Beer Nazis?

Union utters the H-word in battle with Hofbrauhaus

By Newt Briggs

On Friday afternoon, more than a dozen union carpenters and organizers gathered at the Hofbrauhaus, the newly opened Bavarian beer hall across from the Hard Rock Hotel. The group, however, wasn't there to wet their whistles on Bavaria's finest lagers or to dine on the region's famous schnitzels and wursts. Instead, they spread out along the sidewalk in front of the building and distributed tabloid-style leaflets that claimed to offer "The secret history that Hofbrauhaus doesn't want you to know" and mock drink coasters that declared, "Welcome to the Hofbrauhaus, where the Nazi party got its start."

According to Daniel O'Shea, senior organizer for the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, the union's sudden historical concern was inspired by Hofbrauhaus' failure to meet area wage and benefit standards during the construction of the new building. In support of the demonstration, O'Shea offered solidarity letters from IG BAU--a German industrial union--and Jewish Defense League Director Bill Manianci, who described the original Munich Hofbrauhaus as the place where "Adolph Hitler began his reign of terror."

In a written response to the allegations, Hofbrauhaus managing partner Stefan Gastager maintained that the union's claims were "simply historically inaccurate." "Although history records that in his younger years Hitler spoke at the Hofbrauhaus, as did many political leaders long before and after Hitler, Hitler's Nationalist Party movement actually had its birthplace in the Burgerbrau Keller (Beer-hall)." Gastager also observed that the owners were born decades after Hitler's rule and that "Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas is 12 days old."

But as O'Shea explained, the union's primary complaint was with the Hofbrauhaus' construction policies. "We gave them ample information early on in the process to let them know that some of the contractors they were using did not provide employer-paid health care or benefits. So what did they do? They went out and shopped around for the cheapest labor without any regard for the prevailing wage."

In his release, Gastager countered that the selection of subcontractors was left to the "sole discretion" of the general contractor, R&O Construction. Furthermore, Gastager noted, "It has been represented by the general contractor to Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas that no union contractors even bid on the project."

Not so, said O'Shea. "We met with them early in the process and in the middle of the process. We explained what our issues were with health care and area standards, but they did what owners always do, they blamed it on someone else. When we talked to the owner, they blamed it on the general; when we talked to the general, they blamed it on the owner. Bottom line is the owner makes the final decisions on construction."

O'Shea made the case for why it's important for businesses to meet regional pay and benefit standards, which currently add up to $36.61 per hour--$26.83 in wage and $9.78 in benefits--for carpenters.

"Construction is as competitive as any other business. The problem is that while it's incredibly smart to be competitive, there's also an issue of fairness. If I can get a carpenter to work for $5 an hour because he's desperate, I may be a smart businessman, but I may not be a good community member."

As to the Nazi connection, O'Shea recognized that it was a severe accusation but felt it was justified under the circumstances. "You can say that we're trivializing our complaint by bringing in all this Nazi stuff, but I think they trivialized us. I think they came here and treated American workers different than they would workers in their own country. I think that's trivial."