With mediation from Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa, a tentative contract deal was reached Saturday between seven major Los Angeles hotels and hotel workers, apparently ending 14 months of labor turmoil.

The agreement, which followed intense negotiations that continued into the early hours Saturday, came minutes before hotel owners were set to order a lockout affecting about 2,500 employees.

The tentative deal represents another labor-related victory for Villaraigosa, who "shuttled' between conference rooms at City Hall in an effort to reach a settlement. Villaraigosa also was instrumental in ending the transit strike in 2003.

"What a great way to begin a Saturday morning,' Villaraigosa said in a statement. "Today is a great day for our city.'

The Los Angeles Hotel Employer's Council said that it came to terms on a tentative contract with union negotiators "that ended a needless strike and averted a pending lockout by council hotels that was scheduled to start at 5 a.m.'

Under the deal, "non-tipped' hotel employees will get wage increases totaling 65 cents per hour over a 31-month period ending on Nov. 30, 2006, according to a hotel council statement.

"All other current employee benefits, including free healthcare, will be maintained under the agreement,' according to the statement.

The deal must be approved by union members and by the seven members of the hotel council. There also are "several outstanding issues' that are to be negotiated over the next few days, according to the council.

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