Los Angeles

Taking a Stand for Security Officers and Public Safety
The L.A. City Council introduced legislation on April 6 to address dangerously high turnover and poor working conditions among Los Angeles’ security officers. The move came after the release of a LAANE study entitled Undertrained, Underpaid, and Unprepared: How L.A.’s Commercial Office Building Owners Are Failing Security Officers and Compromising Public Safety. The study found annual job turnover rates ranging from 60 to 243 percent, as well as minimal and ineffective training programs, low wages and inadequate health benefits for security officers.

The Stand for Security Coalition took the message of the report to the streets on April 4, the 38th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. The large crowd braved stormy weather to garner attention from high-rise owners in Downtown’s Bunker Hill, whose support is critical to the effort to improve working conditions for security officers. Maguire Properties, the largest owner of downtown office property, subsequently agreed to allow the Service Employees International 1877 to represent security officers in their buildings, bringing these workers one step closer to securing bargaining rights. Maguire also joined SEIU Local 1877 in signing on to a three-year pilot training program to upgrade job skills. For more information, go to www.standforsecuritycoalition.com.

Read L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez on security officer Juanita Burroughs article.

Hotel Workers Rising Campaign Gets Off to an Energetic Start in L.A.
Kicking off the Hotel Workers Rising campaign, a nationwide effort to improve living standards for North American hotel workers, Senator John Edwards and actor Danny Glover spoke to a boisterous crowd of 1,000 hotel workers and supporters at L.A.’s Downtown Sheraton Hotel on February 16. Also in attendance were Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and UNITE HERE leaders Bruce Raynor, John Wilhelm and Maria Elena Durazo, who has since been appointed to the post of interim Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the L.A. County Federation of Labor.

Earlier in the day, Glover visited workers in their homes in Lennox, where he learned firsthand about the daily challenges hotel workers face, from low wages, overwork and chronic understaffing to on-the-job injuries and lack of health insurance or retirement benefits. For more information, go to www.hotelworkersunited.org.

One of the first major battles of the national campaign is taking shape at the LAX Hilton Hotel. As we went to press, the Hilton had suspended 75 workers who had engaged in a legally-protected work stoppage to protest the firing of a co-worker. The hotel giant only agreed to reinstate the workers after five days of protests in front of the hotel, including a prayer service and a Mother’s Day “banquet in the street.” On May 12, unfair labor practice charges were filed with the federal government against the Hilton seeking to recover lost wages for workers, who will lose as much as a week of pay.

On the Road to a New Century
The City Council took the first step toward improving conditions near Los Angeles International Airport, directing staff to draft an ordinance that extends the city’s living wage and worker retention ordinances to Century Boulevard hotels, and to explore ways to beautify the area. Home to the largest concentration of hotel rooms in the county, the Century Corridor also suffers from blight and below average industry wages, according to a report released in April by a Blue Ribbon Commission headed by former City Councilmember Ruth Galanter and Rev. Cecil Murray. The report urged the city to pass a comprehensive policy to address poor working conditions in the local hotel industry and blight and poverty in and around Century Boulevard, where many of the 3,500 Century Boulevard hotel workers live. The report was based on testimony from a March public hearing at Westchester Christian Church, where workers, community leaders and educators shared their concerns about the impact of poor jobs and short-sighted planning on their community. Opportunity for All: Creating Shared Prosperity in the Gateway to Los Angeles is available at www.CenturyCommission.net.

LAX Shuttle Bus Drivers Win Union, Workplace Protections and Cleaner Vehicles
Approximately 100 hotel shuttle drivers working along the Century Corridor became the first workers in the LAX hospitality industry to win union recognition. Shuttle drivers are now members of Teamsters Local 986 based in South El Monte and will soon begin negotiations for their first contract. Goals for the contract negotiations include fair wages, good health care benefits, an end to their at-will status and a grievance procedure.

The drivers' victory follows the Los Angeles World Airport Commission proposal to consolidate hotel shuttle services to and from LAX. On May 1, nine hotels along Century Boulevard subcontracted their shuttle service for at least five years to Penauille Servisair, a French-owned company. As part of the company’s shuttle agreement with the Airport Commission, Penauille Servisair agreed to abide by the city’s living wage and worker retention ordinances and to use clean-burning shuttles.

"This agreement shows the potential for workers and businesses on Century Boulevard to join together and improve conditions for everyone," said Rev. Altagracia Perez with the Coalition for a New Century, an alliance of churches, community-based organizations and residents seeking to revitalize Century Boulevard and the surrounding area. "We hope that the LAX hotel industry will follow the example of the hotel shuttle operators and join our efforts to create shared prosperity in the Gateway to L.A." More

New LAANE Report Calls on Local Government to Take Lead in Combating Poverty
A recently released LAANE report found that almost 3.9 million people—39% of residents—in Los Angeles County are poor enough to qualify for government anti-poverty assistance, and the vast majority live in working households. City at a Crossroads: Poverty, Jobs and the Future of Los Angeles attributes widespread poverty to the erosion of the social safety net and a changing economy, which is replacing well-paid manufacturing jobs with low-paying service jobs. The increased economic insecurity is contributing to the housing crisis, the health care crisis and the vast numbers of people who are either homeless or are unable to put enough food on the table. The report argues that local government has a crucial role to play in addressing widespread poverty and rebuilding the middle class.

Inglewood Moves Closer to Superstore Law
A little more than two years after Inglewood voters overwhelmingly rejected Wal-Mart’s attempt to build a supercenter without public oversight, the city took a major step toward enacting a law that would ensure a full public review of any future superstore proposals. On May 3, Inglewood’s Planning Commission recommended the adoption of an ordinance that requires an economic impact analysis for big box projects before any city approvals can be issued. The policy is supported by the Coalition for a Better Inglewood, which helped lead the campaign to stop Wal-Mart’s ballot measure in 2004 and has been promoting responsible economic development that creates good jobs and meets the real needs of communities.

Historic Immigration Demonstrations Put Los Angeles in the Spotlight
More than half a million people marched in Los Angeles on May 1 in an historic demonstration of the importance of immigrants—both legal and undocumented—to the American economy. Thousands of businesses shut down in recognition of the “Day Without Immigrants.” Marchers waved flags and carried signs in peaceful protests that were sparked by legislation in Congress that threatens to make illegal immigration a felony. Local Spanish-language radio shows helped muster up huge crowds for the May Day rallies—one downtown and another along Wilshire Boulevard—and for a massive March 25 demonstration that brought half a million people to City Hall. Unions representing janitors, construction laborers, drivers, hotel employees and healthcare workers turned out en masse for the rallies. Labor unions, drawing on their expertise, played a key role in organizing the recent marches. High school students have drawn media attention to the recent immigration debate, staging walkouts from school to demonstrate their concern about the issue.

Downtown High School Named for Miguel Contreras
The L.A. Unified School District voted to name the new Central High School near downtown Los Angeles after the late labor leader and former Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Miguel Contreras. Located on the site where the living wage ordinance was born, and where Miguel Contreras once worked for HERE Local 11, it is the first high school in Los Angeles to be named after a labor organizer.

“Miguel did a lot for the community where this school is being built. He empowered us all to stand up for our rights and fight for what is fair,” said Ricardo Perez, a parent, who was joined by his ten-year old daughter. “To have my daughter go to a school named after this great man and friend means a lot to me.” More

Around The Nation

Santa Cruz Minimum Wage Increase Headed to
November Ballot
Activists turned in more than 6,000 signatures supporting a several-dollar increase in the minimum wage to Santa Cruz City Hall in April, qualifying the wage initiative for the November ballot. The Working Alliance for a Just Economy, a group of labor and community activists, spearheaded the effort in response to the growth of low-wage service sector jobs and the rising cost of living in their community. The Boardwalk, the city’s famed beachfront amusement park, is one of the city’s largest employers and has vowed to fight the initiative, which would raise the city’s minimum wage to $9.25 per hour. More | Also visit Working Alliance For A Just Economy.

Oakland Airport Concession Workers Win Living Wage
The Oakland Port Commission voted in April to close a loophole that had exempted small employers from the existing living wage law at Oakland International Airport. Affecting mostly concessions workers, the amendment guarantees a minimum wage of $9.90 an hour with health benefits, or $11.39 an hour without benefits. An exemption clause allows smaller companies (those with 20 or fewer employees) to seek a waiver if they can prove financial hardship. More | Also see Port of Oakland Living Wage Frequently Asked Questions.

Albuquerque Passes Citywide Minimum Wage
Albuquerque became the fourth city in the nation (after San Francisco, Santa Fe and Washington, D.C.) to pass a citywide minimum wage law. Under the new law, Albuquerque's minimum hourly wage will increase to $6.75 on January 1, 2007, and will reach $7.50 by 2009. Local advocates who led the drive for passage of the measure included New Mexico ACORN, New Mexicans for a Fair Wage, Voices for Children and the New Mexico Conference of Churches. They received help from the New York-based Brennan Center for Justice, which played an advisory role. More

Massachusetts Heralds Healthcare Reform Bill
Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to pass a near-universal healthcare bill after a year of negotiations between the overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature and the state’s Republican governor, Mitt Romney, who on April 12 signed the landmark bill into law. Targeting the state’s half million uninsured, the bill requires sliding scale contributions so that low-income families can afford to buy health insurance. It also includes tax penalties for those who can afford insurance but forego purchasing it. Spreading costs among citizens, employers and the government, the bill thrusts the state to the forefront of the national debate over how to provide universal health care coverage. Bowing to pressure from some businesses, the governor vetoed key portions of the bill, including a $295-per-worker assessment on firms that do not provide health insurance. One incentive for the bill’s passage was the promise of $385 million annually in federal funds if the state could reduce its uninsured population. More

Janitors Prevail at University of Miami
On May 1, after a nine-week strike at the University of Miami, janitors secured the right to form a union and raise living standards for their families. The victory followed a high-profile effort targeting university president Donna Shalala, urging her to respect the right of workers to organize. Workers have won a 25% raise and access to health insurance for the first time. Many students, religious leaders, community organizations and national leaders lent their support to the campaign. More | Even More

Superstore Policy Wins in the East Bay
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a policy addressing the growth of superstores in the East Bay in March. The policy requires any proposed new superstore in unincorporated county areas to undergo a thorough review of its social and economic impacts. The policy also requires the planning commission and Board of Supervisors to determine that the project would create a positive impact on the region before the superstore could be approved.

Building on similar policies enacted in Los Angeles and Sacramento, the policy is the first in the country to pass at the county level. “This policy is critical because high-impact superstores like Wal-Mart often locate in unincorporated areas outside of urban centers, but their impact is felt throughout the entire region,” said Amaha Kassa, executive director of the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, one of the key supporters of the law. The county’s central labor council and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) also backed the policy. More | Alameda County Board of Supervisors' Transportation/Planning Committee Meeting Minutes

Community Benefits Agreement Wins Approval at Yale New Haven Hospital
A coalition of community and labor groups won a long-fought battle in March for a community benefits agreement through Yale New Haven Hospital with the help of one of LAANE’s sister organizations—the Connecticut Center for a New Economy. Since 2004, the 40-member coalition has sought to ensure that the proposed $430 million cancer center development plan includes real benefits for New Haven residents.

In return for the coalition’s support of the project, the hospital agreed to provide $1.2 million for housing and economic development in adjacent neighborhoods, a hiring and training program for local residents, and a project labor agreement guaranteeing that designated buildings will be constructed with a workforce representing the diversity of the local community. The hospital also agreed to a comprehensive program to enhance the number of patients who receive financial assistance and entitlements, and to conduct outreach to uninsured children and asthma patients. The hospital will be the first in the state to register for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The hospital has also agreed to allow a fair process for workers to choose whether they want to unionize (SEIU 1199 was an active part of the coalition). More

ACORN Campaigns to Raise the Minimum Wage
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is campaigning to raise the federal minimum wage, which has not been increased from its current level of just $5.15 per hour since Congress last raised it in 1997. Accounting for cost-of-living increases in rent, healthcare, education and other necessities, the value of the last federal increase has substantially eroded, leaving minimum-wage workers and the families who count on them far worse off than they were more than 35 years ago. The Fair Minimum Wage Act, introduced last year by Sen. Edward Kennedy and Rep. George Miller, would raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 in three steps, benefiting 15.5 million workers across the country. For more information, visit www.acorn.org.

Responsible Development Comes to Downtown Seattle
On April 3, Seattle’s City Council voted unanimously to pass an affordable housing measure tied to new development projects. The Center City Livability Resolution also included a living wage component. Recognizing the intersection of livable wages and affordable housing, high-rise developers will be required by the resolution to provide at least 600 units of low-income housing over the next 20 years. More