Philippine Labor Group endorses boycott of Pacific Beach Hotel

Thirty officers and organizers from different unions conducted a leafleting at Sun Life Financial’s headquarters in Makati City , Philippines last August 20, in unity with the protest of Filipino workers at the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki .

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) had passed a resolution to boycott Pacific Beach Hotel. The resolution calls upon hotel management to rehire the dismissed workers and settle the contract between the union and the company.

Pacific Beach Hotel has been charged by the U.S. government with 15 counts of federal Labor Law violations, including intimidation, coercion and firing employees for union activism. In December 2007, the hotel’s administration refused to negotiate with the workers’ legally-elected union and terminated 32 employees, the majority of whom are Filipinos.

Incidentally, Sun Life Financial, an international financial services company, is the biggest investor in Pacific Beach Hotel. Sun Life holds an estimated US$38 million mortgage and is in the process of putting up its market in the Philippines .

“If Sun Life wants to do business in the Philippines , the very least we can expect in return is that it will guarantee fair treatment for Filipino workers in the properties it controls,” says Democrito Mendoza, TUCP president.

Rhandy Villanueva, spokesperson for employees at Pacific Beach Hotel, was one of those whose position was terminated. He says talks with management were largely unproductive.

“We tried hard to talk to the hotel management in order to settle things down,” he says. “We were wiling to meet halfway but nothing happened because whenever we suggested something, if it was not to the best of the hotel, they would always say ‘no’.”

Villanueva also noted that the hotel management denied having conversations with state officials. He says that since 1995, Pacific Beach Hotel employees have been unfairly compensated, unlike their counterparts at other hotels. Because of this underlying problem with the hotel management, the workers’ union asked for assistance from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Local 142), the state’s largest private sector union, with members from many different communities. ILWU represents Pacific Beach Hotel workers and is responsible for obtaining labor union support from the Philippines .

ILWU spokesperson Eadie Omonaka says that Sun Life has been asked to use its relationship with the Pacific Beach Hotel to guarantee fair treatment for the workers. To date, Sun Life has refused to get involved.

“The Filipino workers at Pacific Beach Hotel work so hard,” says Virgie Recaido, who was among those terminated. “We cook the food, we make the beds and we clean the rooms. We do everything to make the hotel a success, just so we can make a better life for our kids. But management treats us with no respect and no dignity.”

In May, the Canadian Labor Congress sent pickets to Sun Life’s annual shareholder meeting in Toronto , calling for a guarantee fair treatment for workers.

The Hawaii labor federation, together with the national labor federations of both the USA

(AFL-CIO) and Japan (RENGO), also called for a boycott to support the terminated hotel workers.

“We will not tolerate a company like Pacific Beach Hotel that breaks the law, ignores its workers’ rights and treats hardworking employees with such disrespect,” says TCUP president Mendoza.

The laid-off workers are still awaiting reinstatement at Pacific Beach Hotel and a better working relationship with their employer.

Ernesto Herrera, Secretary General of the TUCP and a former senator, wrote a letter to the president and CEO of Sun Life ( Philippines ) demanding that the Pacific Beach Hotel management obey labor laws of the U.S. government, restore employment of the 32 workers, recognize the union and negotiate with the union in good faith. However, a response has yet to be received from either Sun Life or the Pacific Beach Hotel.

TUCP spokesperson Rafael Mapalo said in a phone interview that the action held in Makati City is just the first step in showing support to the Filipino workers at Pacific Beach Hotel.

“Expect more from us and the other labor unions,” he says.

Other unions joined the TUCP in organizing the solidarity action that took place in Makati , including the Federation of Free Workers and the Alliance of Independent Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union. These three unions together represent close to one million workers in the Philippines .

The TUCP, with close to 1.2 million members, is the biggest confederation of labor organizations in the Philippines and is composed of members from all sectors and industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, services and government. It also has members coming from associations/organizations of groups from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), drivers, urban poor, youth groups, cooperatives, alliances, coalitions and other civil society groups.

The National Labor Relations Board is expected to issue a final ruling on the ILWU’s allegations of unfair labor practices by the end of 2009 or later. –Aiza Marie YAGO, Filipino Chronicle, Hawaii.

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