LAX workers reach labor agreement
An agreement has been reached between 1,900 passenger service workers at Los Angeles International Airport and their airlines' service contractors, officials said today.
The workers belong to Airport Workers United, which is part of Service Employees International Union Local 1877 and represents sky captains, baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants, airplane cabin cleaners and security personnel who monitor terminals and cargo areas.
Workers were asking for better job training, increased pay, improved medical coverage, equipment and staff support, said Mike Chavez, a spokesman for the union. He said workers are paid an average of $10 an hour and 97% have no family healthcare.
Union officials would not disclose the terms of the new agreements reached with Air Serv, G2 Secure Staff, Aero Port Services and Aviation Safeguards until they are ratified. Three of the four agreements were reached last week and ratified this week. The last deal was brokered Wednesday with Aviation Safeguards, Chavez said.
"We really have made some significant improvements with wages, training and equipment standards, but the one thing that really is not in there is healthcare benefits," Chavez said.
"It was a compromise, and really there are still some important improvements to be made, and we're hoping that those can be made in the future."
Both sides worked to strike a deal through face-to-face meetings, e-mails and phone calls, said Julie Gutman, a labor advisor to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was present during much of the process.
Gutman said each agreement had been negotiated separately and that her office worked to help both sides recognize "the difficult economic times for contractors, but also the difficult economic times for the airlines' service workers."
About 600 other service workers, primarily janitors and cabin cleaners, have yet to reach agreements with the remaining airlines' service contractors, ABM/One Source, Flagship, Lee's Maintenance and World Services. They could not be immediately reached for comment. Negotiations were scheduled to continue next week.
Workers went on strike Aug. 28, the Thursday before the Labor Day weekend. But the next day, Villaraigosa urged both sides to agree to a cooling-off period and to resume negotiations.
Chavez said the union was optimistic they would reach an agreement next week with the remaining service contractors.
"We're optimistic we'll have something, but we're still not there yet. ... I can't predict," he said.
tami.abdollah@latimes.com
