Union Rep Says WV Governor Still Delaying Greenbrier Bills

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is millions of dollars behind in payments to the employee health insurance fund at their financially strapped hotel, putting workers’ coverage in jeopardy, despite the U.S. Senate candidate’s claims to the contrary , a union official said on Friday.

“The delinquencies are factual, tangible and documented,” Peter Bostic, president of the Unions Council at The Greenbrier, the historic resort owned by the Justice family.

Justice dismissed concerns about at least $2.4 million in delinquent payments to the insurance provider during a media briefing on Thursday, saying the payments were made “regularly” and there was “no way” for employees to lose coverage. Resort management said an agreement was reached with a collection firm.

But on Friday, Bostic said the situation is by no means resolved.

“We continue to demand that The Greenbriers’ delinquent contractual obligations be met and remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached between the ANHF and The Greenbrier to continue benefits going forward,” he said in a statement.

The justice’s comments came the same day the Republican’s family announced it had reached a settlement with a debt collection company to prevent The Greenbrier hotel, which has hosted presidents, royalty and congressional retreats, from foreclosure because of unpaid debts. The Greenbrier was scheduled to go on the auction block Aug. 27 after Beltway Capital said a longstanding Justice hotel loan was in default after it bought it in July from JPMorgan Chase.

Bostic said Friday that in light of the cancellation of the bid, the Amalgamated National Health Fund has agreed to continue providing health insurance to union employees at The Greenbrier through the end of the month while they work to reach an agreement. with Justice.

Earlier this week, as the auction date approached, about 400 employees at The Greenbrier hotel received a notice from a lawyer for healthcare provider Amalgamated National Health Fund saying they would lose out on auction day if the Justice family does not pay $2.4 million. contributions.

The Justice family has not contributed to the employee health fund for four months and will soon be due an additional $1.2 million, according to the letter received by the board from Ronald Richman, an attorney at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. the company representing the fund.

The letter also said some contributions were taken out of employee paychecks but never transferred to the fund, as far as union officials are concerned.

Justice told reporters at a news conference Thursday that “the insurance payments were made and they were made regularly.”

“There is no way the big union employees at The Greenbrier are going to be without insurance,” he said. “There is no possible way.”

Justice began serving the first of his two terms as governor in 2017 after purchasing The Greenbrier out of bankruptcy in 2009. The 710-room hotel hosted a PGA Tour golf tournament from 2010 to 2019 and hosted the teams NFL for training camp and practices. A once-secret, 10,080-square-foot underground bunker built for Congress at the Greenbrier in case of nuclear attack during the Cold War now hosts tours.

The auction, which was to be held at a courthouse in the small town of Lewisburg, involved 60.5 acres, including the hotel and parking lot.

The Republican said when he bought The Greenbrier, employee benefits were “stripped to the bare bones” and he restored them. He said if the hotel had been locked down, “there would have been carnage and devastation like you couldn’t imagine the great people of The Greenbrier,” referring to the jobs that could have been lost.

“If we threw up our hands, what would have happened to these employees?” he said. “I mean, it’s great to have health insurance, but if you don’t have a job, it would be pretty tough, wouldn’t it?”

Justice is running for U.S. Senate against Democrat Glenn Elliott, former mayor of Wheeling. Justice, who owns dozens of companies and had a net worth estimated at $513 million by Forbes magazine in 2021, has been accused in lawsuits of being late in paying millions in family business debts and fines for unsafe working conditions in its coal mines.

Photo: A main hall at the Greenbrier (Adobe Stock)

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