The Trenton Times published the following article on November 2, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Union representing employees of Lafayette Yard Hotel in Trenton alleges unfair labor practices
By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton
on November 02, 2013 at 7:20 AM, updated November 02, 2013 at 3:42 PMTRENTON — The union representing employees of the city-owned hotel have alleged that cost-cutting measures implemented by the hotel’s management violate federal labor laws.
“You have a situation where we actually have the cooks washing dishes,” said Bob McDevitt, the president of Local 54. “I don’t know the specific position of the board of health, but I know that I don’t want to be eating food from a cook that has been washing dirty dishes,” he said.
The union filed six charges alleging unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board yesterday, saying that the management at the Lafayette Yard Hotel and Conference Center has asked workers to do jobs outside of their job description without negotiating with them and has subcontracted union jobs, McDevitt said.
“If these charges have merit, the board will investigate them,” McDevitt said.
The hotel’s general manager Ben Zabala said last week that his company Marshall Hotels had implemented a number of cost saving measures after the Lafayette Yard Community Development Corp, the public board that runs the hotel, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September. The board said the struggling hotel could not turn a profit or repay the long-term city backed debt that was taken out to build the inn