hotel is crippled by a strike, or if guests will have to cross through thick, angry picket lines just to get in and out, it would be good to know that in advance, so you can find a different place to stay.
Vacationers in particular don’t like nasty surprises; they want peace and quiet, and they want to get what the brochures show – without labor disturbances.
But the proposal wouldn’t just apply to a hotel that is shuttered because all of its workers have walked out, or that is surrounded by angry mobs. It would apply to any “struck” or “boycotted” hotel, even places without unionized labor.
A “struck” hotel would be any that is “subject to a work stoppage of more than seven days” by 20 or more workers – with no distinction between a boutique hotel for which that’s the full staff, and the Providence Biltmore, which employs hundreds.
“Boycotted” hotels could be an even bigger club: any hotels that are “subject to a publicized boycott conducted for more than seven days’ duration” by a labor group that is “the recognized or certified representative” of 20 or more of their employees.
Anyone who fits that category would have to notify potential guests prior to booking, with “clearly visible,” written notice on the hotel’s Web site and in all advertising, and oral notice over the phone – by on-site staff or hotel chain bookers anywhere in the country.
Hotels also would have to notify all third-party bookers, Internet sites, travel agents and trade shows with which it conducts business. Heck, they might have to hire a whole other staff just to meet all the requirements.
This gem of self-defeating legislation was fed to the City Council by UNITE HERE Local 217, which represents workers at the city’s only two unionized hotels, the Biltmore and The Westin Providence. The Westin’s labor contract expired Oct. 31, and both sides are still working on a new deal; Local 217 is also trying to organize other city hotels.
Given this, it’s no surprise that the union wants the Consumer Protection Act – it would be a great tool to strong-arm management. And it’s no surprise that local hotel operators and the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce are up in arms; they should be.
The bottom line, though, is that it is a dumb idea. We are a tourist destination. Why would we do anything to detract from that?
