Dropped Hotel Developer Sues Over Labor Plan
A hotel developer dropped from a major downtown Los Angeles redevelopment project filed a $70-million lawsuit against the city and county Wednesday, alleging the agencies illegally conspired to require union-style wages and worker protections in the project.
The federal suit centers on a 350-room Ritz-Carlton Hotel that was to be built adjacent to the proposed Walt Disney Concert Hall complex near the Music Center. Gemtel Corp., the hotel developer, alleges its rights were violated when officials demanded adoption of a new city-drafted labor plan that, in effect, would have forced unionization.
Mayor Tom Bradley and other officials said the plan, which grew out of a violent strike by Century City janitors last year, safeguards low-income service workers.
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