A sidewalk cafe outside the Congress Plaza Hotel, scene of a prolonged labor strife, was forced to close Tuesday after union pressure prompted the local alderman to withdraw her support for a permit, attorneys for the hotel charged.
The City Council’s Transportation and Public Way Committee routinely approves hundreds of permits for sidewalk operations outside restaurants and hotels every year. But the Congress’ cafe, operating under a provisional permit, was shut down shortly after the committee rejected its application on the recommendation of Ald. Madeline Haithcock (2nd).
She previously had assured hotel representatives of her support for the cafe, said attorney Dan Graham, who represents the hotel. But just before Tuesday’s meeting, Haithcock “went on record and said, `The reason I am not recommending this [permit] ordinance is because I need the union votes” in next February’s aldermanic election, Graham told reporters after the rejection.
He quoted Haithcock as saying: “The union told me I could not approve this ordinance. Bring it back again in the spring, but I need to be elected.”
Haithcock denied making the remarks, but acknowledged to reporters that the three-year strike against the hotel by housekeepers, dishwashers and other employees played a role in her decision to withhold support.
“Do something” to resolve the labor dispute, she said. “They don’t think they have to. All they have to do is pay them a little bit more money.”
By City Council tradition, aldermen typically bow to the wishes of colleagues on matters of local concern, including issuance of certain permits in their wards.
“A cafe is something we let you have,” Haithcock said. “That is not a right. We do that out of courtesy.”
Shutdown of the sidewalk cafe comes after “thousands of dollars” of investment in “equipment, furniture employees and insurance,” said Peter Andjelkovich, another attorney for the hotel. It will mean about 25 workers will be laid off, according to hotel officials.
The Congress walkout was sparked in June 2003 after management cut wages by 7 percent, froze health-care contributions and demanded the right to contract out jobs. The pay reduction was rescinded after the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint.
“What was I supposed to do?” asked Jose Sanchez, a 23-year Congress veteran who was outside the hotel Tuesday, still on strike. “They don’t pay the insurance premiums. No pension, no wages, no nothing.”
“We hope to get them to give us the same benefits like the other hotels,” said Cornelio Rosada, a striking banquet server.
The hotel, at 520 S. Michigan Ave., is owned by the Nasser family, which has been involved in business ventures around the world.
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Labor leaders have been particularly active at City Hall in recent months.
They helped win passage this summer of the controversial “big-box” ordinance, which set a city minimum wage for employees of Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target and other large retail stores. Mayor Richard Daley successfully vetoed the measure last month.
And in a move aimed at the Congress, the council’s Finance Committee in June advanced a measure that would require a hotel to disclose a work stoppage to potential customers when a strike reaches 61 days in length.
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