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about the issues affecting them, just as the Council has also heard from residents of Sunol and Happy Valley. The Council has always strived to be answerable and responsive, which is why the Council decided in Vice -Mayor Thorne's absence to agendize the item. Mayor Hosterman opened the hearing to public comments. Public Comments: Francisca Carranza stated she is one of the newest employees of Castlewood, when she spoke at the last Council meeting, her husband was in the hospital suffering from complications associated with a heart condition and while he is now home, the doctors are still contemplating surgery. She noted she is the sole provider for her family and desperately needs to return to work soon. Adrianna Carranza addressed the Council concerning the lockout. Marisol Gil thanked the Council for taking the time to consider the workers' request. She said the lockout has had a tremendous financial impact on her family and asked the Council to support the workers by getting them back to work as soon as possible. Mildreth Gil said she is very proud and supportive of the fact that her mother is fighting for the healthcare rights of her family and asked that the Council also support her by helping to end the lockout. Wei -Ling Huber, Unite Here! Local 2850, said she is the current and past negotiator on behalf of the union workers at Castlewood. The union has had a very good working relationship with the Club in the past and has always prioritized the skyrocketing costs of medical benefits. This time, the Club's Bargaining Committee initially came forward with over 65 proposals, nearly all of which were takeaways. She acknowledged that her schedule was exceptionally full over the summer months and that negotiations started a bit late, but once begun, they successfully reached over 50 tentative agreements in a relatively short period. Ms. Huber said the union presented Castlewood with its final proposal on February 26, which provided a result that cost $1000 less per month than the Club's own proposal. Castlewood has yet to accept or even counter that proposal. She reported that on April 2 the union won the vote for worker representation and was hopeful that would urge Castlewood to return to the bargaining table but an email from their negotiating director has indicated they are not prepared to meet until April 27 the 62 day of the lockout. She requested the Council to send a strong message and pass the resolution. Larry Ferderber said he is a 25 -year resident of Pleasanton and a 10 -year member of Castlewood Country Club. He said he is motivated to speak tonight because when he attempted to engage Club management regarding its policies and development procedures, he was told this is a matter for the Executive Council and Negotiating Committee and not members. He said anything the Council can do to assist the Club in taking actions to end the lockout and agree to a reasonable benefits package would be very useful and is in the best interests of the Club members, employees, and the community at large. He believed the Club's Board has let its negotiating team become disconnected from its membership, the interests of those members are not well represented, and egos have been caught up in negotiations. He requested the Council's assistance in returning the focus to the current issues on the table. City Council Minutes Page 5 of 22 April 6, 2010