Ending 14 months of labor unrest, Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa helped broker a tentative agreement Saturday between hotel workers and the city's major hotels during an all-night negotiating session.

Shuttling between the warring sides during a marathon night of talks, Villaraigosa announced at 5:30 a.m. Saturday that a deal had been reached and would be submitted to members of UNITE HERE -- the union formed last year from the merger of the Union of Needletrades, Textiles and Industrial Employees and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union -- for approval.

The agreement came as the union began a picketing campaign and hotel operators were threatening a lockout -- and it clears away a cloud hanging over the tourist industry as the busy summer season gets under way.

"This is a great day for Los Angeles," Villaraigosa said. "What I hope now is that we all work together to bring tourists back to Los Angeles."

Members of UNITE HERE, representing 2,800 maids, bellhops and other workers, had started a picket at the Hyatt West Hollywood on Friday and had planned to expand its action to other hotels starting on Saturday.

Instead, its members will meet Monday to vote on the contract, which officials from both sides said involves more paid vacation, paid health insurance and raises totaling 65 cents per hour for all employees who do not receive tips.

Workers will get some of their raise retroactively and the contract will expire in November 2006, the union said. The length had been a sticking point for hotel operators, who wanted to see a longer contract to assure labor peace. Union officials wanted a two-year deal to put it on the same schedule as other hotel unions across the country.

The two sides have been at odds for more than a year and the Los Angeles Hotel Employers Council, representing the Century Plaza, Westin Bonaventure, Wilshire Grand, Millennium Biltmore, Regent Beverly Wilshire, Sheraton Universal and the Hyatt West Hollywood, had voted to lock out the workers.

Villaraigosa -- who takes office on July 1 -- had called both sides to his City Hall offices to see if they could reach an agreement. Aides said he kept them in separate rooms as he went back and forth until an agreement was reached at 4:45 a.m. Saturday.
A former union organizer who was credited with playing a key role in settling the transit strike two years ago, Villaraigosa came out a short time later to address a group of union workers.

"We're excited that we've averted a lockout. We're excited that cooler heads prevailed," Villaraigosa said.

Maria Elena Durazo, head of HERE Local 11, said she was pleased to see a resolution to the issue.

"Nothing is better for the image of Los Angeles than for these workers to have a fair deal," she said. "Now, there's no more strike, no more boycott and we'll work hard to bring business back to these hotels."

Brian Fitzgerald of the hotel council also said he was pleased with the agreement.

"The agreement lays a very solid groundwork for reaching future labor contracts here in Los Angeles," Fitzgerald said. "The hotel council is gratified that all of our employees will be back to work with stability for the next 17 months."

Villaraigosa's stepping in now was seen as a key effort to help him get his administration off to a strong start with no labor problems.

The hotel employee strike also could have had an impact on the plans for the new Convention Center hotel and L.A. Live project being developed across from the Staples Center.

In addition, Villaraigosa is facing a challenge as he takes over the chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where a contract for bus drivers is scheduled to expire.

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