ABC’s San Diego chapter Aug. 17 mailed more than 15,000 fliers to residents of Chula Vista, Calif., a suburb of San Diego, explaining how local union leaders cost the city a $1-billion hotel and convention center project along the Chula Vista Bayfront.
In 2005, Nashville, Tenn.-based hotel developer Gaylord Entertainment approached the city of Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego with plans to build a 550-acre resort destination on the bayfront, a project that would have created approximately 8,500 construction and service-industry jobs and generated more than $50 million in estimated tax revenues every year.
However, plans for the project stalled after local labor leaders threatened to use the environmental permitting process to delay or cancel the project unless Gaylord signed a union-only project labor agreement (PLA), a union tactic known as “greenmail.” Representatives from Gaylord and the unions held extended negotiations on the PLA, with Gaylord offering to accommodate nearly every union demand. The unions rejected the offers, insisting that all of their demands be met. In July, the company announced it was reconsidering plans to move forward on the project and had begun investigating alternate locations.
“The people of Chula Vista need to be made aware of just how far union leaders have pushed the envelope of ethical behavior in pursuit of a union-only PLA on this project,” said Eric Christen, vice president of government affairs for ABC’s San Diego chapter. “This mailer serves as a reminder of just how important this project is, what the stakes are, who’s accountable and how the people of Chula Vista can act to enhance their quality of life and build a clean, safe bayfront offering billions of dollars in local investment and thousands of local jobs.”
For more information, contact Eric Christen at ABC’s San Diego chapter, eric@abcsd.org.