
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 26, 1992                   TAG: 9203260109
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

THE HOMESTEAD ACCUSED OF DENYING RECORDS ACCESS

A union trying to organize workers at the Homestead resort claimed Wednesday the hotel has refused to give it access to federal safety records.

Larry Sizemore and Betty Loan of the organizing committee of Local 863 of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union said they asked Homestead officials five times in the past two weeks for copies of Occupational Safety and Health Administration accident reports. They said they were concerned about on-the-job injuries.

Wednesday, they said they had received "incomplete OSHA . . . logs which had deleted required information."

Steve Harrison, The Homestead resident manager, denied that records were withheld.

Loan of the union committee said: "Whenever we ask for information for anything about our rights, all we get is a runaround." The union has petitioned federal officials for the right to represent 450 Homestead housekeeping department employees.

Harrison said the committee asked for information and the hotel's attorneys told him OSHA required that safety records be posted from Feb. 1 to March 1 "and we did that." The hotel fulfilled requirements of the OSHA law, Harrison said.

The committee also said the state Department of Labor and Industry had fined the Homestead last year "after investigating hazardous and dangerous working conditions." Harrison said the hotel built a small shed and removed chemicals from storage after an incident in 1991.

by CNB