Turtle Bay union wins court decision

The manager and former owner of Turtle Bay Resort both violated federal labor law when it suspended and terminated employees for union activity, eavesdropped on conversations between employees and union officials, denied union representatives access to the resort and threatened to close the resort in retaliation for union activities.

That was the ruling from a federal appellate court Monday, validating employee and union complaints that date back more than five years.

A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to uphold findings issued by the National Labor Relations Board in 2009 against Turtle Bay manager Benchmark Hospitality and former property owner Oaktree Capital Management.

The ruling was made by the court’s Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, and was announced Friday by the NLRB.

NLRB had found that Benchmark and Oaktree violated federal labor law in numerous ways.

In one instance, resort security called police and removed union representatives and Turtle Bay employees from the public beach fronting the resort after a wedding party complained that a union rally was disruptive.

The violations occurred largely between 2004 and 2005, during a period of labor unrest at the resort on Oahu’s North Shore.

A labor contract covering about 360 Turtle Bay workers represented by UNITE-HERE Local 5 had expired in 1999 and was extended repeatedly until November 2003, when union members began working without a contract.

During the unrest, the union launched a consumer boycott of the hotel and picketed resort grounds. Resort officials sought a temporary restraining order against the union and claimed that the union was harassing guests and resort contractors.

In 2006, warring sides signed a four-year contract to end what had become a bitter labor dispute.

Meanwhile, the unfair labor practice charges continued to move through the system, and Benchmark and Oaktree appealed the 2009 NLRB ruling.

The dissenting opinion in the appellate court decision largely had to do with whether Oaktree was the employer together with Benchmark and therefore responsible for the illegal actions.

Oaktree, a California-based investment and development firm, unsuccessfully argued that it wasn’t liable because investors in a fund managed by Oaktree were the owners of Turtle Bay.

The NLRB in its 2009 ruling had ordered Oaktree and Benchmark to cease the illegal activities, restore lost earnings for suspended and terminated employees and offer job reinstatements.

It was unclear whether those orders were carried out, or whether employees or the union were awarded any other damages.

An Oaktree spokesman declined comment Friday.

Oaktree acquired an interest in Turtle Bay in 1998 and later assumed full control but then defaulted on mortgage liabilities and agreed to let a consortium of lenders repossess the resort last year.

Benchmark continues to manage Turtle Bay. Representatives of Texas-based Benchmark in Hawaii and Texas could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The union contract for Turtle Bay workers expired last year, and negotiations are ongoing.