LAX Hotel Agrees to Union Contract

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The owners of the Radisson Los Angeles Airport Hotel have agreed to their first contract with the Unite Here Local 11 union, granting workers a $2.3 million boost in wages and expanding the availability of health benefits, union officials and the hotel’s owner said Monday.

The deal came after months of negotiations following the hotel workers’ card-check vote last fall to become part of the Unite Here union.

Under details of the deal unveiled at a noontime press conference, the hotel’s 160 workers will receive a $2.60 an hour wage increase over the duration of the three-year contract. Also, employees working at least 25 hours a week will be eligible for health benefits, as well as access to a pension plan.

“We don’t have to worry about choosing between paying for health insurance and paying the rent,” said Alicia Colmenero, a housekeeper at the Radisson hotel.

Radisson Los Angeles Airport Hotel owner Peter Dumon did not return a call seeking comment on the agreement.

With this deal, the 580-room Radisson hotel becomes the fourth airport area hotel to sign a union contract; the other three are the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the Four Points by Sheraton LAX Hotel and the Sheraton Gateway Hotel at LAX. According to Unite Here Local 11 spokeswoman Paulina Gonzales, these four union contracts together boost the wages of the nearly 1,000 affected workers by an estimated $12.3 million.

Only one major airport-area hotel, the Hilton, has remained non-union.

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