Labor Unions’ First Amendment Rights Upheld by Federal Judge
Bill Evans – the owner of Evans Hotels, which owns three major hotel resorts in San Diego, – wants to double the size of one of them, his Bahia Resort in Mission Bay. In order to accomplish this Evans would remove public parking and public access to the bay. The local community has been fighting him on this issue over the last couple of years, calling it a public-land grab. Remember, Mission Bay is public property – it belongs to all of us.
Joining the community fight against the Bahia expansion were a couple of San Diego labor organizations, Unite Here Local 30 and the San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council. And they were using their influence to lobby San Diego City Council members on this issue. This is totally legal. Individuals, business groups, professional organizations, neighborhoods and labor unions do this all the time. It’s called the First Amendment. And Evans knows this as he’s done his share at throwing his money at politicians – especially to keep the sweet deal he has in leasing public land for his private enterprise.
So, Evans – who has been resisting unions and the unionization of his employees for decades – sued the union groups, accusing them of extortion and bribery. This was over a year ago.
Tuesday, it all ended. A federal judge, U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes, dismissed Evans’ suit. It’s an important legal victory for unionized working people and for those groups sued. Unite Here and Building and Construction Trades Council have been pushing to unionize San Diego’s huge hotel industry, not only in their operation but also their construction. Evans was using his suit as an effort to break organized labor’s role in the development arena. Of course, Evans could appeal.
Lori Weisberg at the San Diego Union-Tribune reported:
Evans’ lawsuit grew out of an ongoing fight it had with the unions over its plans to redevelop and expand its decades-old Bahia resort hotel on Mission Bay. Unite Here and the San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council had opposed the $150 million development proposal because of plans to eliminate Gleason Road, which they argued is a local roadway that provides needed access to the beach on Bahia Point. …
In their defense against the lawsuit, the unions had argued that what Evans Hotels alleged was extortion and racketeering was legislative lobbying protected by the First Amendment. Hayes agreed. Evans, he said, failed to make its case that the unions’ conduct fell outside the protections of the “petition clause” of the First Amendment.
“Plaintiffs’ lawsuit will burden Defendants’ petitioning activity,” wrote Hayes, who held a hearing in October on the unions’ motion to dismiss. “Plaintiffs do not allege facts from which the Court can infer that Defendants engaged in non-petitioning activity. Plaintiffs do not allege facts from which the Court can infer that Defendants’ petitioning conduct was a sham.”
Judge Hayes determined Evans’ allegations were insufficient to state a bribery claim. He wrote, “Payments to public officials in the form of . . . campaign contributions, is a legal and well-accepted part of our political process.”
Weisberg quoted Brigette Browning, president of Unite Here Local 30, which represents hospital and hospitality workers:
“We are gratified that the judge recognized Evans Hotel’s lawsuit as an attempt to stifle our union’s First Amendment speech and political participation. San Diegans should be able to tell the truth about bad development proposals, like the privatization of Bahia Point Park, without the threat of a federal lawsuit being filed against them.”
Bill Evans also owns the Catamaran hotel on Mission Bay and the Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla. He has been resisting as noted for many years – and of course is very disappointed in this ruling. He has to understand, however, that as long as he’s making profits off of his employees’ sweat on public land, they have rights, and some of those rights are the right to form a union and the right to a living wage.
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“We are extremely disappointed that the court has blocked our action,” said attorney Susan Leader of the Akin Gump law firm, which represents Evans Hotels. “This prevents us from showing the unions’ activities for what they are — attempts to block projects until developers accept terms that serve only to increase unions’ membership. Their illegal tactics — as detailed in our filing — obstruct good projects to the significant detriment of the City of San Diego and its residents.”
In their defense against the lawsuit, the unions had argued that what Evans Hotels alleged was extortion and racketeering was legislative lobbying protected by the First Amendment. Hayes agreed. Evans, he said, failed to make its case that the unions’ conduct fell outside the protections of the “petition clause” of the First Amendment.
“Plaintiffs’ lawsuit will burden Defendants’ petitioning activity,” wrote Hayes, who held a hearing in October on the unions’ motion to dismiss. “Plaintiffs do not allege facts from which the Court can infer that Defendants engaged in non-petitioning activity. Plaintiffs do not allege facts from which the Court can infer that Defendants’ petitioning conduct was a sham.”
Throughout its lawsuit, which was amended in March of last year, Evans Hotels offered up examples of union activities that it claims constitute illegal behavior. In one instance, the suit alleges that Tom Lemmon, business manager of the Building and Construction Trades Council, threatened the hotel owner, saying that “if it did not give in to Ms. Browning, his project would be doomed as the union would hold it up by any and all means — stating ‘we know how to do it, we do it all the time.’”
Evans Hotels also accused the unions of killing a deal it had with SeaWorld to build a hotel at the San Diego theme park. It claimed labor leaders threatened to oppose future SeaWorld projects and attractions if Evans would not do a union deal on the Bahia project.
In support of its accusation of bribery, Evans Hotels alleged that Browning of Unite Here pressured a council member by “conditioning future funding and political support for (the council member) on a quid pro quo agreement to oppose the Bahia unless Evans Hotels agreed to sign a card check neutrality agreement.” Such agreements typically require employers to remain neutral or not oppose unionizing efforts in exchange for labor peace.
Said Hayes, “Plaintiffs’ allegations are conclusory and insufficient to state a bribery claim.” Citing a federal court case, he wrote, “Payments to public officials in the form of . . . campaign contributions, is a legal and well-accepted part of our political process.”
Evans Hotels, which also owns the Catamaran hotel on Mission Bay and the Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, has argued that for years the unions have followed a “playbook” of holding non-union hotels and developers hostage by delaying projects with litigation in its quest to secure agreements ensuring union labor is employed at such projects.
It asserts that most others have ultimately caved to union demands — from the developer of a proposed Ritz Carlton hotel downtown to the owners of the Town and Country resort, now undergoing a massive renovation in Mission Valley.
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