CITY UNION TO PICKET AT LAX ON SUNDAY AIRPORT-BASED MEMBERS WILL BE AT TERMINAL 1 DEMANDING WAGE HIKE.

Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer

A disgruntled city union plans to demonstrate at LAX on Sunday -- one of the busiest travel days of the year -- in an effort to pressure Los Angeles officials to meet their wage demands.

The Engineers and Architects Association has said most of its airport- based members will picket beginning at 2:30p.m. at Terminal1 -- which not only houses Southwest and US Airways, but also stands at the gateway to all other terminals.

Leaders of the 7,400-member EAA said they hope the holiday weekend demonstration at Los Angeles International Airport will persuade the mayor and City Council to meet their demands for higher salaries. The average EAA worker earns $74,500.

``We told the city straight on, early on, that they could avoid this whole thing,'' EAA Executive Director Robert Aquino said Friday. ``It won't be EAA inconveniencing the public; it will be the city.''

The union's members include technicians, administrators, engineers and information technology employees at LAX. About 80 employees responsible for runway safety, video surveillance and dispatch are considered essential for operations and are prohibited from striking.

LAX will already have extra staff and security on hand for the holiday, heavy travel and high national security alert, officials said.

A spokesman said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa supports the right of workers to organize but that he was disappointed the union had decided to target holiday travelers.

``The Department of Transportation is fully prepared and ready to respond to any disruptions in the flow of traffic throughout the holiday weekend,'' spokesman Matt Szabo said.

The EAA conducted a similar strike last year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but it did not disrupt travelers. Airport officials counted 90 workers on the picket line, and the union figured around 170 employees participated.

The union has sought higher wages similar to increases offered to Los Angeles County employees and those who work for the city Department of Water and Power.

After an impasse in contract talks last summer, the council voted to impose a three-year contract with raises totaling 6 1/4percent, but no salary hike the first year. DWP workers got 16.8 percent over five years.

EAA held a two-day walkout in August that had little impact on city business. Since then, however, the EAA has received a strike sanction from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor so other unions -- including the Teamsters and longshore workers -- could refuse to cross the picket lines if the EAA walks out again.

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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