Unite Here Local Duluth and its community allies successfully got an
ordinance passed by the Duluth City Council that will change organizing
in the city. Termed the “Labor Peace” ordinance, it will require hotel
and restaurant developers who receive subsidies or tax breaks from the
city to sign a card check and neutrality agreement with Local 99. This
agreement is negotiated between the employer and the union to establish
ground rules for conduct by each party during a union organizing
campaign. It allows workers to freely choose to be represented by a
union without interference from an employer and without labor dispute
and unrest.

The ordinance is not only designed to bring economic justice and choice
to workers, but also to protect the proprietary interest of the city and
its monies that are invested in new developments by stopping the
potential for, picket lines, and other economic sanctions against a
property. Councilor Greg Gilbert commented that if the city is
subsidizing a project, it has the right to ask for something in return.
The city has already agreed to hire union contractors for city-funded
construction projects. “I can think of nothing more important than the
wages of the people that make the beds, prepare the food,” he said.

According to the Census Bureau, around 30% of Duluthians are working
poor, meaning they are working jobs that don’t pay enough to make ends
meet. The purpose of the ordinance is to give people a chance to choose
to collectively bargain. With only a handful of hotels and restaurants
currently organized in Duluth, hospitality is among the few growing
industries in Duluth, and it has been notorious for paying low wages and
not providing benefits. These low wage jobs force people onto public
assistance and drive young people out of the community to seek jobs that
can support a family.

The ordinance passed on a 6-3 vote. People from a variety of community
and labor groups spoke, including Stan Kaitfors from Community Action,
Irene Holcolm from the Citizens Federation, Al Netland from the Duluth
Central Body, and Joel Sipress from the Duluth Green Party. “Why should
our money, my money, be used to undercut … a standard of living,” said
Sipress. “If a new hotel or restaurant owner doesn’t like it, let them
do it with their own money, not my money, not our money.”

Unite Here Duluth attempted to pass a similar ordinance in 2001, but was
shot down when former Mayor Gary Doty vetoed it. Current Mayor Herb
Bergson was supportive of the ordinance from the day it was brought to
his attention and is expected to sign it within a few weeks.