In September, the city's unionized hotel workers were on the verge of striking, threatening to walk off the job at any moment if the 14 major hotels that employ them wouldn't meet a series of demands.
Three months later, there has been no strike, and the two sides are no closer to a deal than they were then. Instead, Unite Here Local 25 and the Hotel Association of Washington bargaining unit have been locked in a pattern of meeting every two weeks or so for negotiations -- the next session is today -- in which neither side concedes much.
It is a stalemate that outsiders say reflects the chasm between the two sides, combined with the risks to both the hotels and the union in a work stoppage.
"I don't see any movement," said Jonathan W. Greenbaum, a labor lawyer at Nixon Peabody LLP who has hotel clients not involved in the current negotiations. "The employees are working, they aren't threatening a walkout right now, and the union really has no pressure points to force the hotels to reach a deal."
The union seeks improved working conditions for its 3,800 workers, protection of free health insurance for current and future employees, and a contract that lasts two years instead of the customary three so it will expire the same year as contracts in other major cities. When the talks began, the Washington hotel business was in its busy fall period. But the sector is now in a customary December lull. Next month, with a presidential inauguration, is shaping up to be far busier.
In bargaining so far, the sides have made only modest concessions. For example, the hotels agreed to lower the quota of rooms to be cleaned each day for the most senior housekeepers. The union has lowered the pay raise it is demanding.
Officials on both sides say they believe there could finally be progress in today's talks -- assuming the other side is willing to deal.
"We're willing to make some pretty powerful signals tomorrow that we are moving toward a settlement," John A. Boardman, executive secretary-treasurer of Local 25, said in an interview yesterday. "If they're willing to make some movement on some of these things, we'll develop a little momentum in these discussions."
A lockout of hotel workers in San Francisco over similar issues is now in a 60-day cooling-off period, which could offer hope for resolution of the dispute in Washington. "The breaking of the lockout in San Francisco has given us some optimism to think the union will come back to the table willing to work hard to reach an agreement," said Peter Chatilovicz, a lawyer representing the hotels.
One theory that some people associated with the hotels advance is that the union is hoping to continue delaying progress in the negotiations until 2006 so it can achieve its goal of having contract negotiations occur in key cities at the same time. "They're telling me they have the impression the union may just wait another year and a half and then they'll have their two-year deal," Greenbaum said.
"That's wrong," said Bruce S. Raynor, general president of Unite Here. "The hotels need to take us for what we say and do and not speculate so much."
"We'll wait and see what they say at the bargaining table," said Chatilovicz of the prospect for productive discussions today.
