> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Union files federal charges against Doubletree - URL: https://www.smdp.com/union-files-federal-charges-against-doubletree/ - Published: 2002-05-14T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T00:16:54.000Z - Author: Andrew Fixmer - Tags: Business, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Hotel management accused of threatening and interrogating pro-union employees* Charges filed with a federal labor bureau accuse management of a local beachfront hotel of unfair labor practices. The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Local 814 filed charges with the National Labor Relations Bureau Monday accusing management at the Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel, 1707 4th St., of threatening, interrogating and discriminating against employees for trying to organize workers into a union at the facility. Doubletree workers claim hotel managers have followed them around the hotel, inquiring about their union affiliation. Workers also claim that hotel management discriminates against organizing leaders by changing job assignments and duties. “Managers tell us that if the union comes in the hotel, we will lose our parking privileges and seniority,” said housekeeper Flora Adrande, in a prepared statement. “Threats like this are against the law and must be stopped.” Doubletree General Manager Francois Khoury did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the accusations. The union has previously filed charges with the NLRB against The Fairmont Miramar Hotel, 101 Wilshire Blvd., before it unionized and the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Ave. “The Doubletree is unfortunately only one in a series of hotels that have behaved in this manner,” said Kurt Petersen, the union’s organizing director. “Our hope is that the government will tell the Doubletree to stop these tactics. “At this point all we’re asking is that they stop their unlawful behavior.” Doubletree management re-instated housekeeper Elba Hernandez April 26 after suspending her indefinitely a week before while the hotel investigated her for distributing fliers complaining of unfair workplace practices. Hernandez’s suspension sparked an uprising among union activists and clergy members. On April 23, clergy and community activists staged a sit-in and a prayer session at the Doubletree’s restaurant. Union activists now accuse the hotel’s management of unfairly picking on Hernandez for her pro-union activities. “Management tries to intimidate us, threaten us and even follows me into the restroom,” Hernandez said. The union has launched a public campaign to organize the hotel’s workers. They have held rallies at a recent Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School Board meeting and at Santa Monica High School. The school district leases the land to the Doubletree, located just west of Santa Monica High School. Union organizers have spurred the school district into re-evaluating its lease with the hotel. They hope the school district will be able to re-negotiate its lease with the hotel, and in the process help settle the long-standing labor dispute. The city has helped unions become established in hotels leased on publicly-owned land. Currently, the Pacific Shore Hotel, 1819 Ocean Ave., and The Miramar are the only beachfront resorts in Santa Monica with a unionized workforce. Union officials said they would like to organize all the large hotels in Santa Monica, but they would only confirm active efforts at Loews and at the Doubletree. 0 1 CAE 1 00050000000B00000002 0 1 CAE 0 *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 14, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/051402.pdf?ref=smdp.com)