Firebrand Named to Top L.A. County Labor Post By Steve Hymon Times Staff Writer
March 4, 2006
Maria Elena Durazo, the widow of a powerful Los Angeles labor figure and an influential leader in her own right, was named Friday to the top post in the region's largest labor group, becoming the first woman to hold the job and opening a new, possibly contentious chapter in the area's labor-management relations.
Durazo, the new chief of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, has long been known in local labor circles as a firebrand unafraid to employ extreme tactics, a quality that has often improved wages and benefits for her workers but roiled the city's large business community.
She once compared the labor situation in Los Angeles to apartheid in South Africa. Another time she had hotel maids who were embroiled in a contract dispute make up a bed — in the middle of Figueroa Street.
Some business leaders publicly greeted Friday's announcement with polite restraint, but others privately wondered whether Durazo could moderate herself.
Durazo must still stand for election in May to her new job as secretary-treasurer — the top staff position — of the federation. But she will be a heavy favorite to win. She passed up an opportunity to take the job last year after the unexpected death of her husband, longtime federation chief Miguel Contreras.
The change at the top of the federation — which bills itself as the largest labor council in the nation — was set in motion by the departure of Martin Ludlow, who had left the Los Angeles City Council to take the post after Contreras' death last spring. On Friday, Ludlow signed a plea agreement and admitted that he illegally used union funds in his 2003 council race.
more: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-durazo4mar04,1,4608520.story -- Jim Devine / Bust Big Brother Bush!