Yes, I know here we are again, again.

Seemingly every year the Coalition of City Unions gives back members benifits to the CAO and Mayor after threats of layoffs and furloughs and tsunamis and whatever else they can pull out of their….

Not to be outdone, the Coalition and SEIU have brought us yet a new contract, and more years of slavery to a union who has not once said anything but how much when Eric Garcetti or Miguel Santana come calling.

Unlike the rest of modern society, we give when we have a fully valid contract in place.

EAA can at least claim they had no choice SEIU actually went looking to make givebacks.

This is the latest in the givebacks we have come to expect from SEIU & the Coalition.

 

Coalition Of City Unions Concessions	March 24  2011
Proposed Contract Amendments, Charts, Facts, Lacers.		Givebacks Part IV

 

 

 

 

Contract Facts & Highlights

 

 

Ø This proposal will be rushed for a vote and immediate implementation is required to prevent any legal challenges.

 

Ø NO legally binding contract language has been made available.

 

Ø City Charter takes precedence.

 

Ø Nearly doubles how much the city takes out of your paycheck for retirement from 6% to 11%

 

Ø Removes furloughs for the few remaining classifications on furloughs 4 Days remaining in current fiscal year. (Street Services Removal Pending)

 

 

 

 

Ø Makes exact same claim as last several broken contracts of No Furloughs & massive layoffs if no vote threatened again.

 

 

Ø Mandatory Furloughs Renamed to Holiday Shutdown 4 per year scheduled in December.

 

 

Ø End Cash Overtime All Time Booked CTO Till July 01, 2014

 

 

Ø No Step Increases in pay for employees below Top Step till July 01,2012

 

Remember Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Gruel was quoted as saying, “Furloughs reduce services while achieving no employee benefits costs savings”

 

Let’s review the last few years history.

10/20/2010 Bob Schoonover President, SEIU 721

“But the changes proposed by the city go much farther: raising the retirement age from 55 to 60, reducing annual increases in pension payments and contributing 2% to retiree health care.”

 

8/12/2010 SEIU721 Action Center

City Budget Update: Protecting City Workers’ Health Benefits

Here are answers to some questions you might be asking.

 

What did CAO Miguel Santana propose for city workers?

Here are the changes Santana is trying to impose on city workers:

Increase HMO office visit co-payments from $10 to $20

Increase the emergency room visit co-payment from $50 to $100

Eliminate the $7.50 per pay period Flex Credit; and,

Establish a uniform, 30-day supply, prescription drug co-payment structure for all plans ($10 Generic, $20 brand name on Formulary, and $40 brand name off Formulary).

Will SEIU and the Coalition of LA City Unions accept this proposal?

Absolutely not. The benefit changes Santana seeks could end up costing the City more than they save. The new federal health care reform act grandfathers large benefit plans as long as no substantial changes are made to the plan. If enacted, Santana’s proposal would jeopardize LA’s grandfather status and risk triggering costly benefit mandates required by the federal law.

Didn’t most members of the Engineers & Architects Assn. (EAA) recently reject a similar proposal to pass additional health costs onto City employees?

Unfortunately, EAA, apparently working with City officials, has decided to ignore its members vote and is conducting another mail ballot vote on the same contract proposal. Coalition members continue to be alarmed that another city union would collaborate with the CAO to drive down the quality of benefits for all city workers.

 

7/28/2010 SEIU721 Action Center – Via Email

“We Need Your Help to End LA City Furloughs “

“On July 1, 2010, the City of Los Angeles adopted a budget that imposed 26 furlough days on many SEIU Local 721 members. Our agreement with the City of Los Angeles prohibits the unilateral implementation of furloughs for any SEIU Local 721 member represented by the Coalition of LA City Unions during the current fiscal year 2010-11. SEIU 721 and other Coalition of LA City Union members across the city are filing group grievances to help end these service cuts. ”

 

2/18/2010 SEIU 721 Action Center – It’s Time for Leadership, not Layoff Threats

“Dear SEIU 721 Members,

Today, the City Council voted 9-3 to authorize the elimination of up to 4,000 civilian, police and fire employees. After July 1, that could include SEIU 721 members at our parks, animal shelters, yards, golf courses, zoo and across the city. “

Bob Schoonover
SEIU 721 President

 

2/12/2010  Update SEIU Action Center Email

“LA City workers will attend budget deliberations in full force on Tuesday, Feb. 16, and Wednesday, Feb. 17, to provide a voice of reason to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s latest call to lay off more than 3,000 employees.”

 

10/23/2009 SEIU 721 and the Coalition Ratify Early Retirement and Coalition Agreements

 

SEIU 721 and four of the other Coalition unions made their voices heard by ratifying the agreements that move forward with early retirements instead of massive layoffs and preserve hard-won protections against furloughs and layoffs for the rest of this fiscal year and next…

Now long-time workers can retire with dignity, protecting those beginning their careers with the City who were especially vulnerable to layoffs.

This agreement puts the City and Coalition members in the best position possible going forward in this tough economy by giving the City long-term, structural savings of $267 million next year and over $2 billion in the next five years; by securing the pension system; and by keeping the Coalition engaged in monitoring the City’s budget and finances.

 

The City Council is expected to take its second vote on the ERIP and Tentative Agreement on Friday, October 30. Sign up for ERIP now! It’s anticipated that the 45 day window period for ERIP will open shortly after the Council’s 2nd vote. Don’t wait to retire! The ERIP ordinance establishes waiting lists. Workers eligible for ERIP are encouraged to get on the list right away.  All provisions of the Tentative Agreement will take effect immediately. That includes the 3.5 hours off each pay period.

 

 

10/19/2009  “LA City Members: Remember to Vote for Your Future “SEIU Local Action Center –  “If the members of SEIU 721 and the Coalition of LA City Unions vote no, the City will proceed with its plan to layoff between 926 and 3,000 workers; and implement between 26 and 43 furlough days; through the end of this fiscal year. For next year, the City will lose over $200 million in savings they would gain from the ERIP. They will have to make up that savings with more layoffs and furloughs.”

10/09/2009  SEIU Local Action Center “See how the Coalition Agreement will affect your bottom-line” Three Scenarios, Three Different Impacts: Your Choice No matter how you vote there will be an immediate impact.

If you vote NO, then according to the CAO on October 5 it could mean up to 43 furlough days of Coalition members this year in combination with up to 3,000 layoffs. This would mean a 20.9% cut in your paycheck for the rest of the year.

If you vote NO the City is moving forward with layoff lists and furlough plans for the Mayor’s previously announced immediate implementation of 26 furlough days and 926 layoffs. Even under this plan your paycheck for the rest of the year would be cut by 10.4%.

 

If you vote YES to the Coalition Agreement, your paycheck would be cut only 4.4% for the rest of the year (or only a 2.9% cut from your annual salary).

10/2/2009 The Choice is Yours Today the Coalition of LA City Unions and the CAO finalized language for the Amended Letter of Agreement which Coalition members will vote on in the coming weeks. The Bargaining Teams for every Coalition union recommend a Yes vote on the agreement.

So there are now two very different plans for addressing this year’s budget crisis taking parallel tracks through the City. The choice between them is yours:

• The Mayor’s plan of 926 immediate layoffs, and furloughs cutting 208 hours of work for those remaining–leaving everyone in a much worse position next year.
• Our plan centered around early retirements, with concessions including 59.5 hours of work cut this fiscal year, plus ongoing savings to put us in a much better position for the future

• Better Way Agreement: This only amends the previously ratified “Better Way for LA” Agreement, maintaining protections against layoffs and furloughs this year and next through deferring raises for two years; plus the added 1.75% cash payments on November 1, 2011 and November 1, 2012, and the extra 1.75% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) on July 1, 2013.
• Coalition negotiators found ways to temporarily bridge the $78 million budget gap, while impacting workers and services as little as possible:

• • $24.6 million from postponing the first ERIP cash payment until next fiscal year.
  • $34.0 million in accounting adjustments and delaying some payments:
    • Deferring sick leave payout for those who’ve earned over 800 sick hours to August 2010

§  Only $19 million of the $78 million bridge is in real cuts of 59.5 hours of work only through the end of this fiscal year–significantly less than the 208 hours cut under the Mayor’s plan.

Do not fall for critics who call these items major givebacks. There are real concessions here, but by agreement they are one-time adjustments, for this fiscal year only, and the majority are only delays that will be repaid. In all, the plan costs workers much less than the alternative plan, and puts us in a significantly better position to prevent more drastic cuts next year and in the future.

September 23, 2009

Fellow LA workers: “Together we’re all facing a big choice, between two very different paths for our City and our membership:

§  Immediate massive layoffs and 26 furlough days in nine months, or

• No layoffs and no furloughs, voluntary early retirements (ERIP) for 2,400 people, plus a package of small concessions and payments put off to next fiscal year.

What it means if we vote no on the new agreement:

• It means approximately a 13% pay cut, though we’d get about a 5% raise back, so that’s about a net 8% cut.
• For more than 900 people on the layoff list it’s a 100% cut.

We all have to remember, these payments we’d put off to the next fiscal year and these small concessions all go away at the end of this fiscal year, which is the last day of June, 2010.

Bob Schoonover  Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic, City of Los Angeles  President, SEIU Local 721”

 

 

7/22/2009 Bob Schoonover  City Workers in Solidarity Overwhelmingly Ratify the Better Way for LA to Save City Services

“I wanted to tell you that all of our hard work on a Better Way for LA has paid off. City workers represented by SEIU 721 and the five other unions in the Coalition of LA City Unions voted to preserve services for City residents, as well as job and wage security for ourselves and our co-workers, to see our City through this crisis to better times.     This agreement is the product of more than a year of hard work. It saves the services we proudly provide every day. It averts mandatory furloughs that would have cut our wages by 10%; it averts layoffs, and provides early retirement incentives for some of our most dedicated long-term City workers. It helps our younger workers continue to support their families and build lasting careers with the City. It guarantees that all Coalition members will maintain a solid, reliable income through this economic downturn. It helps keep our City working without the shock of massive layoffs.” Bob Schoonover

06/19/2009

Julie Butcher 7:38 PM – June 19, 2009 ”This week I, along with Cheryl Parisi of AFSCME, Daniel Villao of the Building and Construction Trades, Victor Gordo of LIUNA 777, Carlos Rubio of the Teamsters and Lance Bedolla of the Operating Engineers have met with the Mayor, the Mayor’s staff, the Executive Employee Relations Committee (EERC), interim City Administrative Officer Ray Ciranna and Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller to discuss a detailed framework that would prevent mandatory furloughs and layoffs and provide early retirement incentives for those who have given decades of service to the City.
We’re working around the clock today, and will continue through the weekend if necessary. Our goal is for the Executive Employee Relations Committee (EERC) to authorize a package on Tuesday morning so it can come before SEIU and Coalition bargaining teams that afternoon. Additionally, the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS) will meet on Monday to discuss a City proposal regarding early retirement incentives.”

 

 

Ø Defined benefit based on formula:

Final Compensation x Service Credit x 2.16%

 

Ø 2.16% factor has not changed since 1975

 

 

Current Pension  System	Proposed Additional Pension Deduction	With  ERIP Penalty	Total  Deductions*
-6% of salary	-4% of salary	-1% of salary	-11% of salary
*Retirement Deductions are made Bi-weekly so the loss is felt twice a month.

 

 

 

LAFD Current Members	Civilians Current
Eligibility requirements for full retirement allowance:
A minimum 50% pension at age 50 with 20 years service and maximum  90% pension with 33 years service;	Age 55 or older with at least 30 years of City Service  Age 60 or older with at least 10 years of Continuous Service 100% of Final Compensation Requires approximately 46.3 years of City Service
• Required employee contributions of 8% or 9% of salary with  NO contributions for retiree health benefits; and	Currently  6%  Erip Penalty increases to 7%
• A pension based on the single highest year salary	• A pension based on single highest year salary

 

 

 

Effective  Date	Original Provision	Givebacks  2011
4/11	N/A	-2% Pension
7/11	2.25 %	+ 0.25%  2.25% - 2.0% = 0.25%
11/11	1.75 %  Cash	0.00%
1/12	2.75 %	0.00%
7/12	4.0%   2.25%+1.75%=4.0%	2.25%*
11/12	1.75 %  Cash	0.00%
1/13	2.75 %	0.00%
7/13	Contract Expired	1.75%* COLA
1/14	Contract Expired	5.5%**Highly Unlikely
Total	11.75% Permanent                + 3% Ca$h	9.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who is Eligible for a LACERS Health Plan?

 

You may participate in a LACERS health plan if you receive a monthly retirement allowance, a continuance or a survivorship allowance from LACERS.

 

Ex-spouses and ex-state registered domestic partners being paid their community property interest in a retired member’s benefits are not eligible.

 

Eligible Dependents

Your dependents may receive coverage under a LACERS health plan.

Eligible dependents include your:

1. Spouse
2. Domestic Partner (your partnership must be registered with LACERS or state registered)
3. Dependent unmarried children under age 19
4. Dependent unmarried children under age 25 who are full-time students in an accredited college, university, or vocational school
5. Disabled dependent children unable to engage in any gainful employment because of their mental or physical disability (the disability must occur prior to age 19 or if a ful-time student prior to age 25)
6. Grandchildren – If you or your spouse/domestic partner are the legal guardians or have legal custody of your grandchild; of if your grandchild is the child of a dependent child as defined in (c) (d) or (e) above.

 

Dependent children include:

1. A child born to you
2. Your legally-adopted child
3. Your step-child living with you in a parent-child relationship
4. A child of whom you have legal custody or are the legal guardian, and you provide principal financial support for that child
5. Your domestic partner’s child

When I retire, will my spouse/domestic partner also get a retirement check?
An eligible spouse or qualified domestic partner will receive a minimum of 50% continuance upon your death. Your spouse must be married to you at least one year prior to your effective date of retirement, on the date of retirement, and at time of death. For your qualified domestic partner to receive this benefit, you must have an affidavit of qualified domestic partnership on file at LACERS at least one year prior to your effective date of retirement which must still be in effect on the date of your retirement and at time of death.