Labor Board Delays Hearing on Dispute Between Union and Continental Group

Karen LaMartin, assistant to the NLRB regional director, tells GlobeSt.com, "the hearing is postponed indefinitely because there is a related issue pending in our office of appeals." The issue, LaMartin says is: "we dismissed a charge filed by the employer against the union, and the employer filed the charge with our office of appeals in Washington. Until that appeal is resolved, we can't go forward."

The NLRB document details allegations that Continental and Sunset violated sections of the National Labor Relations Act regarding employees' activities in support of forming a union. NLRB also consolidated the allegations against Continental and Sunset into a single case.

Hollywood-based Continental Group, a subsidiary of Toronto-based FirstService Corp., manages more than 400 condo complexes for condo associations in South Florida. Sunset Harbour South, the association of a condo property at 1800 Purdy Ave. here, is one of its clients.

Among the allegations in the NLRB document are specific references to firings and threats of firing employees engaged in attempts to unionize. It alleges that members of Continental's management "prohibited employees from discussing their terms and conditions of employment" with others; denied off-duty employees access to the Sunset facility; and engaged in surveillance and photographing of members of the employees' union.

In doing so, the NLRB document states, Continental was "interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed" by the National Labor Relations Act. It also alleges discrimination "in regard to the hire or tenure or terms or conditions of employment of their employees, thereby discouraging membership in a labor organization," also in violation of the act.

Richard Strunin, Continental's president, responded to GlobeSt.com's calls with a faxed statement. It says, in part, "Continental Group is committed to providing an open and fair work environment for all of its employees …We believe the disinformation campaign led by the SEIU is an attempt to force the company to abuse the democratic rights of its employees. The SEIU has been trying unsuccessfully to organize the building workers at the Continental Group for more than 18 months."

Strunin's statement also calls an SEIU press release regarding the NLRB action "evidence of this campaign to spread false and misleading allegations," by referring to "multiple violations of US labor law … when, in actual fact our company of 3,400 employees has received a minimal number of regulatory complaints, all initiated by the SEIU." Strunin says of charges that three employees were fired, two were not Continental employees and one voluntarily resigned. It also says NLRB approved the withdrawal of charges "alleging mistreatment of an individual."

In a telephone interview, Hiram Ruiz, deputy director of the local unit of SEIU, acknowledges to GlobeSt.com that one complaint was withdrawn. "Withdrawal doesn't suggest the complaint was invalid," he says, declining to speculate on why it was withdrawn. The local office was established in January 2004, according to Ruiz. He also acknowledges that SEIU has not yet recruited any members here "because of employees' tremendous level of fear. The NLRB investigated our charges and found the allegations sufficient to hold a hearing," Ruiz says.

At the time, Ruiz told GlobeSt.com, "Continental has filed charges against us, and the NLRB dismissed them all." Prior to the hearing, however, Continental appealed the Tampa regional office's dismissal of its charges, which accounts for the postponement of the hearing.