EDITORIAL CROSSING THE LINE VILLARAIGOSA OF ALL PEOPLE TAKES ON THE UNIONS.

WITH a city union gearing up to strike, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa passed a major test: Is he more loyal to the union movement that gave him his start, or the public that holds the key to his future?

The mayor made his name as a union organizer and supporter, but he didn't cave to the demands of the 8,000 city workers represented by the Engineers and Architects Association, who staged a partial strike Tuesday. He held firm -- even as he was called a ``scab'' by union supporters -- and stood by the four-year contract with only 6.25 percent in raises the city has offered the workers.

To be fair, the EAA members made it exceedingly easy for Villaraigosa by thumbing their noses at pay scales above those of their counterparts in other cities. Those scales range from $67,531 a year at the bottom to $105,855 a year at the top, not counting lucrative pension and other benefits that those in the private sector only dream about.

When the average striking white-collar worker makes far more than the median income of those paying the bills, it's tough to garner too much sympathy.

The sticking point for the EAA is the inflated Department of Water and Power contract, negotiated by the last administration but approved by Villaraigosa. The EAA's professional employees want the same big paychecks as the professional employees at the DWP. Problem is, the city couldn't afford the DWP raises when it gave them away, and it certainly can't for everyone else at City Hall.

Still, that hasn't stopped city officials before. There's a reason why L.A.'s municipal work force is the best paid in the nation, and it isn't because of fiscal prudence. The city, after all, is still spending more than it takes in despite a 10 percent increase in revenue.

This week was the first time that City Hall has faced labor unrest of this magnitude in more than a decade. The hope is that it signals a long- overdue shift in the priorities of City Hall. If Villaraigosa can continue to hold the line on lavish raises to city workers, then the trend of giving away the treasury -- then hitting up the taxpayers for more -- might be on the wane at last.

This is not what his critics predicted. The rap on Villaraigosa before he was elected was that once in office he would be just a union tool. But so far, Villaraigosa has proved himself to be a defender of public interest and not a union hack.

We can only hope he can walk this same line with other bargaining units. City workers deserve a fair shake, but now it's time to fix what's broken in Los Angeles and make this a great city for all the people who live and work here.