Using EAA deall to pressure other unions

Members of City Hall's engineers' union have agreed to share in their health care costs, the first time a city union has made such a concession and one which Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hopes to use to leverage similar deals from other labor groups. Daily News.

Flanked at a Tuesday news conference by members of the Engineers and Architects Association, Villaraigosa said he hopes that other unions will agree to similar money-saving concessions. He estimated the breakthrough EAA agreement will save the cash-strapped city $20 million this year and up to $10 million annually in the future.

"No one wants to furlough people," Villaraigosa said. "No one wants to ask workers to make further sacrifices. But in this economy, shared sacrifice is the name of the game. We simply cannot afford the status quo."