Janitors, iron workers, teachers, healthcare workers, and actors recently took part in "Hollywood to the Docks" a 28-mile walk from South LA to the Port of Los Angeles. More than 5000 union members and supporters took part in the march. Leilani Albano met participants along the way:

The three-day series of events was part of a citywide effort to strengthen ties among workers and garner support from the community for unionization.

Anthony Cistaro, who is with the Screen Actors Guild, participated in the event.

[Cistaro]: LA's a labor town and the efforts that the labor unions have made in raising their own working conditions help working conditions for everybody.

By Doug Cuningham

A construction trades policy about to be adopted in Los Angeles will hire more low-income and local residents in projects worth $15 billion over five years. The Los Angeles and Orange County, California Building and Construction Trades Council is leading a coalition of labor, community, and business groups to get it done. Kevin Norton is Organizing Director and Political Coordinator for IBEW Local 11.

[Norton]: "By having an opportunity for people to get into the building trades apprenticeship program, it really gives a ladder up into the middle class for a lot of kids that haven’t had opportunities in life."

By Jesse Russell

A Los Angeles-based farm labor contractor is learning that it doesn’t pay to discriminate.

Jesse Russell reports.

A class-action lawsuit against filed against Global Horizons, Incorporated will award $317,000 to workers. The suit alleges that the company violated labor law by firing them and replacing them with workers from Thailand. The contractor was able to do so by abusing a portion of the H-2A guest worker program that allows foreign farm workers ot be brought in if there is a lack of a local labor force. The company has since had its right to operate in Washi

As part of a landmark decision, the Los Angeles City Council has approved a wage hike for Latino and Korea-American workers at California Market, as part of a redevelopment project agreement . Leilani Albano has more with the story.

By Leilani Albano

After learning that California Market owners were planning to reconstruct one site into a massive three-story mall, organizers with the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, or KIWA, waged a year-long campaign stipulating that employers increase wages for workers, as a condition for the store’s re-opening. Their efforts paid off. This month, City Council members approved their renovation plans, after business owners agreed to a higher pay scale for its 100 employees.

By Doug Cunningham

The United Food and Commercial Workers is beginning talks on new contracts with grocery stores in California, including the Ralph’s chain. Ralph’s pled guilty last November to secretly hiring hundreds of locked-out employees using fake names and fraudulent social security numbers. The company was guilty of five felonies, fined $20 million and has set up a $50 million restitution fund for workers employed by Ralph’s during the lockout and strike in 2003 and 2004. As the UFCW meets with Ralph’s executives in Los Angeles a federal criminal probe of the company continues investigating individual Ralph’s executives.

By Doug Cunningham

The Los Angeles County labor Federation is backing a union that walked off the job for two days over the summer. The Engineers and Architects Association – representing 10,000 workers - may have to strike again. If they do they will have the backing of the powerful L.A. County labor federation for the next round with the city of Los Angeles. Maria Elena-Durazo, head of the Los Angeles County Labor Federation, says the labor movement strongly believes in the right of workers to strike when necessary.

The recent civil disobedience rally for immigrant worker rights in Los Angeles resulted in hundreds of arrests at it united labor activists, some elected officials and immigrant rights groups.

[Leilani Albano Audio Report]

By Doug Cunningham

[Chant] : "Si se puede! Si se puede!"

Unite Here and the We Are America Coalition staged a civil disobedience protest aimed at shutting down Century Blvd. In Los Angeles during rush hour Thursday. Alvaro Herta of the We Are America Coalition says this was a protest against exploitation of immigrant workers.

[Alvaro Huerta]: " It's very strong in solidarity, making sure that this issue gets paid attention to. Immigrant rights and also workers rights in general."

By Jesse Russell

Picketers at Los Angeles International Airport caused little disruption on Sunday. Members of the Engineers and Architects Association are seeking a new contract with the city and nearly 700 of them work at the airport. They have been without a contract for more than 17 months and are demanding a pay raise of 3.25 percent per year for five years. The demand reflects a raise recently given to members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

By Jesse Russell and Leilani Albano

A week has passed since the resounding election day victory for foes of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. WIN contributor Leilani Albano revisits the election and finds out what went right for organized labor.

[Albano starts]:

The voters’ overwhelming rejection of the ballot proposals has shattered the image of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was once considered to be the state’s most popular leader.

Kent Wong, executive director of the UCLA Labor Center, he says LA unions organized an impressive campaign against the initiatives:

By Jesse Russell with Vinny Lombardo and Leilani Albano

California voters are headed to the polls today for a hotly contested special election. Not only is it the most expensive election in that state's history, the outcome could determine the ability of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to hold onto his seat and the viability of the labor movement. At the core of the debate are propositions 74 through 78. Leilani Albano has more from Los Angeles:

Propositions 74 through 78 deal with: toughening tenureship rules for teachers, weakening public-sector unions, school spending limits, changing re-districting methods, and gaining access to low-cost pharmaceuticals.

Listen to this story here: California Special Election Coverage (1 of 3): Report from Los Angeles

This is the first of three special reports from the Workers Independent News highlighting the special election battle in California. Leilani Albano reports on organized labors fight in Los Angeles concerning propositions 74 through 78. She also investigates labor's silence on proposition 73 - which would require healthcare workers to notify parents prior to giving minor's an abortion:

By Jesse Russell

Little progress has been made in negotiations between janitors and three major defense contractors. The janitors clean the buildings for Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon in Los Angeles and are represented by the Service Employees International Union. The most recent set of negotiations between the union and the contractors broke down early Saturday. Nearly 700 workers have been on strike since July 7 demanding better wages and benefits. Their contract expired in May. The workers have no health care benefits and earn an average of $1000 per month.

With the AFL-CIO convention coming at the end of July, a great deal of media focus has been on the national level. Over the next month the Workers Independent News will be concentrating on locals, districts and labor councils to find out what they hope will come out of the convention. On Thursday, WIN spoke with Hilda Delgado of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor:

[Delgado]: Los Angeles is committed. And we had a meeting at the beginning of the year before the passing of my boss, Miguel Contreras, and he brought all the unions together because we've been able to increase membership and mobilize and really have a united labor front in Los Angeles.

UNITE-HERE, a union that represents hotel, restaurant and textile workers saw two major victories in the past two weeks. The union announced on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached with Angelica Textile Corporation. The union can now initiate organizing efforts at the company's non-union facilities. The agreement also includes new collective bargaining terms for the Antioch, New York plant. Last week UNITE won a major victory in LA when a tentative agreement was announced with the Hotel Employers Council. The agreement follows a 14-month battle where the hotels faced boycotts, strikes and the workers in turn were threatened with lockouts.

In Los Angeles, out of respect for hotel workers that have been without a contract for ten months, former President Bill Clinton cancelled plans to attend a lunch being held at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Century Plaza shares a boycott list with six other hotels in that city.

UNITE-HERE Local 11 heads back into more talks with eight luxury hotels in the Los Angeles area today as hotel workers struggle to win fair and just contracts. Local 11 President Maria Elena Durazo says big issues include the cost of health insurance and workloads and she says the hotels are agressively anti-workerŠ

[Maria Elena Durazo 1]: "Their taking a very, very aggressive anti-worker campaign in all the workplaces and so it is a constant daily battle inside those hotels."

UNITE-HERE is encouraging a boycott of Hyatt, Hilton and Starwood hotels.