Rebuild L.A. Attacked by Labor, Backers of Disabled : Recovery: Representation on board, access for handicapped at rebuilt Taco Bell raised as issues.

Some days it seems as if nearly everybody has a bone to pick with Rebuild L.A. and its chairman, Peter V. Ueberroth. On Thursday, it was organized labor and advocates for the disabled.

A coalition of Los Angeles union leaders blasted Ueberroth at a news conference for not selecting any members of organized labor to serve on Rebuild L.A.’s board.

Adding another headache, Ueberroth, Taco Bell and the city of Compton were attacked by a group called the Coalition of Disabled Enforcers, which charged that a new Taco Bell--rapidly built in Compton as a symbol of the rebuilding spirit--failed to comply with disabled access laws.

William R. Robertson, executive secretary of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), said the unionists were “outraged” about their exclusion from the Rebuild L.A. board, which has 50 members.

Labor was particularly disturbed, Robertson said, because of union members’ role in civic life--both in long-term service and in the weeks since the riots, during which labor has distributed 45 tons of donated food to churches and community organizations.

Other union leaders speculated that Ueberroth eschewed labor leaders because they would push too hard for the creation of high-wage jobs as part of the rebuilding process.

“We don’t want our community to have minimum-wage jobs with no benefits,” said Maria Elena Durazo, president of Hotel Employees Local 11.

In response, Rebuild L.A. spokesman Fred MacFarlane reiterated Ueberroth’s assurances that organized labor will be represented on the board. “They’re a key component of the community,” he said.

As to the question of high-wage jobs, MacFarlane said: “The goal of RLA is clear--long-term, sustainable jobs in neglected areas and economic activity that makes jobs an integral part of the community.”

At a news conference last week, Ueberroth said he wanted to appoint to the board a woman labor leader from the hotel industry--a clear reference to Durazo.

But he said he was holding off naming anyone associated with the hotel industry until the union and employers resolved a contract dispute enlivened by a controversial videotape that the union has circulated in the travel industry. The tape criticizes the treatment of low-income workers and emphasizes safety problems in the city.

Durazo said Thursday that a settlement had been reached two days earlier between the union and the Hotel & Restaurant Employers Council of Southern California, which represents 12 hotels.

The separate criticisms of Rebuild L.A. from people with disabilities relate to the highly publicized reconstruction last month of a Taco Bell in Compton.

The outlet, destroyed during the rioting, was rebuilt in a 48-hour marathon effort, aided by the city’s willingness to speed the normal permitting process. At the time, Ueberroth hailed the effort as an example of how government and business could work together for the good of the community.

But Dorik Perman, CODE’s organizer, said Thursday that the Taco Bell violated the new Americans With Disabilities Act.

Behind the service counter, he alleged, there is not enough room for someone who uses a wheelchair to maneuver. That would discourage the store from hiring non-ambulatory workers

Additionally, Perman--a quadriplegic and self-described rock musician--said the counter was two inches higher than prescribed by federal law, creating access problems for individuals using wheelchairs.

Perman also asserted that Ueberroth had refused to state in writing that Rebuild L.A. “would follow strict handicapped access laws on all new projects.”

Jeff Lightburn, Taco Bell’s director of corporate communications, took issue with Perman’s charges. “Our restaurant was built strictly and adhered to full code,” Lightburn said. “We would never have gotten our certificate of operation had we not adhered to code.”

He also said that Compton officials had remeasured the building after CODE complained and that the company has not been asked to modify the outlet. Lightburn said the building also complied with federal laws on access for the disabled.

MacFarlane said that Rebuild L.A. had not been involved in the permit process.

“We may be asking government . . . to help us remove impediments to heightening economic activity and creating jobs . . . but that does not mean that we want to see roadblocks placed before any community we seek to help,” MacFarlane said.