The same hotel union that represents thousands of Waikiki workers has won a legal battle with hotel management in Los Angeles.

Last summer, nine Los Angeles hotels declared an impasse in negotiations with Local 11 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees, whose Local 5 is active in Hawaii.

On Thursday, the general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board, a Bush appointee often criticized by unions as pro-business, issued a finding that the impasse declaration by management had been illegal.

When an impasse truly occurs in labor talks, management is free to impose new working conditions. The Los Angeles Times reported that in this case the hotels collected money from employees for health-care premiums and may now have to repay it. The hotels may also appeal the decision. But the Reuters news agency quoted a management spokesman as saying that the two sides might be able to reach a contract agreement and make everything else moot.

Tough talks are taking place between Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees locals and hotels in several Mainland cities including Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Last fall, during a management lockout of union employees in San Francisco, Sheraton had some managers at Waikiki properties to fly to San Francisco and help out. San Francisco union leaders retaliated by flying to Honolulu to set up a picket line at the Sheraton Waikiki, a line which was honored by most employees, closed restaurants and interrupted housekeeping service for one day.

Local 5 recently concluded agreements in Waikiki and other major hotel markets that expire in 2006, and has been seeking contracts in other cities that expire at the same time. Hotel chains, knowing this would strengthen labor's hand, have refused to let this happen. This was the source of the impasse claimed in Los Angeles, but the NLRB counsel said since the two sides were still talking the claim was false.

Hotel contract talks across the country have been interconnected thus because workers are trying to capture a share of current hotel industry prosperity while management fears getting caught with higher labor costs if there is another tourism crash like the one set off by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

More News About the Los Angeles Hotel Workers' Struggle for a Fair Contract >>