2 blame union interest for job loss


 

Article Courtesy of the Miami Herald

By

Posted 11-21-2004

 

Two workers at the Sunset Harbor South condominium in Miami Beach say they were fired after they showed support for a union.

Two employees of a property management firm say their support for a workers' union has cost them their jobs at a Miami Beach condominium, some of whose residents signed a petition on their behalf.

The controversy involves the Hollywood-based Continental Group, which owns several condominiums on Miami Beach, and Local 11 of the Service Employees International Union, which has been trying since January to get a foothold in South Florida to unionize condominium workers.

Mercedes Medina and Philip Gonzalez, both of whom were front-desk managers at the Sunset Harbor South condominium at 1800 Purdy Ave., said they signed cards in August stating that they were interested in joining the union. Since then, both of them have lost their jobs.

''They fired me,'' said Medina, who was a front-desk manager for four years at Sunset Harbor South. She said she was transferred in August to another Continental Group building because of her support for the union. When she reported to work last week, she was told she no longer had a job, she said.

''They did not give me any papers, but they said they had reports I was sleeping on the job. It's not true,'' said Medina, a single mother of three children, who said she was fired Nov. 9.

Gonzalez was let go Sept. 1 after six years on the job.

''They destroyed me. Now I'm fighting to try and get my employment,'' said Gonzalez, who added that the termination has made finding a job more difficult.

Gonzalez, 42, said he was told in August that he was going to be transferred from Sunset Harbor to another building managed by the Continental Group. He refused. Weeks later, Gonzalez said he was fired after he unwittingly signed documents that he later discovered were disciplinary forms calling for his termination with the company.

''They were absolutely intimidating me and pressuring me,'' Gonzalez said of the meeting in August. ``So, I signed the documents. All of these accusations came up within two or three weeks of me showing support for the union.

``I never had any warnings. The residents respected me. I did my job as I was told. I did a very good job.''

The controversy reflects a larger, difficult fight for condominium workers' rights in South Florida, said Hiram Ruiz, deputy director at the Service Employees International Union's Local 11.

The local filed two unfair labor practice charges in September with the National Labor Relations Board, charging the Continental Group with transferring and terminating employees who support the union.

''This is one small part of a much larger puzzle,'' Ruiz said, adding that conflicts have arisen between management and workers at numerous Miami Beach condominiums.

''If you transfer or fire somebody for showing support for a union, it's breaking federal law,'' said Eric Brakken, lead organizer for SEIU Local 11.

Citing the pending unfair labor practice charges, Continental Group president Richard Strunin would not comment on Medina's and Gonzalez's cases. However, in a telephone interview, Strunin denied Continental Group has targeted union supporters.

''Absolutely not,'' Strunin said. ``We are certainly not unfairly treating any employees with respect to any union activities.''

Continental Group, a subsidiary of FirstService Corp., is a property management and maintenance service firm for 425 buildings in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Continental Group employs approximately 3,300 people in the South Florida area, Strunin said.

The local's initial efforts to unionize condominium workers in South Florida so far has not resulted in any members, Ruiz said.

''We're still in the organizing stage,'' he said. ``We must build the support of the workers. Workers have no job security or ability to improve their pay and benefits.''

The local did not stop after filing the unfair labor practice charges. Union representatives approached the Sunset Harbor South condominium board with a petition in support of Medina and Gonzalez and a request to meet with Sunset Harbor board members.

The petition, signed by 46 people, was rejected, said Sunset Harbor South condominium board president Juan Duarte. The petition, he said, was signed by numerous residents of the Sunset Harbor North tower, as well as numerous workers at Sunset Harbor. Duarte said his responsibilities as board president are limited to Sunset Harbor South.

Duarte said the board recommended the transfer of Medina and Gonzalez from the condominium complex. The workers' association with the union, Duarte said, had nothing to do with the board's decisions.

''I'm very personally offended we have been accused of maliciously firing these individuals,'' Duarte said. ``I can say with 100 percent honesty and integrity that at no point did I or the board transfer Philip or Mercedes due to their affiliation with the union.''

Medina says it is her support of the union that has led to continued problems with Continental Group.

''A co-worker told me that whatever they do is because I support the union, but he's too scared to talk,'' she said.


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