Despite news reports to the contrary, two factions within Unite Here, the giant labor union that includes most organized hotel workers, have agreed to remain unified for now. Yesterday, the group’s general executive board voted by a 62- to 38-percent margin to remain as one organization.

Despite the vote, disharmony still prevails within the 400,000-plus-member union. In a statement following the vote, John Wilhelm, president of the hotel faction of the union, attacked Unite Here President Bruce Raynor, saying, “He believes the union is his personal property and wants to rule it as an absolute dictatorship.” Last year, Raynor filed a suit against Wilhelm and other union leaders claiming they violated the group’s constitution and stole some of Raynor’s powers, particularly in setting budgets and allocating resources.

Unite Here formed in 2004 amid a lot of fanfare with the merging of two existing unions—one representing mostly textile workers and another from the hotel, restaurant and casino industry. The group amassed a war chest it has used to help elect candidates, including President Barack Obama, sympathetic to union causes. Top on the union’s wish list is passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation the hotel industry fears would greatly ease unionization efforts among lodging industry workers, even at small properties. In campaign speeches, President Obama made passage of the bill a first-hundred-days priority. However, work by the Administration and Congress on the nation’s economic problems has so far pushed the legislation to the background—at least for now.