Radisson union employees approve contract

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2007/08/20/daily26.html

Sacramento Business Journal - 2:58 PM PDT Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Union employees approved a new three-year contract with the Radisson Hotel Sacramento, the seventh-largest hotel in the Sacramento region.

UNITE HERE Local 49 said the new contract increases hourly pay, reduces the workload for housekeepers and doubles the hotel's contribution to employee healthcare insurance, according to a news release Wednesday.

Employees who do not generally receive tips received a $1.60 per-hour raise over the three-year contract, organizer Josh Eidelson said. Employees who often receive tips also will enjoy more pay. For example, the hotel will pay $1.40 per-hour more for servers with the new pact. Also, the company will contribute $408 a month for healthcare coverage, double the previous commitment of $204.

Finally, housekeepers will clean 15 rooms a day, one less than the previous requirement, Eidelson said. On days with more-than-average checkouts, housekeeprs will clean fewer rooms.

About 130 of the 150 employees at the hotel are represented by the union, Eidelson said. Negotiations started in April.

Local 49, which has 2,500 members in the Sacramento region, has contracts that expire soon with the Clarion Hotel Cal Expo and Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza. Eidelson says negotiatons with the hotels are making "very little progress." The union recently reached new contracts with the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Hilton Sacramento Arden West.