Unite Here Local 2 Leader Mike Casey Feels Heat from Union Members After Recent Revelations of Union Misuse of Funds, Lack of Contract for 2 Years

This is year is off to a rocky start for Local 2 Unite Here and its leader Mike Casey. First, the union was forced by the federal government to replace money it had illegally taken from employee trust funds after it was cited for Unfair Labor Practices. Now other hotels are considering filing Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board on the same money transfer issue.

But the even bigger story is that Mike Casey may be losing his grip on his members. This week hotel employees who heard about the misuse of funds by Casey and Local 2 leaders started wearing buttons that said “Mike Casey’s Union NO!!! Union Yes.”

Local 2 union leaders demanded that members remove the anti-Casey buttons. Word in the hallways of some of the largest hotels in San Francisco is that employees are tired of Casey’s demonstrations and boycotts and want a settlement with hotel management.

Hotel union membership has dropped from 13,000 to 9,000, a 30 percent drop over the past three years. While the economy played a big role in job losses, many Local 2 members hold Casey’s boycott and labor actions responsible for their own economic hardship and loss of jobs.

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