Article
Courtesy of the Miami Herald By
GRANT COHEN 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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