Guest Column
Hotel CEO calls in immigration against outspoken workers
Hotel CEO
calls in immigration against outspoken workers
By Juliana Birnbaum Fox
El Reportero
A political corruption scandal surfaced this week in the middle of
the long labor dispute at Emeryville's Woodfin hotel when it was
discovered that the owner used his status as a Republican party
donor to bring in immigration authorities.
Within weeks of the early 2007 ruling by the Alameda County
Superior Court that forced the hotel to rehire 21 workers who had
been demanding a living wage, Woodfin president Samuel Hardage
contacted US Rep. Brian Bilbray (a Republican from Hardage's home
district of San Diego).
Bilbray, chair of the House Immigration Reform Council, wrote to
the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to request
that it investigate the status of Woodfin employees, despite the
fact that ICE policy discourages them from getting involved in
labor disputes.
"It's sad to see the way that ICE was used to intimidate and
threaten us," said Luz, one of the workers involved. The group has
been working with the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy
(EBASE) to get the $200,000 in back pay owed to them as a result
of the conflict. Luz told the San Francisco Bay Guardian, who
broke the story, that for years the hotel never questioned her
immigration status, until the workers began to demand that the
hotel comply with Measure C, the living wage law passed in 2005.
When Woodfin fired the 21 workers, it justified the action by
saying that they were afraid of ICE, and Hardage stated that he
was worried about being sent to jail.
EBASE organized a press conference and rally at the Oakland
Federal Building on Wednesday, where they staged a mock wedding
between the Woodfin president and ICE. About 150 activists, labor
and faith leaders, and workers gathered, holding signs such as "Woodfin
and ICE = a marriage of greed and corruption."
"ICE has allowed itself to be used as a tool by a law-breaking
hotel… it's scandalous for the agency to do favors for
conservative political and business interests," said Brooke
Anderson, Organizing Director at EBASE. "ICE should be held
accountable."
Emeryville City Councilor John Fricke declared at the rally that
the recent revelations were just one of a series of deceptions by
hotel management.
"I stand with the workers," he continued, pointing out that the
other three hotels in the city had complied with Measure C.
Emeryville has ordered Woodfin to pay the back wages by July 31 of
this year.
Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Rep. Bilbray, confirmed that a
member of Woodfin's HR staff and manager Hugh MacIntosh had spoken
to the office asking for advice because the hotel was employing
undocumented workers but had been ordered by a state court to keep
them employed.
Woodfin has an extensive website devoted to expressing its
perspective on the dispute.
"Because Emeryville's Measure C and its regulations directly
contradict federal immigration laws and violate the Constitution's
due-process clause, we have regularly sought expertise and
guidance from a number of scholars, attorneys and other highly
knowledgeable sources - including elected officials with
significant immigration-policy experience, such as Rep. Bilbray,"
MacIntosh said in a prepared statement. "We did so to be certain
we were in compliance with all laws governing our business."
A decision by the Emeryville City Manager is pending regarding
Woodfin's permit to continue operating, and if so, whether that
would be contingent on the hotel paying back wages to the workers.
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