Los Angeles Mayor Reminds Unions of $2.7 Million Mistake

When Eric Garcetti takes office as mayor of Los Angeles next month, one of his first tasks will be to lead contract negotiations with unions for more than 29,000 city employees that spent more than $2.7 million trying to defeat him.

The unions whose contracts expire in June 2014 represent police officers, firefighters, librarians and other employees whose salaries, nearly $2.5 billion a year, account for about a third of municipal expenditures, according to a summary from the city administrative office.