Locked-out country club workers stand strong

By Terri Kay
Pleasanton, Calif.

Hundreds turned out to support the locked-out Castlewood Country Club workers on Feb. 25, the second anniversary of management’s lockout. Notably, Occupy Oakland and many union supporters came to this high-income suburb to challenge the club, which has been unrepentant in refusing to pay for health insurance for the workers and their families.

Occupy Oakland staged a counter-protest mocking club members. Their signs read “Golfing is a human right” and other demands of the 1%. Their fake press release read: “ ‘O.K., sure, they didn’t really make enough money to actually pay the premiums, but sometimes a person hasn’t really earned medical care for their children,’ said member Roger Greenwell. ‘I mean, I work in private equity, so of course my kids get good doctors. But the guy who pours my scotch? Really?’”

The workers, mostly Latino/a immigrants, are members of UNITE HERE Local 2850. For two years they have courageously been fighting for their livelihoods, their families’ health care and for their right to bargain collectively with those in the super-rich 1%. Golfers pay thousands of dollars just to join the country club and then spend hundreds of dollars a month to remain members — yet they have no problem keeping health insurance out of reach for employees’ families.

The club is demanding that any employee who wants family health insurance pay about $850 per month, which amounts to almost half of some workers’ wages. When UNITE HERE tried to negotiate, the club locked out the workers on Feb. 25, 2010, and told them they would be barred from returning to work while they remained unionized.

Community support is growing

Mock ‘counter-protest by the 1%’ outside swank country club. WW photos: Terri Kay

The workers have stayed strong, and community support is growing. Francisca Carranza, one of the locked-out workers, said they have “always received a lot of support” and that she was “happy that Occupy Oakland supported” them. Since being locked out, Carranza has found some part-time domestic work but says it’s a struggle to make ends meet. Her spouse is disabled and two of her children live at home.

On Aug. 30, 2010, the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel issued a complaint against Castlewood Country Club, alleging that it has been “interfering with, restraining, and coercing” employees and “failing and refusing to bargaining collectively and in good faith.” The complaint alleged the club threatened to discipline workers who distributed union flyers during non-work hours.

The union filed an Unfair Labor Practice case on Oct. 18, 2010, which charged: “During the past six months, the above-named Employer has failed and refused to bargain in good faith, including but not limited to, by refusing to meet for bargaining at reasonable times and by continuing to lock out employees in support of an illegal bargaining position. The Employer’s proposal to eliminate seniority as the basis for scheduling work and layoffs and/or to allow replacement employees to displace locked-out employees after the lockout ends is unlawful.”

The NLRB is conducting a hearing on the lockout, which isn’t expected to conclude until sometime in March.

The workers continue to regularly picket the club. A few sympathetic members have brought them food and offered support. However, other club members have arrogantly demeaned the workers and shown disdain for their rights. One tried to physically harm a worker, and another flippantly said that since he paid for his own health insurance, why couldn’t the workers pay for theirs?

In delegations of five to 10 people, the workers and supporters from Occupy Oakland have visited several club members’ workplaces, attempting to embarrass them into pressuring the board to end the lockout.

Because of the union’s outreach efforts, several major golf tournaments have cancelled their events at the club. Support is growing for this important workers’ struggle.