Tag Archives: city of la

SEIU Cancels Christmas, ERIP Slashed, CAO Yet to finish cutting la city workers benefits. LAFD & LAPD roll in the dough!

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Surprise! Christmas is canceled! Courtesy of the Coalition of City unions, SEIU and a host of other Grinches.  Erip Cash Poof Capped and delayed.

Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, ALL GONE.

That is the result of the new agreement.

Cash Overtime for Civilians, GONE.

Landslide, Earthquake, Fire, Flood, Terrorist Attack, Well I hope the LAPD and LAFD can Handle massive traffic control and clean up, because city workers will be hard pressed to show up to work overtime, without cash compensation.

Raises GONE. It will be 2011 before we see a penny IF the city feels it should honor the contract with the coalition since after all it feels it can open them up at will.

But Wait Hold Everything I am proposing today Not a single member of the Coalition of City Unions vote in favor of this contract until we get the following written binding concession from the City of Los Angeles, Council, LAPPL, UFLA and the Mayor By 3Pm on 9/24/2009 Otherwise LA Cityworkers.com would suggest we Soundly REJECT the giveback deal.

Simple, LAFD & LAPD obtain the same NO CASH restrictions on Overtime!

It might hurt the following employees substantially considering this is how much they made in OVERTIME ALONE! This is just a very small sample of the thousands of LAFD & LAPD Overtime Whores you are giving Christmas & Thanksgiving up for.

FIRE    FIRE BATTALION CHIEF    $100,515.39
FIRE    ENGINEER OF FIRE DEPT    $101,180.61
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $101,738.56
POLICE    POLICE DETECTIVE III    $101,739.13
FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN I         $101,952.19
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $101,983.38
FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN I         $102,274.69
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $102,275.52
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $102,287.68
FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN I         $102,413.19
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $102,543.78
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $102,966.02
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $103,256.91
POLICE    POLICE OFFICER III    $103,590.16
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $103,749.48
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $104,744.99
FIRE    ENGINEER OF FIRE DEPT    $104,966.35
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $105,362.88
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $106,035.12
POLICE    POLICE DETECTIVE III    $106,242.83
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $106,369.39
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $106,465.11
FIRE    FIRE INSPECTOR I    $106,466.26

FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN II         $70,000.18
FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN I         $70,010.34
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $70,026.20
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $70,042.86
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $70,100.83
FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN I         $70,178.37
FIRE    ENGINEER OF FIRE DEPT    $70,180.52
FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN I         $70,181.75
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $70,292.64
FIRE    FIRE INSPECTOR I    $70,300.59
FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN I         $70,429.88
FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN I         $70,470.77
POLICE    POLICE SERGEANT II    $70,473.10
POLICE    POLICE OFFICER III    $70,480.10
FIRE    ENGINEER OF FIRE DEPT    $70,597.03
POLICE    POLICE OFFICER III    $70,624.27
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $70,626.34
FIRE    ENGINEER OF FIRE DEPT    $70,697.65
FIRE    FIRE INSPECTOR II    $70,735.22
FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN II         $70,747.46
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $70,840.30
FIRE    FIRE CAPTAIN II         $70,871.82
FIRE    FIREFIGHTER III         $70,908.65
FIRE    ENGINEER OF FIRE DEPT    $70,911.31

Coalition Members YOU need NO MORE PROOF THEN THIS that your Sacrifice is going into Sworns Pocket!

I am sure this list may make some of you ill or depressed if so See a Dr. on Friday 9/25/2009 a new Furlough Flu has been diagnosed this contract is sickening every civilian employee in every classification!

Stand Firm Support our struggle and REJECT THE LIE’S!

City of Los Angeles new early retirement deal brings misery to workers if approved contract details.

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Below is a copy of an email obtained by www.lacityworkers.com from the Coalition of City Unions to it’s members.

It details the Slashing of 50% of our holidays, Removal of Cash Overtime, additional increases to member contributions,  removal of bonus codes, uniform allowances, boot allowances, and YES Furloughs for it’s members.

In Short; it is Horrible for remaining workers, bad for retirees (they lose 1% of their pension) and bad for the city as a whole. 

So who makes out?

City Council they get to spend our money elsewhere.

Mayor, he doesn’t look bad because of course he puts Public Safety first.

LAPD & LAFD, No one is fooled by this latest round of cutbacks, LAFD and LAPD are going to continue to enjoy their benefits,  raises, 100% retirement benefits, all on the backs of our Civilian workers.

My back is broken from carrying so much weight, Civilian workers have to pay for the LAPD’s May Day beatings, their other ‘lawsuits’ that cost the city millions & millions of dollars, LAFD feeds dog food to it’s employees, and everyone involved sues and gets paid, and civilian workers have to pay for their misdeeds.

I say it’s time the City of LA tell the LAPD find the lawsuit money out of your own funds, When you lose a $3.8 million lawsuit because you beat Rodney King, Take a pay cut, When you beat television reporters and crews at a May Day parade, cost the city 13 Million, take a pay cut!

 Here is the email, edited for truth and clarification.

Members will now contribute an extra 0.25% of their paychecks toward the City’s pension fund. ON TOP OF the additional 0.75 1.0% to start no Upwards Cap could go as high as 100% in final year to meet ERIP deadline Per the Contract,  no maximum, no yearly limit, the only guarantee in the contract is 100% Full Payback of the ERIP no matter what.
Coalition claims This is a clarification of the original early retirement agreement, due to a mistake of the actuary, who failed to account for the roughly one-third of City workers who will not retire from the City, but will leave for other jobs before retirement. When they leave, they take their retirement with them, with interest.  Segal will be asked to  comment on their ‘mistake’, Since it is very rare that professional actuaries make these ‘mistakes’.

This 1.0% will be paid for no more than 15 years, OR UNTIL 100%, Of the Early Retirement Incentive Program (ERIP) is paid off in FULL.

Immediate elimination of the pre-1983 defrayal.

That means if you were hired before 1983 and contribute less than 6% toward retirement, your retirement contribution will Skyrocket  to match the same 7% all City employees are going to make.

Retirees who take ERIP will lose 1% of their pension giving it back to the retirement fund.

Unpaid Furlough Hours: 79-hour pay period working one unpaid Furlough Hour per pay period Until July 2010 could be Extended depending on how large the raise increase and hiring of LAPD & the LAFD is.

Slash 50% of ALL holidays. 4-hour paid holidays, Workers will be able to use comp time or vacation time for the other four hours of pay or go unpaid.

Elimination of Uniform and Boot Allowance:
No Boot or Uniform Allowance until October 2010 on any boot and/or uniform allowances.

800 Club Slashed: Annual sick time payout deferred from January until August 2010.

The NO ERIP cash payout for participants Until, July 2, 2010.
The second payment will come on July 2, 2011, They still get paid from our increased contributions though.

NO CASH Overtime! No Exceptions! Overtime will only be compensated in time credited, not in cash. Usage of time credited still management discretion!

Eliminate bonus compounding. Workers receiving more than one bonus, e.g., bilingual pay and shift differential, and every other bonus have had one bonus compounded on top of the other, rather than both calculated on top of base pay. This major change will cost employees over $1.1 MILLION!
 
City Attorneys reimbursement for their dues to the California Bar deferred until 8/2010.

Why should I pay more just so long-time employees might retire?

We are facing the worst City budget crisis in memory. We are hoping 2,400 people retire or else we get furloughs and layoffs anyways, and we still have to take all the givebacks in the contract. Council, Mayor, LAPD, & LAFD our counting on US to giveaway everything we have struggled to achieve and all the gains we have made over the last 60 years so

THEY WONT HAVE TO GIVE UP ANYTHING! Council and mayor don’t want the public to know they misspent their money on parades and fee waivers or Lawsuits. They want to protect the City services everyone relies on at our expense.

We need to make sure our retirement is fully funded for the future, Vote no to save our pension!

The City has also committed to moving quickly to implement the terms of the agreement, the changes to the original ERIP, were forced onto us because the city council took a two-week vacation, and failed to approve the earlier plan. 

A large meeting for all Coalition of LA City Unions members will take place, possibly at the LA Convention Center, in the coming weeks so members can officially vote to ratify the agreement. The specific meeting time and location will be announced early next week.

I want to take advantage of the early retirement program. What are the next steps with early retirement? Can I retire now? Will I get the benefits if this does not pass?

You could retire now. City Council is required by law to read the ordinance implementing the program one more time, in 30 days, but Council has already passed a motion saying City employees can take advantage of this program, BUT ONLY if it PASSES!

We can not make these deep of sacrifices or we will never get them back, remember giving up your one floating holiday? Some MOU’s gave up 4 hours on Christmas eve, only to get an 8 hour holiday we would have gotten anyways.

4 Year contracts with 0% While the cost of living made it a real world -12% We have sacrificed we have not enjoyed the protections that the LAPD has had for their contracts, nor have we cost the city anywhere near as much in lawsuits!

Tell the City Council and the LAPD to pay for the lawsuits out of their own pockets NOT OURS!

V O T E   N O !

DEMAND A REAL VOTE

A FAIR AND HONEST VOTE

NO GAMES

NO VOICE VOTES

AND NO BS!

 

 

  Read more in our Discussion forums!!

The 62 Million $ Lie, Why it’s never enough for the City of LA.

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9-14-2009, Budget committee sends Julie Butcher and the Coalition back to dig in to there numbers to save the city an additional “50-60 Million” so ERIP can pass committee and be presented to council.

9-15-2009 12 hours later and countless sleepless hours the coalition return to the council ready to share there hard work, after all saving 62.5 million can’t be an easy task but the early retirement plan they have worked on for over a year now with it’s flaws, changes, and modifications ratified by All coalition unions, will finally be voted on and sent to the full city council.

GUESS AGAIN! In a Political showdown for the ages Mayor AntonioVillaraigosa slashed the hopes of the Coalition and it’s membership by simply telling council he would veto ERIP if passed.

Thousands of man hours, countless efforts by the coalition meeting after meeting roadblock after roadblock the coalition has overcome all obstacles to present the council the option of ERIP to prevent furloughs and layoffs for 22,000 hard working members of the coalition, only to be blindsided by political grandstanding and ego trips.

ERIP may not have been the best solution, but it is not as bad as having our elected officials incapable of making a decision on balancing the budget no different then the state legislators they themselves criticized.

It is unfair to dangle the ERIP carrot in front of thousands of employees then snatch it away at the last minute demanding further concessions.

City of Los Angeles should have empowered an actuarial study the minute erip was finalized and before the members of the coalition voted, if SEIU and the coalition had known several months ago that this early retirement program would not have been approved because of cost’s it could have had the opportunity to present to it’s membership alternatives it would have had the time to work with the city council in order to make the budget concessions it needed in order to maintain the current workforce at acceptable levels.

City Council should seriously consider the fact LAFD, LAPD, and civilian employees will no longer tolerate the second class status to proprietary departments and will demand the Council make cut’s to it’s programs and salaries themselves.

We can’t layoff the council, but with there handling of the current situation it would not be surprising to see the start of a recall campaign begin to demonstrate our anger not at the failing of the erip, but that of council to seek solutions to the problems facing us all.

Many council members have worked diligently towards a fair solution while looking out for the city as a whole, Mr. Rosendahl, Mr. Parks, and Mr. Huizar have all stepped up to the plate and worked countless hours toward a resolution.

We are so close to a solution it is time we all come together to determine what can and can not work so that the uncertainty is removed.

Super majority, 12 Members of council are needed to pass ERIP today, we need to move on address the budget issues that got us here, and take steps to prevent these budget shortfalls from causing further devastation to the city it’s constituents, and the employees that serve them.

Coalition leaders can not be blamed for the failing of the ERIP, that would fall squarely on the shoulders of Council and the Mayor they have worked to pass the ERIP for many months and this last second political assault is inexcusable.

CAO, CLA, Mayor Villaraigosa Officially can no longer support erip!

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CAO, CLA, Mayor Villaraigosa Officially can no longer support erip!

Erip supporters few and far from enough to pass erip, coalition asked to take further cuts within 24 hours or layoffs and furloughs are back on the table!

$50-60 Million needed Now, CLA claims Furloughs and Layoffs only way out.

Action needed immediately, 24 hours before council makes the choice.

Union coalition asked to make cuts, coalition promises without checking with members it will make cuts amounting 60 million!

CAO attempting to implement furloughs by September 28th furloughs will become effective for all members outside DWP & Airport Harbor.

City Coalition wants to throw out our contracts, give up many bonus codes.

City Coalition officially supports EAA Positions that furloughs are Illegal.

Pensions blamed for financial problems.

“City workforce currently unsustainable.”

No Furlough No Layoff Provision unacceptable.

1.9% Additional Retirement Contribution sought from members bringing it up to 8% of members salary for the rest of your career.

LACityworkers.com will immediately file suit if any changes to ratified agreements occur, any changes must be brought to it’s membership to ratify, not made 24 hours before council vote, No Union is authorized to act on behalf of it’s members without it’s membership voting on it’s contracts.

Budget Commitee Votes 3-2 Against recommendation #1.