A second major Los Angeles hotel has told union negotiators it would be satisfied with a labor contract expiring in 2006, union officials said on Friday in a boost for their plan to synchronize cross-country talks next year.

The Unite Here union has been seeking roughly simultaneous contracts in major cities across the country that would expire next year, increasing labor's bargaining power for the post-2006 deals.

Los Angeles has been a key stumbling block as the Los Angeles Hotel Employer's Council, including some national chains, has starkly opposed a 2006 deal.

But the Millennium Biltmore hotel has joined the Wilshire Grand hotel in agreeing to accept a 2006 contract, even though both are prohibited from signing such deals because they have committed to joint negotiations with five other hotels, said David Kopp, a spokesman for the Unite Here union.

Officials at the Millennium Biltmore, which is up for sale, declined to comment. John Stoddard, general manager of the Wilshire Grand, said earlier this month that his hotel had little to lose from a 2006 expiration and wanted to be off the union's boycott list.

The Los Angeles council started negotiations last March with nine members, but the number has since shrunk to seven after one hotel was converted to condominiums and another was sold.

Hotel council spokesman Fred Muir on Friday said a majority of council members had voted to continue to seek a longer-term pact. He said the council has given the union until Thursday to accept or reject its offer for a four-year deal including a $1,000 signing bonus and more than 20 percent wage hike over four years for full-time workers who do not collect tips.

He also declined to comment on the Millennium Biltmore's stance.

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 >>