L.A. Workers Mobilize for Better Contracts
August 18, 2008
 Worker solidarity, union mobilization and public support are coalescing to yield positive results for employees in Los Angeles County.
More than 350,000 county workers, from actors to janitors, are renegotiating their contracts this year – the largest number in the history of the Los Angeles labor movement. Recent activism has already carried over into some hard-fought victories.
Seven IBEW members hit the Los Angeles County streets
for a three-day march promoting labor solidarity.
IBEW Local 11 electricians won a new contract in July providing a 6 percent pay increase over the next three years. Laundry workers at Prudential Overall Supply – which has seven sites in the area – ratified a new agreement that now provides workers a living wage, free family medical insurance and pension benefits. And housekeeping, food service and office employees signed their first collective bargaining agreement with UNITE HERE in June.
Los Angeles Local 18 Business Representative Nancy Romero credits a three-day labor march in April for bolstering spirits and galvanizing support as workers prepared for negotiations. Several California IBEW members joined hundreds of activists for a 28-mile trek through Los Angeles County that spread messages of solidarity that culminated in a 5,000-person labor rally.
“The march was vital and energizing for the L.A. labor movement,” Romero said. “Lots of people in working class neighborhood came out of their houses to shake our hands and support us. We’ve already seen some wins, but we also have a lot of work ahead of us in the upcoming months.”
Local 18 represents workers at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, one of the largest municipal utilities in the country. “Our contract doesn’t expire until next year, but it’s important that we stand by those whose contracts are up for negotiation,” said Martin Marrufo, a business representative. “We’re going to rely on them when we have challenges, so we want to show that the IBEW stands strong with all L.A. workers in their current and upcoming efforts.”
The IBEW marchers included Los Angeles Local 11 member Gary Parker, Local 18 members Romero, Marrufo and Leslie Abbott, and Diamond Bar Local 47 members Greg Vette, Robert Madrigal and Amador Tapia.
For more information on recent victories and ongoing struggles for workers in Los Angeles County, visit www.hollywoodtothedocks.org.
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