The eight Los Angeles hotels locked in a bitter labor dispute with their employees agreed today to stop charging unionized workers $10 per week for health care costs.

Employers have been charging the 2,800 workers since July 2004, when their bargaining arm, the Los Angeles Hotel Employer’s Council, declared an impasse in negotiations. The National Labor Relations Board challenged the legality of the impasse declaration on Jan. 27.

“It’s a tremendous victory for the workers because it proves the Hotel Employers Council has been illegally charging workers for health care costs,” said Hilda Delgado, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County Federation of Labor, which is assisting Unite HERE Local 11’s workers in the labor dispute.

Fred Muir, a consultant to the council, said the NLRB’s ruling had nothing to do with the decision to restore full health care benefits.

“These talks have dragged on an awfully long time,” said Muir. “We’re making this offer in hopes that it might bring the two parties a little closer and because we don’t want employees to suffer from this delay-and-stall strategy of the union leadership.”

He said the hotels have no intention of reimbursing workers the nearly $700,000 in premiums already paid.

How the hotels’ decision effects talks for a new contract to replace the one that expired April 15, 2004 remains to be seen.

Both sides accomplished little during two days of talks last week and no additional meeting dates have been set.