During Labor Day rallies and marches Monday, hundreds of Southern California workers pledged unity and aggressive action to prevail in upcoming contract negotiations in what many described as one of the toughest labor climates in years. At a breakfast attended by representatives of more than 100 unions and dozens of elected officials, labor leaders told the crowd that contracts covering 228,000 workers would expire next year. That group, the largest facing contract negotiations at one time in several years, includes actors, healthcare and construction workers, electricians and janitors. To withstand pressure for cutbacks in healthcare and other benefits, workers must support each other, even if their own contracts are not at issue, said Maria Elena Durazo, head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.
See "Leaders pledge unity, action at Labor Day events", Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, September 3, 2007