Hotel Workers Sue Rancho Palos Verdes Over 'Panic Button' Measure

PALOS VERDES, CA – A lawsuit against the city of Rancho Palos Verdes alleges that the city is refusing to put a measure on the ballot that would provide employees of the exclusive Terranea Resort and Trump National Golf Club with panic buttons and wage increases.

A union representing employees at the two businesses had collected enough valid signatures – 3,300 – to put the initiative on the ballot, the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters confirmed to the Los Angeles Times last week.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday by lawyers for Unite Here Local 11, it says Rancho Palos Verdes City Clerk Emily Colborn didn't put the measure on the next scheduled meeting, June 19. That is in violation of state law: Rancho Palos Verdes is required to put the measure on the city council's next scheduled meeting so elected officials can vote to put the measure on the next citywide election, the newspaper reported.

Colborn said she'd already completed the June 19 meeting agenda, and that the county's registrar of voters didn't notify her that the minimum number of valid signatures were collected. She told the Los Angeles Times that the measure will be placed on the next meeting, July 17, with enough time for the council to add it to the Nov. 6 election ballot.

City Attorney Bill Wynder said the lawsuit was "entirely unnecessary." The city had already added the matter to its agenda for the next available council meeting on July 17, yet Unite sues to ask a judge to order the city to add the matter on the same July 17 agenda, he said.

“It doesn’t make any rational sense. The City has dealt with Unite Here Local 11 in absolute good faith.” Mr. Wynder said. “The letter from the County advising the City Clerk of the voter signature review results from the Registrar-Recorder arrived after the City Council agenda had been prepared and posted as required by law. Moreover, the cancellation of the July 3, 2018 city council meeting occurred on May 15 – long before the City had any inkling that the signature review would be completed and was occasioned entirely because of the July 4, 2018 long holiday weekend when many residents would not have been available to attend such an important meeting.”

The measure would require major hospitality employers in Rancho Palos Verdes to protect employees against sexual threats and assault, including panic buttons for workers who clean guest rooms. Union leaders said they were backing practical solutions to the problem of sexual assault in the workplace as part of the #MeToo movement.

Related: Palos Verdes Dishwasher Receives $250,000 In #MeToo Case

"We are asking voters in Rancho Palos Verdes to ensure that a housekeeper at Trump's golf resort would have the right to break the silence around sexual threats in the workplace," said Maria Elena Durazo, general vice president of Unite Here. "This law gives those workers the tools to protect themselves and each other."

A former dishwasher at the Terranea Resort, Sandra Pezqueda, claimed she was fired after reporting sexual harassment and assault by her supervisor. Pezqueda was one of the "Silence Breakers" selected by Time magazine for its 2017 Person of the Year designation and received $250,000 in a sexual harassment lawsuit against the luxury hotel.

"Reporting sexual assault in my job was one of the most difficult and painful things I've had to do, and I was punished for it," Pezqueda said. "I don't want anyone else in this city to go through what I went through, so I am hopeful that voters will pass this measure into law."

Related: Union Proposes Panic Button To Protect Palos Verdes Hotel Workers

Unite Here has campaigned to protect hospitality workers from sexual assault since allegations were made by a New York hotel housekeeper against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2011. Criminal charges against Strauss-Kahn were ultimately dismissed at the request of prosecutors, who said they could not make their case.

Representatives said the union has bolstered contract language, backed studies and successfully passed ordinances requiring panic buttons in Seattle and Chicago.

The union is hoping to pass similar ordinances in multiple California cities, including Long Beach.

Patch has reached out to Terranea Resort for comment – the story will be updated accordingly if a response is given.

City News Service and Patch staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Image via Google Streetview