There’s a Price to Pay for L.A.-Bashing

Is bad-mouthing Los Angeles the tactic of the moment in labor negotiations? It certainly appears to have become a popular maneuver--but it’s one that should be discouraged. Because although the tactic may work during a strike or labor negotiation, it may work so well that it also damages the city in the long run.

Teachers who work for the Los Angeles Unified School District, who on average make about $45,000 a year, are facing what amounts to a whopping 17% pay cut due to severe budget shortfalls. Last weekend Helen Bernstein, president of United Teachers-Los Angeles, said that the union might send letters to corporations, chambers of commerce and real estate firms across the nation telling them about the public school funding crisis here and how much worse the city’s quality of life would be. The campaign, in other words, would tell those who might want to live here or do business here that Los Angeles is an undesirable place.

The teachers’ strategy is borrowed directly from one used earlier this year by Local 11 of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union. That union produced a video--made before last spring’s riots--and mailed it to about 2,500 convention planners around the country. Entitled “City on the Edge,” the controversial video mixed interviews of tourism officials with commentary bemoaning the fact that Los Angeles has a tarnished image because of gangs, crime and poverty. The video surfaced just as the city was reeling from the effects of the riots and the violent images of Los Angeles that were broadcast around the world.

The hotel and restaurant union, which had been locked in bitter negotiations with management, secured some new contracts after news of the video was made public. Now the teachers union is suggesting that it may use a similar tactic. Could it work? Perhaps. Is it penny-wise and pound-foolish? Definitely.

It doesn’t make long-term economic sense to tear down Los Angeles for any reason, whether to get a better contract or to hold onto hard-fought-for job benefits. If people are discouraged from doing business here, vacationing here, relocating here, putting their children in public school here, will there be anything left to fight about?

Gov. Pete Wilson has called the state he governs “a bad product.” Rebuild L.A. Chairman Peter V. Ueberroth said California has “the most highly tuned, finely honed job-killing machine that this country has ever seen.” Both men made the comments in attempts to call attention to a problem and provoke action to fix it. No doubt UTLA also wants to make a bad situation better. But a public relations campaign that would just underscore what’s wrong with Los Angeles would not help the schools.