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To: Richard Mazzarella who wrote (52113)	4/30/2000 9:15:00 AM
From: Rarebird	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116764

More Wage Inflation: Saturday April 29 9:51 AM ET Staples Center Workers OK Contract By MICHELLE DeARMOND, Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) - Concession workers at the Staples Center have approved the first labor contract, averting potentially embarrassing labor strife at the site of this summer's Democratic National Convention. The contract covering 450 workers at the arena was approved Friday by a vote of about 65-0, said David Koff, a senior research analyst with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union. There was no minimum number of votes necessary to ratify the contract, he said. The union and concessionaire Ogden Entertainment had been feuding since the center opened in September, and were under pressure to reach a deal before the Democratic convention starts in August. Concession stand attendants, who make up the bulk of the workforce, will see their hourly pay increase from an average of $8.76 to $10.55 immediately, Koff said. Yearly increases will push the wage to $12.50 an hour by March 1, 2004. The 41/2-year deal also provides family health insurance, vacation time, paid holidays, a pension plan and a legal services plan, Koff said. Workers, labor leaders and officials from Ogden and Staples Center praised the contract at a news conference. ``In just a few short weeks from now, this is going to be the centerpoint of the world's attention. We intend to have a very smooth convention,'' said Miguel Contreras, executive secretary of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Still unresolved is a labor agreement for operating engineers at Staples Center, but Contreras said he expected those issues to be resolved before the convention. ``We look forward to announcing to the DNC and the delegates that will be here in Los Angeles that they've entered a 100 percent union house,'' Contreras said.