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Lockout ends: Castlewood workers will return to work Oct. 16
Country club agrees to end lockout, negotiate new contract

by Glenn Wohltmann

The lockout of Castlewood workers is over.

Workers will return to their old jobs at the country club Oct. 16 under terms of their old contract, according to a news release from UNITE HERE Local 2850.

The agreement follows an Aug. 17 ruling by Administrative Law Judge Clifford Anderson of the National Labor Relations Board, who found that Castlewood had maintained an unlawful lockout for two years.

The union and Castlewood management then went back to the bargaining table for a series of meetings and to resolve what the union said was about $1.8 million in back wages owed by the club to the workers for locking them out.

"While the details of those discussions remain confidential, generally speaking we offered a fair settlement proposal that would resolve the contract negotiations and the NLRB case," Sarah Norr, spokeswoman for the union, said in a statement. The agreement, she said, would "cost the club far less than $1.8 million above its contract proposal, and most importantly bring about labor peace."

The lockout will have lasted two years, seven months and 21 days when the workers return to their jobs.

The offer to bring back the workers doesn't mean the battle between Castlewood and the union is over, according to Norr's statement.

"We were puzzled by Castlewood's decision not to accept this proposal and settle the dispute entirely. However, we welcome the end of the lockout as an important step toward resolution," she said.

"Since there has been no overall settlement, Castlewood could still ask for a review of Judge Anderson's decision from the NLRB in Washington. If the club does this, workers will be back on the job, under the terms of a good contract, while the legal process goes forward."

Another meeting between the club's management and the union is set for late October, with an eye toward negotiating a new contract.