Long Beach Convention Center operator reaches deal with union after wage complaint
The Southern California union representing hospitality workers has reached a deal to secure employment for about 100 workers at the Long Beach Convention Center.
The agreement between United Here Local 11 and ASM Global, the company that operates the city-owned convention center, resolves a dispute that erupted last month after the union accused a subcontractor of underpaying workers and avoiding payroll taxes.
After the union filed a complaint with the state about the subcontractor, Costa Mesa-based event management company 1Fifty1 Inc., ASM Global moved to end its ties with the business.
The new agreement will cover about 100 dishwashers, cooks, servers, bartenders and cleaners, as well as about 100 workers formerly employed by 1Fifty1 who cleaned public areas such as bathrooms, broke down and set up event spaces and performed groundskeeper services.
The deal secures a total wage boost of $12 per hour over the course of the three-year contract, free family health insurance, and a 400% increase in pension contributions, according to the union. The agreement also limits the company's use of temporary agency workers.
Union members ratified the agreement in a vote held Friday and Saturday.
'Our members again showed extraordinary courage and unity — they refused to settle until the workers exploited by the temporary agency 1Fifty1 won justice," Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, said in a statement.
Read more: Long Beach Convention Center subcontractor accused of wage theft, tax evasion
Stacey Escudero, a spokesperson for ASM Global, said that the company has reached out to all the former 1Fifty1 employees for whom it has contact information and that many already have been hired.
'We are proud to share that UNITE HERE and ASM Global have reached a new agreement reinforcing our shared commitment to good jobs, fair wages, and outstanding service at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center," Escudero said in an emailed statement.
Unite Here Local 11 had filed a complaint with the California labor commissioner's office March 13, alleging that 1Fifty1 paid convention workers under the table with cash in envelopes, violating labor laws that require pay stubs showing hours worked and tax deductions.
The complaint also alleged that 1Fifty1failed to pay some employees the minimum wage for Long Beach concessionaire workers, currently set at $17.97 an hour, as well as overtime wages for employees who worked seven- or eight-hour shifts seven days a week. The labor commissioner's office is investigating the claims.
1Fifty1 did not respond to a request for comment on the deal.
The company previously said the union's allegations were untrue.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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