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At the same time, federal officials are investigating a complaint filed by the union alleging that the association has broken federal labor law by not bargaining in good faith.
The first of the employees were locked out starting this weekend, with the rest of them finding themselves locked out on Monday, as Lake County News has reported.
The dozen and a half union members, represented by Laborers International Union of North America Local 139, continued a protest picket on Wednesday, asking the community for donations of food and toys to help them get through the lockout and the holiday season.
They stood on a corner by Hardester's Market and near the elementary school, dispensing flyers and waving to drivers, many of whom honked in reply.
Union business manager Dave George said they still haven't received any information from HVLA about why it locked out the employees. “It's been the strangest negotiations.”
George and the union maintain that the lockout is illegal, and that HVLA is not bargaining in good faith.
HVLA General Manager Jim Johnson has refused to comment publicly on the situation, and HVLA Board President Don Dornbush did not return a call placed Wednesday seeking comment.
However, on Wednesday HVLA did offer a written rebuttal to the flyers being distributed by the union workers.
The document, which HVLA would only hand out at its office, said that Johnson's place of residence, salary and pension package should not be questioned, and explained he is a Hidden Valley Lake resident who receives no pension from the association.
HVLA's response stated that Johnson has neither “'coerced' nor encouraged union workers,” the majority of which currently make more than the union contract rates.
The association also asserted that they've not suggested those contract rates be lowered, and added that the only HVLA employees who currently have pensions are union workers.
HVLA maintains that it has bargained in good faith throughout the negotiation process, and signed a contract continuance that ended Nov. 14.
According to the rebuttal, the union canceled a contract negotiation scheduled for Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
George told Lake County News on Tuesday that the union planned to file charges against HVLA with the National Labor Relations Board.
Joseph Norelli, the National Labor Relations Board regional director for the San Francisco regional office, confirmed Wednesday that his office had received the filing.
“We are just beginning to investigate this,” Norelli said.
On Nov. 14, the day the bargaining agreement expired, the union filed a charge alleging that HVLA had threatened the employees with a lockout on Saturday because they were at an impasse, according to Norelli.
He was notified by the union's attorney on Saturday morning that the lockout had begun.
Local 139 has alleged the lockout is illegal. For the lockout to be legal, Norelli said HVLA needs to show that they haven't committed unfair labor practices, that they're bargaining in good faith, and have been unable to reach an agreement and so must lock out employees.
“The law gives them that right,” said Norelli, but he said it remains to be seen if this is a legal or illegal lockout situation.
Norelli said he's expediting an investigation into the allegations at the union's request. The investigation could take as long as 49 days, although Norelli said they'll try to get it done faster than that.
The union has requested the labor board seek an injunction in federal district court that would require HVLA to immediately reinstate all of its employees, said Norelli.
That, in turn, could lead to a settlement or litigation before the labor board concerning whether or not the employees would have to be permanently reinstated and “made whole” with the payment of back wages and benefits, he said.
Norelli said Local 139 began filing a succession of charges against HVLA in the late spring.
“We investigated all of those charges and in September we found that there was merit to a number of those charges,” he said, adding that some charges also weren't found valid.
HVLA was found to have made changes in employment terms and conditions without notice or bargaining with the union, said Norelli, which is a breach of labor law.
As required by law, the labor board offered HVLA an opportunity to settle, which they did. That settlement required that HVLA – which didn't admit guilt – agree that they would not repeat the mistake, and would post a notice telling employees of their rights and listing the allegations.
“It's just bringing to everyone's attention that this was done unlawfully without bargaining,” Norelli said of the notice.
HVLA also had to reimburse employees for any losses they suffered which, in this case, were related to changes in the rules about letting employees take home company vehicles, he said.
After the settlement, things appeared to be resolved. “We haven't heard much from them since then until we got a charge late in the day on Friday,” said Norelli.
Norelli said the new charges against HVLA also raise concerns about the association's compliance with the previous settlement, which was reached toward the end of September, and is still in a 60-day notice period.
He said that settlement also required that HVLA not refuse the union relevant information requests about such things as wage levels – which George and Local 139 are alleging HVLA is now doing.
“We have not yet closed this case on compliance,” he said. “They may be breaching the settlement agreement, which would require that this settlement be set aside.”
That would necessitate a new complaint, which Norelli said could lead to a new settlement or to litigation.
George suggested that HVLA's new management may not fully understand its duties in the negotiations process.
An HVLA Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The lockout is expected to be a topic of discussion.
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Organizers sought to send a loud and clear message that Californians do not accept elimination of this crucial program for low-income senior, blind and disabled Californians.
The statewide day of action came in response to Gov. Schwarzenegger's use of the line-item veto power to eliminate $191 million in tax rebates for low-income elderly and disabled Californians. This was the governor's single biggest line-item veto in the budget.
The governor defunded the entire Senior Citizens Property Tax Assistance program, also known as the “renters' rebate,” a program that has been in effect for decades.
With no forewarning, Schwarzenegger struck all funds from the program, despite the fact that the Legislature had included the funds in the budget approved by the state Assembly and Senate.
The Senior Citizens Renters Tax Assistance program, which has been in effect for four decades, makes senior and disabled renters who earn less than $44,096 eligible for up to $347.50 as a tax rebate.
Many eligible Californians had already filed their claims and were counting on these funds. With the governor's veto, the Franchise Tax Board now will not pay these claims.
Assemblyman John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, characterized the cuts to the tax assistance program as “unconscionable.”
Tenants Together, a statewide organization for renters' rights, advocates for the rights of California's estimated 14 million renters.
“We're outraged that the governor would take aim at low-income senior, blind and disabled renters during these difficult times,” said Dean Preston, executive director of Tenants Together, California's statewide organization for renters' rights. “The state's neediest residents were counting on this money. The governor's veto is totally unacceptable.”
According to Nan Brasmer, President of California Alliance for Retired Americans, “The governor's veto of rebates for renters is a slap in the face to the neediest seniors. To add insult to injury, the governor also cut the tax rebate for homeowners, which also targets lower income homeowners, many of whom are seniors. We call on legislators to override the governor's veto and restore these rebates as soon as possible."
The group is collecting signatures on its online petition condemning the governor's veto of these funds. The petition can be viewed at www.tenantstogether.org.
The coalition opposing the Governor's veto is remarkably broad. More than 30 organizations have signed onto a letter to the governor urging the governor to fully fund the tax assistance program.
Signatories included Access to Independence of San Diego, California Alliance for Retired Americans, California Church IMPACT, California Disability Community Action Network, Center for Independent Living - Fresno, Coalition for Economic Survival, the San Francisco Tenants Union and others.
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HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE – Hidden Valley Lake Association employees on Tuesday were protesting what they said was the association management's decision to lock them out of work during ongoing contract negotiations. {sidebar id=106}
HVLA has 16 to 18 employees – most of them golf course maintenance workers, plus building maintenance and a few janitors – represented by Laborers International Union of North America, Local 139, based on Eureka, according to the union's business manager, Dave George.
George said HVLA officials have not given the union a reason for the action.
HVLA General Manager Jim Johnson would not comment on the situation when contacted by Lake County News on Tuesday.
Johnson said a statement will be issued once the association's attorney has approved it.
The union had a contract extension with HVLA until Friday, Nov. 14, said George. The lockout began on Saturday, when a union member who works as a janitor arrived and found he was locked out.
A second janitor was locked out Sunday, and the remainder of the union members were locked out of work on Monday, George said.
George, who accused HVLA of negotiating "in bad faith," said the union is taking its case to the National Labor Relations Board.
"We've filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board to try to get injunctive relief to try to force the employer to put them back to work," he said.
On Monday and Tuesday, union members carried signs protesting what George said was an illegal lockout.
Union members participating in the protest said they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the union.
Instead, they handed out flyers explaining their case and asking for people to attend the next HVLA Board of Directors meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20.
They also asked for donations of food and toys to get through the upcoming holiday season.
Local 139 has represented workers at HVLA since 1996, said George.
George said negotiations between Local 139 and HVLA have been taking place "off and on" for some months. In talks with HVLA, it's come up that the association needs to cut its expenses 20 percent.
During the recent negotiations, George said HVLA brought in an attorney for the first time. "We've never used attorneys in negotiations," he said.
"It was not our choice, it was their choice," said George. "They've been bargaining in bad faith."
George said HVLA has refused to disclose workers' pay rates, most of which he guessed are around $11 to $13 per hour.
"They're trying to turn them into the working poor. They're there now, really," he said, adding that one of the union members has a home in foreclosure.
He said he had asked to meet with the HVLA Board of Directors but received no response. "We tried to head this off before it got to this point."
George said if the National Labor Resources Board finds for the union, HVLA could end up paying substantial amounts in back pay and benefits. He said the union has filed charges against HVLA previously and entered into settlements with them.
Correspondent Aimee Gonsalves contributed to this report.
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The meeting will take place at the Little Red Schoolhouse on Cobb, 15780 Bottle Rock Road, at 6 p.m. Thursday.
An initial gathering was held at the schoolhouse on Oct. 30, in which neighbors of the plant – which reopened at the end of March 2007 – made it clear they were tired of waiting for the plant's operators to finally address ongoing issues such as noise and concerns over potentially hazardous materials being stored on the property in drill sump ponds.
One of the most outspoken neighbors, David Coleman, shared his concerns at that meeting, and plans to attend Thursday as well.
Coleman, who said he “wasn't very reassured” by the last meeting, said he plans to put together information packages for several agencies to explain the neighbor's main problems.
While he said the plant's sound levels are bothersome, “Our core group is just mainly concerned with the toxicity of the material.”
The material in question is what comes out of the drills. Coleman said tons of material comes out of the 18- to 20-inch drilling holes that go down about two miles into the ground in pursuit of the geothermal resource.
At the October meeting Coleman said officials confirmed for the first time that those materials might be toxic.
“I thought the county's explanations were really quite pathetic,” Coleman said.
Water safety was another issue that came out on Oct. 30, with some plant neighbors saying their water wells had been contaminated.
Coleman said a lot of people pull water from Kelsey Creek, and he's concerned because the area's water also flows to Clear Lake.
Supervisor Rob Brown, who has put the meetings together, said the plant's management is “working to try to mitigate some of the concerns expressed at the meeting,”
Since Oct. 30 he has had discussions with county Community Development Director Rick Coel and Larry Bandt, vice president of engineering for Oski Energy, which manages the power plant for its owners, regarding sound control.
Speed issues on High Valley Road, where neighbors said plant trucks were driving too fast, causing safety problems and destroying the road, also are being dealt with, said Brown.
One potential development on the county side is consideration of hiring a geothermal consultant.
Hamilton Hess, chair of the Friends of Cobb Mountain, suggested on Oct. 30 that the county have a geothermal point person, which the county had in the past.
Brown said the suggestion was a good one, and the county is now looking at hiring planning consultant Melissa Floyd – who has worked with both the county and city of Clearlake – to fill that role. He said state funds would help pay for Floyd's services.
If the board approves hiring Floyd, she would monitor geothermal projects, said Brown. That would include coordinating contacts between county and state agencies – Environmental Health, Fish and Game and Air Quality – that have a role in permitting and overseeing such operations.
Floyd also would be the person community members could take concerns to, Brown said.
He'll introduce Floyd and the idea of hiring her to the power plant's neighbors Thursday.
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