Republicans Plan Event to Support the Westin in Labor Dispute

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Monday, May 24, 2010

Stephen Beale, GoLocalProv News Editor

In a rare display of pro-business activism, the state GOP is planning an event this week to show its support for the management of The Westin Providence—which has cut wages and raised health care contributions for its workers.

Earlier this spring, the hotel workers’ union, UNITE HERE 217, called for a boycott of the Westin. One left-leaning political convention, Netroots Nation, has already said it will honor the boycott, taking the $2 million it would have spent at the Westin somewhere else.

In response, Republicans are making a point of bringing their business to hotel.

This Wednesday, the Republican state central committee will hold its regular meeting around 6 p.m. at the Westin. “We are going in a quiet protest of the boycott and the picket lines,” said state chairman Giovanni Cicione. “We thought we would go there in a show of solidarity with the business owners.”

Afterwards, the Young Republicans will have a party at the Westin—spending as much time and money at their bars and restaurants as they can. Over 100 members are expected to turn out, according to YR chairman Travis Rowley.

Rowley accused the union and sympathetic Democratic politicians of hurting the local economy with their boycott.

“Once again, union bosses and Democrats are teaming up to make life as miserable as possible for the state's entrepreneurs and job creators,” Rowley said. “It seems that whenever they have the chance, the Rhode Island Left attempts to spoil any semblance of a healthy business environment left in this state.”

Union Official: 'It’s a Shame'

One union spokesman, Christopher Cook, described the Republican event at the Westin as “a shame.” He said the hotel could put an end to the issue—and avoid any economic impact caused by boycott—by simply returning to the negotiating table. “The Westin could sign a contract any time,” Cook said. “They could deal with us any time. They don’t want to deal with us. It’s not a give-and-take at the table.”

Rowley acknowledged that labor leaders and Democrats may try to paint Republicans as anti-worker. “Of course we’re always concerned about how our political opposition will portray us,” he said. “But we're not going to sit back on our heels anymore. We have to go out, and make them worried about what we're going to say about them.”

In March, the Westin reduced wages by 20 percent and tripled health care premiums for its 200 workers.

In a statement, the owner of the Westin, The Prococcianti Group in Cranston, has pointed to the impact of the recession, saying that lower occupancy rates and declining revenue meant that it could not continue to operate under its collective bargaining agreement with the union.

“No measure of political grandstanding or pandering can or will negate the simple fact that the Hotel can no longer sustain the disproportionately high wages/benefits enjoyed by union employees at this formerly state-owned hotel,” the company said.

Cicione faulted the state, not the Westin, for the benefit reductions. “The problem is that the state has imposed so many costs on business owners that these costs get passed down to the workers,” Cicione said. He said businesses were being “taxed into oblivion” and as a result, were leaving the state, taking jobs with them.

In standing up for business, Cicione said Republicans also were standing up for workers.

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