Tentative Settlement Reached In San Francisco Hotel Workers Dispute
Negotiators reached a tentative settlement Tuesday night in the tumultuous two-year-long San Francisco hotel workers dispute, sources said.
A member of the negotiating team who did not want to be identified said agreement was reached shortly after dinner during talks at the Palace Hotel, which have been held daily for the last two weeks.
Details of the settlement were not announced, but representatives of the hotel worker's union said they would explain terms of the settlement to workers at a meeting on Wednesday morning. Union leaders were expected to recommend to members that the deal be approved.
The settlement followed an overwhelming vote by members of the Unite Here Local 2 union on August 25 to authorize a strike against 13 hotels.
"I'm very pleased,'' said Mayor Gavin Newsom after learning of the settlement. "This is good news. We want to bring both sides closer together to build on this long term relationship.''
Newsom said he planned to meet with leaders of both sides today.A statement by the San Francisco Multi-Employer Group, representing the hotels, that was issued shortly before the evening settlement said that tentative agreement on most issues had been reached.
The long dispute began in 2004, after the last contract expired and the union declared a two-week strike. The employers responded by locking out all 4,200 union members from their hotels for nearly seven weeks and hiring non-union replacements.
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