It seems that Councilmember Gary DeLong is leading the fight against the Labor Peace Agreement. Along with the Chamber of Commerce and the Hospitality Alliance, DeLong has been extremely active and vocal in his opposition to the ordinance. I have posted Councilmember DeLong’s statement to the Long Beach Post:


“I am neither “pro” union nor “anti” union. I respect the rights of employees to freely elect union representation, as outlined in the Federal National Labor Relations Act.


But, borrowing a term from our Mayor, let me be blunt. The Labor Peace Agreement (LPA) is nothing more than a Labor “Organizing” Agreement. So the question is, should the City of Long Beach be in the labor organizing business?


Some of my concerns are:

1. Under NLRB law, currently employees can vote for or against joining a union without disclosing how they voted. With an LPA, the employee is required to vote in front of a union representative. I’m concerned that no confidentiality is allowed.


2. A Long Beach company, EventPeople Inc., has 1,350 employees of which over 1,200 are employed in Long Beach, and over 1,000 live in Long Beach. Over ½ are employed in the hospitality industry, doing jobs such as banquet servers, housekeepers, janitorial services. I’m concerned that this Long Beach business would be negatively impacted.


3. The hotels have not had a strike in at least the last 30 years, perhaps never, therefore, it is difficult for me to accept that taking this action will ensure future revenue streams. 


4. I am also concerned about the direction of our city. If we force hotels on city owned property, and the employees who work there, to unionize, what’s next? Restaurants on city owned property? Where does it stop?


5. I have spoken with management from both union and non-union hotels. They have told me that their wages are competitive with each other. One hotel does not offer a significantly better compensation package than another hotel, regardless of whether they are union or non-union.


6. Currently, both of the non-union hotels pay a portion of an employee’s health benefits, without union dues.

It appears to me that adopting a Labor Peace Agreement is not in the city’s best interests. Not only does it not provide any benefit to the city, but it may in fact cost the city. The hotels have indicated that they are prepared to sue the city and it will cost taxpayer money to hire outside council. Money that could be better spent fixing streets and sidewalks in our city, and putting more cops on the street.


Many residents of our city have told me that improving our streets & sidewalks would increase their “quality of life”. No resident has told me that adopting a Labor Peace Agreement will provide any benefit to them whatsoever.”