The coalition of major Los Angeles hotels responsible for negotiating a new labor contract lost ground this week as another member dropped out and a remaining member went public with dissension from the group.

"The union has just about got us where they want us. ... They have already lined up a number of independent hotels here in Los Angeles for an '06 expiration," said John Stoddard, general manager of the Wilshire Grand hotel.

The Unite Here union has been seeking to synchronize contract expirations in major cities for next year in a bid to pressure nationwide hotel chains, but the Los Angeles Hotel Employer's Council has sought a longer-term pact.

As an independently owned hotel, the Wilshire Grand has little to lose in agreeing to a 2006 expiration, Stoddard said.

The Los Angeles council started negotiations last March with nine members, but shrank to eight with the conversion earlier this year of the St. Regis hotel to condominiums and dropped to seven this week when the Hyatt Regency was reflagged by new owners as a Sheraton. Another council member, the Millennium Biltmore, is up for sale.

Unite Here officials said on Friday they had signed a 2006 deal with the newly renamed hotel, bringing to six the number of 2006 pacts it has concluded independently with unionized hotels.

"The union has outmaneuvered us. They have walked us into a 2006 deal anyway," Stoddard said, referring to the length of the labor talks.

He said at least two other council members will probably follow his lead in seeking to accede to a 2006 expiration if the council's latest offer is rejected by the union.

Hotel council spokesman Fred Muir said seven of the remaining eight hotel members support the idea that a long-term contract is needed.

Stoddard said the two sides are slated to meet again on June 3 to review the hotel council's latest offer for a $1,000 signing bonus and more than 20 percent wage hike over four years for full-time workers who do not collect tips.

"It's a very rich offer," the Wilshire Grand manager said.

The hotel council's remaining members are the Hyatt West Hollywood, Westin Century Plaza, Sheraton Universal, Wilshire Grand, Millennium Biltmore, Regent Beverly Wilshire and Westin Bonaventure.

More News About the Los Angeles Hotel Workers' Struggle for a Fair Contract >>