Teamsters 856 member, Chelsey Yu is a front desk agent at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco. Last year, she gave birth to her daughter and began her maternity leave. A few months later, she received a letter from the Clift stating she had exhausted her protected leave and her health and welfare benefits would no longer be covered.

Based on a clear and established past practice and contract language, Chelsey knew she should have been able to use her sick leave and vacation hours to meet the minimum 80 hours she needed each month to qualify for her collectively bargained health benefits.

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Last fall, devastating fires left families centered in Paradise, CA, displaced from their homes and communities with the monumental task of rebuilding. The Camp Fire was dubbed the worst in California history because of the tragic number of lives lost and structures destroyed.

In the midst of it all, pets and other animals were caught up in the confusion and often separated from their owners. To help manage this problem, employees from the City and County of San Francisco’s Animal Care &

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Local 856 members in San Francisco recently ratified a new agreement at 23 of the top hotels in San Francisco including the Fairmont, the Palace Hotel, and the Clift Hotel. The new contract builds upon the strength of their previous contract and covers more than 1,000 members who work in reservations, front desk, concierge, and accounting.

“This agreement is one that we all worked hard on and one that I believe is second to none in the hotel industry,” said Local 856 President Mike Lagomarsino who led negotiations along with Local 856 Secretary-Treasurer/Principal Officer Peter Finn.

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Reservations, front desk, concierge, and rooms control employees at the W San Francisco hotel have joined the more than 1,000 hospitality workers already represented by Teamsters 856 after a resounding yes vote in February.

For Priya Kumari, the choice to join Teamsters 856 was an easy one. After years of talking with members of Teamsters 665 and UNITE HERE Local 2 who work in other departments at the W, she realized what a difference a strong collective bargaining agreement could make.

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