Emeryville
City Council orders Woodfin to pay $250,000 to
housekeepers
From the Globe Community
Desk
In a special
hearing last Monday night, the Emeryville City
Council voted unanimously to order the Woodfin
Suites Hotel to pay about $250,000 in back wages
to housekeepers along with a $45,500 fine for failing
to turn over records to the city on time. The council
rejected the Woodfin’s appeal of a similar
decision issued in June by the city manager.
“We have been struggling for too long to get the wages we
earned,” said former Woodfin housekeeper Luz D. “We are glad that
the city of Emeryville has heard our voices and taken action to end this injustice.”
During
the hearing, city staff argued that the Woodfin had failed to pay housekeepers
the wages required by the Emeryville’s living wage ordinance, defied city
law by firing a group of housekeepers who had complained about working conditions,
and stalled for months in turning over wage and workload records to the city.
Woodfin representatives claimed that the living wage law and related regulations
were improper and damaging to business and that the City Council members were
biased against the hotel and should recuse themselves from the case. At the start
of the hearing, Woodfin attorney Bruno Katz was removed from the room by police
officers after he repeatedly spoke out of turn.
The hearing was packed with Woodfin
workers and their families and supporters, who held a lively rally outside City
Hall before the proceedings began. The workers and their allies, organized by
the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), have been picketing
the hotel for months, demanding back wages for housekeepers.
The council denied
the Woodfin’s appeal, calling many of its arguments “irrelevant,” and
issued a conditional operating permit that gave the hotel until Sept. 14 to pay
back wages and fines. “It’s clear that an injustice has been done
to these workers,” said Vice Mayor Ruth Atkin.
The Woodfin has a long history
of ignoring orders from the city and has already indicated that it will refuse
to cooperate with the permit conditions. The housekeepers and EBASE have vowed
to continue picketing the hotel until the back wages are paid.
“We’re
so close to victory,” said housekeeper Maria Lopez. “We won’t
give up now.”
