Press Room - Press Release

August 14, 2008 – SAN DIEGO, CA

In a threat all too reminiscent of the ongoing union-led shakedown of the proposed $1 billion Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center, labor leaders planned to employ the insidious extortion tactic known as “greenmail” in order to secure monopolistic concessions regarding the new Marriott to be built next to Petco Park in the Ballpark Village. The developer, Ball Park Village LLC (a subsidiary of JMI Realty) agreed to Labor’s demands and agreed to a union-only Project Labor Agreement (PLA). A PLA effectively makes it all but impossible for non-union workers and companies to work on the project.

“It is shocking that in 2008 a leading developer in San Diego would think it O.K. to openly discriminate against the almost 90% of the local construction workforce who choose to be union-free,” said CFEC’s Eric Christen. “While these grievous actions are remarkable in and of themselves they also happen to fly in the face of existing law, specifically the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA.) It has become common practice for labor leaders to attempt to subvert the environmental laws of this state using greenmail to achieve their ends. What is even more surprising is when developers act as enablers and reward this extortion by agreeing to exclusionary agreements. This will not be allowed to happen in San Diego any longer and those who do agree to PLAs or anything like them will find themselves held accountable in a very public way.”

CFEC’s complaint is similar to one it filed in 2004 against a Sacramento developer. There the NLRB ruled in CFEC’s favor in a precedent setting case CFEC v Sun Ridge LLC. The PLA was removed from that project and it was built using open competition.

The Marriott project calls for this to be the West Coast’s largest hotel at 1,929 rooms. The hotel, first proposed last summer, is positioned to be Marriott’s flagship convention destination on the Pacific.