LA Greens Support Living Wage Increase for LAX Area Hotel Workers

Submitted by Byron De Lear on Tue, 11/28/2006 - 2:06pm.

Los Angeles Greens support City Council vote on living wage for LAX area hotels, urge expansion of living wage ordinance and further support for unions

Nov. 16, 2006

LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Greens today commended the Los Angeles City Council for passing an ordinance requiring hotels near Los Angeles International Airport to pay their employees a living wage. In an 11-3 vote, Councilmembers demonstrated their commitment to fair wages for workers in Los Angeles, even those who are not directly contracting with the city.

Derek Iversen, Co-Facilitator of the Los Angeles Greens, commented “I'm proud to live in a city that reaches out to help those in the community who really need it. It's not every day that the City Council makes a bold moral choice, but on November 15 they did.”

The Los Angeles Greens have been proud partners of UNITE HERE and the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) in their efforts to promote the rights of area hotel workers. Over the past two years, several Greens have been active in efforts to combat unfair hotel labor practices in West Hollywood and Glendale.

On September 28, several Greens were among approximately 300 people arrested in a civil disobedience action on Century Blvd., an event that highlighted conditions and poor wages at LAX area hotels along the Century Blvd. corridor.

The City Council began to act on the issue soon afterward. Linda Piera-Avila, a Los Angeles Greens member who was arrested on September 28, believes “our historic collective civil disobedience action helped sway them to do the right thing.”

Among the Green Party’s Ten Key Values are Social Justice and Community Based Economics. Both issues speak to the need for basic economic standards for all members of society. As Piera-Avila notes, we “need to stand up for the human dignity of low wage workers in the face of corporate exploitation. Justice is served when people are raised out of poverty and the wealthy are called to accountability.”

Patrick Meighan, Labor Coordinator for the Los Angeles Greens, said that participating in the campaign and in the civil disobedience action was an easy decision. “The L.A. Greens stand for social justice, so, naturally, we stand with L.A.'s hotel workers in their fight for dignity and a livable wage. When you think about it, these workers are really fighting for all of us. So how can I not lend them a hand?”

The Council’s action is a good step toward a living wage for all Los Angeles workers. Toward that end, the Los Angeles Greens will continue to work for fair wages and better working conditions. Increasing union representation at these hotels will enable workers to organize and achieve more victories for themselves and their families.

The Los Angeles Greens is a club devoted to promoting peace, grassroots democracy, social justice and ecological wisdom. It is the largest Green Party club in L.A. County, which contains the largest group of registered Greens in both California and the nation.

For more information:

THE LOS ANGELES GREENS

http://www.losangelesgreens.org

c/o Peace Center

8124 W. Third Street Suite 103

Los Angeles, CA 90048-4339

(323) 651-5539

FAX: (323) 651-5607

E-MAIL: losangelesgreens@gmail.com