Union Eyes Lawsuit In L.A.

LOS ANGELES— A hotel and restaurant workers union may sue major hotel chains here to get them back to the bargaining table after labor talks hit a wall earlier this week. According to a Reuters report, the Hotel Council walked out of talks on Tuesday declaring an impasse after offering a five-year contract with lower health care co-payments and rejecting Local 11 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union’s demand for a 2006 contract expiration date The report said the contract for housekeepers, bellstaff and banquet workers expired on April 15 but was extended to June 1 as the two sides negotiated staffing levels and health-care costs. It added the previous contract has expired and the union wants a new two-year deal that would allow 4,000 unionized workers here to negotiate the next contract to expire at the same time as contracts in other cities, so hotel workers across North America can leverage their influence. The National Labor Relations Board has yet to agree that an impasse has been reached. SOURCE: Reuters