Labor’s Party

L.A. labor organizers say Labor Day was just the beginning of Labor Month.
by John Guigayoma

With forks digging into scrambled eggs and mouths sipping from wine glasses, hundreds of union members greeted their Labor Day with a breakfast that played host to politicians, labor organizers and workers at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Indicative of Los Angeles’ strong union presence, the breakfast was more than just another Labor Day observance. Union membership rates have declined in the rest of the country but remain steady in L.A. and California, according to a recent UCLA study. Monday’s events were part of a swell of recent activity by L.A. unions that organizers plan to continue through the end of the month.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke in support of union efforts during Monday’s breakfast, calling Los Angeles a “beacon of hope” that can defend the standard of living for disadvantaged workers. State Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides rallied the audience against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with his speech. “I’ve got a muscle here that is going to fight for you,” said Angelides, noting that Schwarzenegger chose to attend a body building competition at Muscle Beach for Labor Day.

Cardinal Roger Mahony led a mass following the breakfast and also spoke in favor of labor unions. “There is this sense that we can’t make anything happen. We can,” said Mahony.

Cardinal Mahony later discussed unionizing the thousands of hotel workers along Century Boulevard, home to some of the busiest hotels in the city because of its proximity to Los Angeles International Airport. Employees of these hotels have faced low wages, job injuries and health insurance problems because of the expansion of major hotel corporations, according to UNITE HERE.

“It’s been very hard fighting with different corporations,” said Luis Salazar, a truck driver for the Westin LAX Hotel who said he receives a salary of $8 an hour but has to pay a monthly fee of $230 for health insurance. “Companies keep fighting back, but we’re strong.” Westin workers began organizing through UNITE HERE on Jan. 30, according to Salazar.

A boycott of the LAX Hilton, which began Aug. 31, saw dozens of workers protesting for higher wages, better health care and a more manageable workload. Two major clients, the California Teachers Association and the Los Angeles Episcopal Jubilee Ministries, have said they will withhold their business to bring about a change in policies. The LAX Hilton is the second largest hotel in Southern California and employs many workers from nearby Hawthorne, Inglewood and Lennox, according to a press release from UNITE HERE.

To top off the month, the We Are America Coalition and UNITE HERE are planning a large-scale strike for Sept. 28 against improper immigrant labor policies by the Century Boulevard hotels, according to UNITE HERE spokeswoman Paulina Gonzalez. Planning to bring together religious leaders, workers, students and immigrants, organizers hope for the strike to be one of the largest civil disobedience efforts in California’s labor history.

“It’s this whole different road we’re taking about immigrant workers and what happens to them once they’re in this country,“ said Gonzalez. “The 28th is really about bringing that to light.” LAA