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Isle hotel leader The mainland labor boss who oversees Hawaii's hotel and restaurant employees union says turmoil within the local organization has prompted him to consider suspending its leaders and appointing a trustee to take control.
Gill facing ouster
The mainland's top labor head
orders contract talks stopped and
sets a hearing to determine if
a trustee should run Local 5By Rob Perez
Star-BulletinJohn Wilhelm, general president of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union, has ordered a hearing next week to determine whether a trustee should be named to run Local 5, which represents about 10,000 Hawaii members.
Wilhelm also has instructed Eric Gill, head of the local union, to halt any attempt to execute a new labor contract with the Hawaii Council of Hotels, saying Gill may be trying to "railroad" union members into an agreement. He also may have violated his fiduciary responsibility as secretary-treasurer, Wilhelm said.
The unusual action by the international's top executive thrusts the Hawaii union into another round of controversy at a time when it is trying to forge a key contract with the management group representing Waikiki hotels.
In letters sent last week to Gill and the hotel council, Wilhelm questioned the way Gill was handling the ratification process and said completion of an agreement must wait until Local 5's government stabilizes and a fair, democratic process is used.
The agreement Gill is trying to get ratified appears to have been rejected by Local 5's bargaining committee, including members Gill appointed, Wilhelm said.
"From the documents I have seen concerning the 'ratification' process you are using, it seems that you may be attempting to railroad the membership into giving the illusion that they approve the agreement, without being given adequate time and information to consider what it is upon which they are being asked to vote," Wilhelm said in a Feb. 9 letter to Gill.
Attempts to reach Gill yesterday and today at his office and last night at his home were unsuccessful. He has said in the past that there was no basis for appointing a trustee.
Sherri Chiesa, the international's western regional director who is here for next week's hearing, declined comment, saying the matter was an internal one.
The union had been warned by Wilhelm in December to settle lingering disputes between Gill and an executive board dominated by backers of his rival, Tony Rutledge. The union was given until the end of last month to settle all pending issues.
Gill last year narrowly beat Rutledge in an election for the top Local 5 job. The two labor leaders have long been at odds, but the feuding has escalated in recent months. In October, Rutledge supporters on the Local 5 board asked the international to appoint a trustee and accused Gill of breaking union bylaws.
Gill has denied any wrongdoing.
Rutledge yesterday declined comment on the latest developments.
In his Feb. 9 letter to Peter Schall, president of the hotel council, Wilhelm said Gill's authority to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with the council was highly questionable. He said the ratification process Gill has used appears to not even remotely meet federal requirements.
Wilhelm advised the management group not to execute an agreement with Gill until the local union's government stabilizes.
In a letter to Local 5 members dated yesterday, Ted Hansen, general secretary-treasurer for the international, said next week's hearing will be held to consider charges that a trusteeship is necessary to assure Local 5's compliance with the parent union's constitution, local union bylaws and federal law. Hansen cited several allegations, including that union funds were improperly spent on such things as cameras and vacation allowances and that the local has presented a tarnished image to the public, hurting rank-and-file members.
If a trusteeship is warranted, Chiesa will be appointed trustee, Hansen wrote. The trustee would take control of Local 5's affairs and property for as long as necessary, according to the letter.
The hearing has tentatively been set for next Tuesday and Wednesday at a place to be determined. It will not be open to the public, Chiesa said.