Wages And Salaries

Hundreds of hotel workers rallied along the Sunset Strip on Friday, warning Los Angeles-area employers that they would not accept pay cuts, reduced benefits or other givebacks. "We should be earning more, not less," said Morena Hernandez, a maid at the Andaz, the upscale hostelry that was targeted in Friday's protest. "We can't afford a cut in benefits." The noisy but peaceful protest organized by Local 11 of Unite Here took place on the narrow sidewalk in front of the Andaz, formerly the West Hollywood Hyatt, which reopened in January after Hyatt refurbished the property.

Bank of America Corp. has received government permission to pay back $45 billion in taxpayer aid that helped the company survive the financial crisis, a step that would terminate the federal pay restrictions that have inhibited its search for a new chief. Although several banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have repaid capital handed out by the government last fall, Bank of America would be the first recipient of so-called extraordinary federal assistance to repay taxpayers completely.

A five-year package of raises being offered to employees of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power could put a major burden on the utility's retirement system, according to a report prepared by the city's top budget official. The agreement, which contains five consecutive increases for DWP employees, could cause the utility's yearly pension contribution to increase by more than 150% by 2014, according to the confidential report, a copy of which was obtained by The Times. The DWP sets aside 30 cents for its pension expenses for every dollar it spends on salaries, City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana wrote in his report.

California's Legislature went to state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown recently seeking relief from a future pay cut and on Thursday received an unwelcome surprise: An 18% reduction for lawmakers and other elected state officials can begin next month instead of a year from now. The move backfired after the Legislature protested -- the state's dire financial straits notwithstanding -- that a pay cut scheduled to follow next year's election was illegal....

Wall Street bankers make too much money -- on that the American public may be in near-unanimous agreement. But what about your own compensation? Can you justify it in this still-struggling economy? One inevitable effect of this recession's massive job losses and plunge in consumer and business spending has been downward pressure on the wages and benefits of many of those who still are working. That pressure has been evident for the last 18 months or so, of course, as the unemployment rate has climbed relentlessly.

The state Legislature is quietly seeking to block a steep cut in lawmakers' salary and perks. Executives of the Assembly and Senate have asked the state attorney general to determine whether the scheduled 18% pay reduction and additional 18% cuts to living expenses and car allowances are illegal. The lowered benefits are due to kick in next month, while base pay is set to be slashed from $116,000 to $95,000, starting with lawmakers elected starting year. Senate Secretary Greg Schmidt, who co-signed the letter requesting the legal opinion, said the Legislature's top attorney has said the citizens commission that ordered the reductions lacked the power to cut the per diem and car allowances.

If you've been reading the gloom and doom stories in the press lately, you know that Hollywood is going through its fair share of belt tightening. Unsure about future profits, studios have been cutting back on everything, including movie production budgets, A-list stars' first-dollar gross deals and perk packages as well as movie premieres, screenwriter salaries and -- oh, yes -- newspaper advertising. It's all been a big bummer, especially for the town's talent agents, who have had to weather a thousand-and-one grumpy phone calls from top actors and filmmakers unhappy about seeing their once-reliable salary quotes being tossed out the window.

Edward Dawson started his business from scratch in 1978. He and his wife, Marcia, built it into a $63-million-a-year enterprise with offices throughout California. The couple, who earned more than $7 million in salary and deferred compensation in the last five years, now own a villa overlooking the beach in Palos Verdes and other real estate worth millions of dollars. Theirs is a classic tale of entrepreneurial success -- except their wealth comes from running a nonprofit that is sustained by taxpayer dollars.

Even as Los Angeles police officers go without raises, the City Council moved ahead with a plan Friday to give employees of the Department of Water and Power pay increases ranging from 2% to 4% in each of the next five years. Three hours after it approved a two-year contract with the Police Protective League that offers no salary increases, the council forwarded the pay-raise package to members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18 for ratification. City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, the top budget official, refused to comment on the agreement.

Advocates for day laborers and other low-wage workers are pushing for a new city law that would target unscrupulous employers by making wage theft a crime in the city of Los Angeles. They have found an ally in City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who plans to introduce a motion this morning directing the city attorney's office to write an ordinance that would criminalize nonpayment of wages. "People think that just because they pick up somebody on the street or at a day laborer center that they don't have the responsibility to pay them if they don't like the work," Alarcon said.