Beverly Hilton Signs Labor Contract

[struggle4progress]

Breaks with industry effort to stop synchronization of contract expiration dates.

By Nancy Cleeland
Times Staff Writer

May 6, 2005, 11:56 AM PDT

The Beverly Hilton said today it signed a labor contract that will expire in 2006, becoming the first major Los Angeles chain hotel to break with the industry's efforts to stop the Unite Here union from synchronizing contract expiration dates across the country.

The move comes as a union-sponsored boycott appears to be hurting the hotels and the local economy, and as the industry's unified stance appears to be breaking down.

The housekeepers union and eight local hotels represented by the Employers Council have been at loggerheads over the expiration date for more than a year.

The union is trying to match the big hotel chains' power by lining up contracts across the country to expire in 2006. That would open the door to coordinated job actions, even a national strike. Major hotel operators are strongly opposed to granting the union that much power. <snip>

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