We will update you on the Los Angeles Police & Fire Pension decision and what it means to us as LACERS members. Including EAA members who will be voting on a new contract shortly. it is imperative that you plan on attending the next LACERS meeting on September 27th, 2011 10 a.m at the LACERS Board Room located at 360 E. 2nd Street, 8th Floor to seek the Boards assistance in resolving this issue once and for all.
First on the retirement health subsidy which the Coalition of City Unions pushed so hard for: We at LA City Workers.com have consistently maintained that the retirement subsidy is a Vested benefit which the city can not unilaterally take away.
LAFPP the Pension System for Sworn City Employees sought an outside legal opinion from a pension expert to receive guidance on the retirement health subsidy and at their meeting on September 15th, they reviewed a report by Christopher W. Waddell of the law firm Olson Hagel & Fishburn LLP in his report he concluded that both the Health Subsidy and the Future increase are a Vested right.Below is the
Conclusion
The retiree medical plan subsidy administered through the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System constitutes a vested right for current and retired sworn police and fire personnel and their qualified survivors. They also have a vested right to future increases in premium subsidies as determined by the LAFPP Board subject to the limits set forth in the Administrative Code since 2006.
What our contract says Will happen if the subsidy payment is found illegal:
The parties further agree that should Any provision of Section 10 or 11 of this
Agreement or any subsequent MOUs which incorporate these sections be declared
invalid or unlawful by a court of competent jurisdiction, the entirety of this Agreement or
MOUs then in effect shall immediately be reopened so that the parties can meet and
confer to achieve equal cost savings.
Coalition leaders used scare tactics to sell members of the Coalition of LA City Unions on the retirement subsidy issue and now they are scrambling to tell us why they did it. Using terms like “Iron-Clad language” and “protections” in the contract. Truth be told the union had a position from the start and even now after learning that we need to sue the City to maintain our Vested rights, they continue to push ahead on how good a job they did. 4% reductions in pay for the rest of our careers to pay for something which the unions should have challenged in court is our current situation.
Here are some facts about the Misleading information disseminated by the Coalition of City Unions, SEIU 721, AFSCME Local 3090, Alice Goff, and countless Stewards who were ignorant to the facts.
Facts
- Coalition of LA City Unions relied on an ”entertainment industry labor lawyer” while the Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions System relied on a Pension Expert Attorney.
Interesting, but unless your going on Survivor or Dancing With the Stars, you’re better off picking the attorney who has the most experience with the issues at hand, Mr. Segall had No Comment and referred us back to the Coalition. According to the Coalition of City Unions, Mr. Anthony R. Segall attorney at law had the following legal opinion, ” that this was not a settled issue”
This is the first time we have had the coalition put in writing the opinion of the lawyer they referred to during the campaign. Unlike the LAFPP our Coalition failed to provide us with any legal opinion on the matter, and further refused repeated requests for either the law firm, or the opinion they based their decision on.
- Coalition leaders originally claimed the health care subsidy was absolutely Not Vested only later revealing that it might not be vested.
- Bob Schoonover on Saturday April 2, 2011 would only claim he had on behalf of SEIU 721 sought “several legal opinions”.
- Coalition literature uses the term Not Vested over and over and claims that the Iron clad agreement “vests retiree medical for the first time in the history of the city”
- Members are Still required to meet the full vesting requirements prior to getting the two party coverage, some members will never achieve the full vesting regardless of how much they contribute.
Fiduciary Duties
Under Title V, union representatives are obligated to manage union business for the sole benefit of the members. Individuals who violate their fiduciary duty may be sued in federal court.Many members are now left asking what happens now?
Coalition of LA City Unions and the respective individual unions except the LACAA could be subject to a lawsuit for violating their fiduciary duty by not challenging the CAO on his opinion and bargaining tactics. Having a Valid Contract in place members should never have been subject to repeated contract modifications, voting on re-openers, and the acceptance of the removal of a vested right, one which the union never had the authority to bargain away, this creates a significant problem for the unions. Lawsuits are almost guaranteed at this point in order to protect the rights of the members.
Coalition Leaders Meet in Secrecy
On Friday September 16th Coalition leaders called together a meeting to discuss the issues raised by the latest information inviting only those whom they felt could represent the unions position in a positive light, they were given the unions explanation for the actions they took, and a few pointers in how to handle the blow back from this revelation.
Bargaining Teams to Meet
Signaling more trouble ahead the bargaining teams of all unions will meet soon to discuss the options the coalition has to bargain with the CAO, this troubles me as the bargaining teams have proven they are not capable of understanding the full range of options available to us, nor did they serve us well over the last few years making poor decision after poor decision when it relates to the best interest of the members at hand.
Furloughs and Layoffs
Furloughs and layoffs return to the table and ways to avoid them are few as the shortfall the City of LA needs to make up is significant and the City Council refuses to manage the budget always turning to the workforce to take the big hit rather then cutting back on it’s lavish spending.
Grocery Workers A Model To Follow
Having threatened and voted for a strike Grocery Workers made management accept the reality that the implementation of massive concessions would not be done without casualty preparing, voting, and authorizing a strike these members stood in solidarity to defend the middle class successfully. It is time for the Yes voters and their failed arguments to simply step aside and let us take charge of this situation because it is going to get ugly.
Map to Lacers
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