A labor union has come to the defense of non-union workers in Peoria.
When Laborers Local 165 learned a contractor doing renovation work at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel was shorting its employees’ paychecks, they sought legal recourse.
Local Secretary Treasurer Matt Bartolo says the union wanted to help the seven workers even though they weren't members.
"These workers were being severely mistreated by way of working conditions and more egregiously not being paid appropriately and in some cases, not being paid at all," Bartolo said. "When we discovered that knowledge, our principles and morals wouldn’t allow us to turn our backs on these workers whether they were our workers or not."
The workers had been doing drywall work and painting for the NMR Company of California. They have received partial back pay with additional reimbursement to come under a negotiated settlement.
Four Points owner Hawkeye Hotels has dropped NMR as a contractor and now is using union labor in addition to its own employees.
The hotel is scheduled to re-open next spring.