EAA OKS THREE-YEAR CONTRACT.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

Ending one of the longest labor disputes in Los Angeles history, members of the Engineers and Architects Association have voted overwhelmingly to accept a three-year contract that gives them raises totaling 9 percent, officials said Wednesday.

All six bargaining units of the 10,000-member union approved the package, which allows negotiations to be reopened if Department of Water and Power workers get a higher-paying contract.

EAA members had staged job actions and protests after refusing an initial city contract offer, saying they wanted the same lucrative deal previously given DWP workers.

DWP workers received 3.25 percent raises each year for five years, and an escalator clause to account for inflation.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Wednesday he was pleased with the EAA vote and the end of the monthslong dispute.

``With this, we can move forward,'' Villaraigosa said. ``I have always said we want to reach a fair deal with our workers.''

EAA General Manager Bob Aquino called it a historic agreement.

``The wage package, along with the language that calls for the city and us to fairly address the wage disparity with the DWP workers, ... was a major issue for us,'' Aquino said.

The last EAA contract offered by the city called for no raise the first year and subsequent raises totaling 6.25 percent. With talks at an impasse, the City Council voted to impose the contract without a vote of members.

The new contract will cost an estimated $12 million a year. The contract will take effect July 1, although it will be applied retroactively to July 2006 for some workers.

Villaraigosa said he hopes the contract serves as the base for talks under way now with other civilian municipal unions -- which have said they are expecting annual raises exceeding 3 percent.

``Everyone wants to be paid more,'' Villaraigosa said. ``I would like to pay them more. But we have to be responsible to the taxpayers of this city. The workers of the city are well-compensated and we will make sure they continue to be well-paid.''

EAA members work in city agencies including the Controller's Office, sanitation and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Related to the dispute, criminal charges have been filed against two Department of Transportation employees accused of tampering with the traffic signal system as part of the EAA's work action against the city.

Union officials have said they urged members to disrupt city services by walking off the job during union-sanctioned work actions, but did not condone criminal activity.

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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