SEIU Claimed (1) Victory and that all MOUS  approved the deal, this is still in question, and that the Early Retirement has Passed.

What does this mean for the workers of the City of Los Angeles?

How can this deal be passed if ALL unions have not completed their vote count?

What is in store for remaining workers if this deal is finally approved?

First, if 2400 People don’t retire, the union must find a solution to that problem and fix the shortfall layoffs will be the only tool left and that will be immediate.

Second,  the City of LA must begin to address the new Unfunded liability in the LACERS plan, this could cause a 100 Million shortfall triggering the Layoff clause in the contract, and finally all it takes is the layoff of one worker, How tempting would it be to layoff one worker on June 30,2011 before our first raise is due? SO they pay us our raises we were due and screw us out of the rest of the deal.

Third, Lawsuits, Count on them.  Hopefully people retiring don’t actually plan on spending their bonus money anytime soon, because Lawsuits can drag on long after many of these workers will have moved on to greener pastures.

Fourth, Bankruptcy, the very tempting relief from all those debts, retirees medical, our medicals, new employees will most likely be switched to defined benifit plans shortly, which would completely eliminate the possibility of current workjers ever enjoying any retirment boost similar to what current retirees will enjoy.

Finally, Workers will be making less, while those who retire early, will Enjoy a 3% Cost of living raise next year and every year for the rest of their life.

Almost forgot, for those who might not have remembered not only will the furloughs hit you very soon, so will the New State Tax Rate.

Glad we have a raise to count on in Two years.

Final Certified Results will be posted as soon as they become available.

(1) Charles Leone SEIU claimed “all mous voted, all unions have passed the erip”

What do the union reps do when the membership is solidly against the agreement?

Simple, They Lie. Stretch the truth?

Removal of Cash Overtime has NO Exceptions per City Department as written.

Special Events where the an organization pays All Costs, with NO Fee Waiver are the only way.

Some people who share MOU’s are getting told they are exempt.

I looked over the Coalition agreement, and found no section entitled Exempt Employees, No section saying Employees in the following classifications will be exempt.

I’ll break it down like this: One employee in the class of Heavy Duty Truck Operator who regularly operates a Tow Truck will get 5%, guess what, if your not that one employee you don’t qualify, now the union is trying to convince everyone they qualify for overtime.

This is pure desperation, no employee should fall for it, we are in hard times, but if we don’t take our licks now next year we will have this terrible contract, an entire year of missed colas, and be looking at a worse situation.

Remember, all your voting on is what is written, everything else is an empty promise.

The Famous Friday Drop.

After everyones gone home for the night, surprise an email pops up near 9Pm.

In the Excuse filled email the latest contract agreement.

After carefully reviewing the New Revised Draft Agreement which supercedes are previous ERIP, and our current contract, one thing is clear.  Were Still Screwed!

We were fed half holidays unpaid, which came up to a couple hours, now we are forced to randomly take 3.5 hours Every Single pay period.

Coalition members will be Willingly Furloughed nearly Two Weeks – 59.5 Hours

Bonuses no longer compound losing there importance and recognition of the hazardous life threatening duties performed Costing Workers Thousands! LAPD Officers Would NEVER tolerate this.

NO CASH OVERTIME – Comp time only. Federal Limit of 240 hours.

NO RAISES – EAA MEMBERS GOT THERE RAISES

There are no Real tangible savings other then the Furloughs.

We continue to put off Real cost savings which will only make us suffer in the long term putting everyone’s future at risk. If the council isn’t told no you can’t continue to spend in this fashion, one day we will wake up to a headline blasting City of Los Angeles files for bankruptcy.

It is up to us to be responsible and Vote NO on this deal the furloughs are a given, but risking our financial future on the hope the city will magically come up with money in the next year and not spend it on more cops is foolish.

Consider this, LA City council instead of actually saving money by canceling the Police Academy Class has only delayed it in the hopes that if we give back all of these things in our contract we will allow them to continue spending at an unsustainable rate. No Other Union has had to give up this much, why are we giving away so much?

Paying more for Early Retirement and adding these latest concessions will leave us far behind other workers, and Sworn will continue to make out like bandits.

We Do NOT have to keep shouldering the costs for early retirements and our failed unions desperate attempt to save face.

Look at the numbers and the long term consequences of this deal.

If We VOTE NO:

We Get a +3.0% Retro Raise

We GET another 2.75% Raise in Two Months

We Keep our CASH Overtime.

We KEEP our pride, and our contract whole.

We will still have a contract after the economy improves, and we will be able to negotiate things that will prevent using employee wages as a savings account.

If we Don’t we are opening ourselves up to continued abuse and more of the same.

Employees will not have there retirement increased without proper bargaining.

If we Vote Yes we are setting ourselves back 30 years.

We are going to allow the city to transfer people against there will, we are hurting everything as a collective bargaining group we are suppose to stand for.

Stop getting used as an ATM.

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!

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!

 

 

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