Omni New Haven Hotel Keeps Most Of Union Workforce Furloughed

NEW HAVEN, CT — On March 30, the Omni New Haven Hotel laid off 170 workers. In a notice it sent to the state department of labor last week, it says due to COVID-19, it was forced to extend layoffs beyond the initial six months it anticipated.

But after nearly six months shuttered, the Temple Street hotel opened its door Wednesday with a dramatically reduced staff. And an agreement with the hospitality union to ensure workers and guest safety going forward.

About those furloughed, Omni listed around 54 jobs affected, from front desk and finance to housekeeping and food service staffers.

Omni New Haven Hotel general manager Fletcher Williams told Patch he “cannot say” how many workers have returned and how many are still furloughed. But a spokesperson for the union said 18 of its members were called back to work.

Patch obtained the hotel’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter —dubbed a WARN letter —to the state Department of Labor's Rapid Response Dislocated Workers Unit.

A WARN notice is required under federal law by employers with more than 100 employees to provide at least 60 days advance written notice of a plant closing and mass layoff affecting 50 or more employees at a single site of employment.

The law states that WARN “makes certain exceptions to the requirements when layoffs occur due to unforeseeable business circumstances,” like a pandemic for example.

So the hotel wasn’t required to issue the letter. Until now, it says.

“Regrettably, it now appears that the length and severity of the direct effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business operations or greater than previously were foreseeable," Williams wrote.

"As a result, we have had to reassess our initial understanding of the circumstances facing the hotel."

Using the exact language found in the U.S. Department of Labor section on mass layoffs, Williams wrote, "Due to business circumstances that were on for scene at the time of the layoffs, the hotel now reasonably anticipates that a sufficient number of furloughs will extend beyond six months to trigger notice requirement …”

Omni Hotels & Resort (N... by Ellyn Santiago

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The notice notwithstanding, Williams told Patch the hotel is open for business.

“What I can share is we’re open for business, and we’re delighted to see staff return,” he said.

Of the original 170 furloughed workers, 135 are in the hospitality workers union, UNITE HERE Local 217. And of those, 18 are back on the job. But that's not unexpected a union spokesman said. The WARN notice was a surprise but is requisite, United Here hospitality workers union local communications director Ian Dunn said.

"The whole lodging economy collapsed, so we all have to work together," Dunn said. "It's about worker and guest safety."

The hotel, which opened its doors Wednesday has a "skeleton crew," he said. Omni Hotels and the union worked out an agreement for worker and guest safety and, Dunn said, workers want to go back to work.

So, they are on the same page, union secretary Connie Holt said.

“We have spent a lot of time and energy working with Omni management and negotiators to reopen the Omni at Yale. We are proud to have reached an agreement that sets a new standard for guest and worker safety," she said in a statement emailed to Patch. "Our hotel is a safe hotel."

Dunn said workers are trying to stay positive even as "people are really suffering."

"As the hotel continues to open, more and more will get called back," Dunn said. "Right now there isn't enough business. But we're proud that we reached an agreement with Omni. We're really proud of the safety measures we've negotiated with them."

And they believe that may help bring back lodgers.

"Unfortunately, due to the COVID crisis, the hotel is not yet fully staffed," Holt said, but added she hopes that, "...all those who are visiting New Haven, (might) please consider staying at the Omni at Yale."

What the union & hotel agreed to

- Rotation of the laundry: People who are dealing with dirty linens do not deal with clean linens without fully stripping PPE and conning new gowns, masks and gloves. Dirty laundry is bagged separately so that it can always be insulated from clean laundry.
- High-risk employees can refuse work in good faith and not lose employment.

- Sanitation stations with 60% alcohol solution are a part of the written contract and can be grieved if not present
- All common equipment (such as laundry carts) will be sanitized after each shift
-Hotel stayover rooms will continue to be serviced daily, in the same manner as pre-pandemic, unless the guest affirmatively declines such service
- Housekeepers have a lower room quota so that they can spend more time thoroughly cleaning each room
- An employee confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 shall be provided up to ten (10) paid days off. (That means no going to work sick because you can't afford to lose the pay!)
- Contact tracing and employee training are in the contract and can be grieved if not followed
- Employees will have medical insurance even if their hours are too low to qualify for insurance in normal times. This was added to the contract as an incentive for employees to get care if they are sick instead of coming to work.