WORKERS PLAN `LIVING WAGE' FAST LAX HOTELIERS LAUNCHING PETITION DRIVE.Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer A group of workers along the Century Boulevard corridor announced plans Thursday to begin a water-only fast for the next week to draw attention to their ongoing dispute with hotel owners over implementation of a ``living wage.'' The workers said they will fast and protest in memory of a Radisson LAX Hotel housekeeper, Margarita Margarita (märgärē`tä), island, 444 sq mi (1,150 sq km), in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. With many smaller islands it constitutes the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta (1990 pop. 263,748). Uriostegui, who recently died and was involved in the effort to boost workers' pay. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. signed the living-wage measure into law Monday, requiring Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. International Airport-area hotels pay workers a minimum of $9.39 an hour with health insurance or $10.64 an hour without. The law also restricts the firing of any workers and requires the hotels to pay workers gratuities included in service charges for banquets and other events. But the hotel operators have protested, saying the city is overstepping its authority in an industry with no direct connection to the city. The hotels benefit, city officials have argued, because of city investments in the airport and the customers it brings to the hotels. Hoteliers have vowed to put a referendum on the issue before voters in March. They need to collect some 49,000 signatures of registered voters to put the issue on the ballot. ``The petitions are all printed and we will be on the streets today collecting signatures,'' spokesman Harvey Englander said. ``The plans for a fast have no impact on those plans.'' But supporters of the living wage argue the LAX-area hotels are paying 20 percent less than their counterparts in other areas of the city and have some of the highest occupancy rates Noun 1. occupancy rate - the percentage of all rental units (as in hotels) are occupied or rented at a given time pct, per centum, percent, percentage - a proportion in relation to a whole (which is usually the amount per hundred) . The announcement of the fast came after a speech to the alliance by former Sen. John Edwards  This article or section contains information about one or more candidates in an upcoming or ongoing election.Content may change as the election approaches. of North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. . He was joined by Andy Stern For other people with this name, see . Andrew L. "Andy" Stern (born 1950) is the president of the Service Employees International Union, the largest and fastest-growing union in the United States and Canada. , president of Service Employees International Union, in urging support for the workers. ``We hope this fast encourages more people to involve themselves in the struggles of low-wage workers that highlight the tremendous disparity between the wealthy and those stuck in poverty,'' said Madeline Janis of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, which pushed the measure. rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 |
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