Tentative deal reached on DNC labor

Contract with Hyatt Regency would clear philosophical obstacle for convention-goers

By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Originally published 08:28 p.m., March 12, 2008
Updated 01:03 a.m., March 13, 2008

Nevitt said a labor deal is "absolutely huge."

A tentative agreement between organized labor and the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center has been reached, likely averting a strike or worker unrest during the Democratic National Convention.

Membership of the Unite Here Rocky Mountain Joint Board union ratified a five-year contract with the Hyatt on Monday, but details remained under wraps, according to union manager Katie Gerken. The deal was reached Feb. 26, she said.

"It was passed overwhelmingly by membership," she said Wednesday. "We are very pleased with the overall agreement."

According to sources close to the deal, the negotiations had been going on for about a year, and the final agreement is conditional on some undisclosed key points, but they are very close on those issues. The negotiations had created some level of tension among Democrats who feared not having an agreement in place when the party holds its convention at the Pepsi Center Aug. 25-28.

Officials with Hyatt were not available for comment.

Chris Nevitt, a Denver city councilman who also knew about the agreement, said having a tentative deal in place is a big relief, both for the workers and for the image of the city as a labor-friendly town.

"It's absolutely huge," Nevitt said. "The impact of having that first contract in place in time for the convention cannot be underestimated."

The hotel, which has been open for two years, is owned by the Denver Convention Center Hotel Authority, and Gerken said the union was waiting for approval on "some very key issues that affect the tentative agreement." Gerken, who has been involved in the negotiations, said more details would be released once the seven-member board of the hotel authority ratified those key issues.

But Bill Mosher, chief executive officer of the hotel authority, said his office had not heard anything about needing to ratify a deal.

"The union agreement is between the union and the Hyatt," he said. "We haven't been in any meetings or seen any agreements."

However, Mosher said he saw the value in having a deal in place prior to the convention.

"I'm sure everybody feels much better with a deal worked out," he said.

Labor unions are a significant force in the Democratic Party, and earlier in the month in Lakewood, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., said a deal was important because many of the delegates coming to Denver would be members of organized labor.

Roughly a third of the 6,000 delegates expected to come to Denver are members of unions, and they prefer to stay at unionized hotels.

Democrats have worked hard in Denver to assuage organized labor's concerns, and the convention will be using only union labor for the event. The Pepsi Center itself is a nonunion facility.

Officials with the Denver National Convention Committee refused to comment on the tentative deal between Unite Here and the Hyatt.