Boycott of Four Points Sheraton LAX declared

Workers Monday declared a boycott of the Four Points Sheraton LAX,  urging prospective clients to refrain from doing business at the hotel  until management negotiates a fair contract. Workers are accusing hotel  owner and operator American Property Management Corporation (APMC) of  refusing to negotiate in good faith and blocking efforts to improve  working conditions.
Several clients of the Four Points have expressed  support for the workers position and have pledged to pull their  business from the hotel if conditions do not change, including the Los  Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), which recently adopted a  resolution to support local hotel industry workers and their families.  The District spent approximately $393,000 at three hotels last year,  including the Four Points Sheraton, that are now under union boycott and  has spent about $185,000 on those hotels this year alone.
The Four  Points is the second hotel on Century Boulevard where a boycott is  underway. The LAX Hilton, which has been under boycott since the fall of  2006, has lost nearly $5 million in anticipated business as a result of  the boycott.
I stand by the workers in calling a boycott of the  Four Points LAX, said Monica Garcia, LAUSD Board President.  Many of  the parents and guardians of our students work in the hotel industry and  rely on fair working conditions and adequate health care for themselves  and their families.
Four Points workers won union recognition last  September after a nearly year-long struggle with the company involving  alleged worker intimidation and surveillance on the part of hotel  management against union supporters. During the last five months,  workers have been fighting to get their first contract, but the hotel  has effectively blocked substantial progress, attending only four  negotiation sessions and tentatively agreeing to only four provisions.
The  general manager at the hotel refused to comment to Our Weekly on the  boycott, referring calls to the hotels lawyers. However, he refused to  provide the attorneys contact information saying only that they would  release a statement, when they were ready.
APMC has been ranked the  15th largest hotel owner in the United States according to Hotel  Business Magazine (September 2005) and, according to APMC, generates  over $350 million in annual revenue.