As LA City employees in uniform cheered, the City Council voted 12-0 today for an agreement with the Coalition of LA City Unions that implements the early retirement plan and preserves City services.
The agreement honors the terms that SEIU 721 members and other City employees approved in July, including:
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No furloughs or layoffs for 22,000 Coalition of LA City Union members -
An early retirement plan that could benefit up to 2,400 employees - Wage deferrals and a two-year extension of the Coalition contract
- Changes to pension contributions
“We all knew we had a problem with the City budget and we had to find a way to fix it. By working together, we’ve won an agreement that protects the services that matter most to residents.”>>SEIU 721 President and LA City Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic Bob Schoonover (pictured at left in the Los Angeles Times speaking to Council on Sept. 15).
The City Council vote came one week after the CAO’s office found that LA’s budget gap had widened as the economic forecast worsened. In marathon sessions representatives of the Coalition of LA City Unions worked together with the City to identify $78 million in new savings–in addition to the $1 billion that the agreement will save taxpayers over the next five years.
The new agreement includes changes to members’ pension contributions that must be approved by all LA City Employees’ Retirement System participants including Coalition union members, and other modifications that Coalition members only will ratify. The agreement then returns to the Council for a final vote.
“This is the way to go forward,” said Council President Eric Garcetti, who said City worker were “motivated” to find a way to save services.
City employees spoke after the Council’s unanimous vote.
“This is a great example of how working together works,” said Animal Care Technician Jake Miller.
“I’m not just here as a city worker, I’m here as a resident. My kids use the library, the parks, the zoo. Thank you for not cutting the services that Coalition of LA City Union members provide the citizens of LA,” Wastewater Collections Worker Simboa Wright told the Council.
DONT BUY THIS GARBAGE. VOTE NO.
DONT BE FOOLED ONCE YOU GIVE AWAY ANYTHING YOU WILL NEVER GET IT BACK.
NO OVERTIME, NO SICK LEAVE, NO UNIFORM/BOOT BONUS, NO HOLIDAY PAY
AND A 79 HOUR WEEK?
WHO PUT THIS LOAD OF CRAP FOWARD?
IDENTIFY THEM AND FIRE THEM.
IF THIS PASSES DONATE YOUR DUES TO CHARITY
I feel the same as a most of you about this deal. We got fucked by the mayor. There’s no way to spin this into a moment of triumph. We had an agreement, and then the city betrayed us.
That being said, this deal is the lesser of two evils. 26 furlough days are still much worse than 59 furlough hours. No matter how you do the math, 26 furlough days equals one month, one week, and one day of lost wages. 59 furlough hours equals 7 days and 3 hours of lost wages. There is no comparison.
This loss would only take place till June 30, 2010. The original ERIP agreement would kick in on July 1, 2010, along with the first scheduled raise in July 2111.
Now it would be very easy for us to throw our hands in the air and say, “let’s just take the furloughs and layoffs!” But that’s not what being a union member is all about.
It’s easy to be part of a union when big contracts are being signed, money is being made, and everyone is getting their share of the pie. But the true test of being in a union is when a crisis like this threatens our jobs.
So the question you have to ask yourselves is, “are you only a union member when times are good?” If your answer is “yes” then we’re all in trouble.
A union is strong when the members watch each other’s backs, and make sure EVERYONE is protected. There is no “me” in UNION.
If we reject this deal and allow our most vulnerable members to be laid-off, then our union will become divided. When our members face the next round of layoffs, the members with the least seniority will remember the way the way nobody protected the folks from the previous layoffs. There will be no trust in the union. That is how management breaks a union.
I’m asking you, my brothers and sisters to stand with me in SOLIDARITY, and protect every member in this union like they were your own flesh and blood. The power we build from that will last for generations to come, and show our employer that we will not be broken. We will show the city that the UNION is strong!
And if you think the union didn’t do a good job, then just look around you. Look at the state workers, LA Unified School District, Orange County, the United Auto Workers. I challenge anyone to find a union that has protected it’s members better during the worst financial crisis in our generation. Yes, we are taking some losses, but they are temporary and could be much worse!
In Solidarity,
Art Sweatman
Union Steward, SEIU 721
At least your Union is doing something other than boldly selling out it’s members like EAA did. If anybody got the royal screw, we did – and by our own union! I voted to get out and join SEIU; the lesser of two evils.
LA City sucks – there is so much waste and graft, and dirty politics going on, while the hardest working members of the workforce are being screwed over. I can’t wait to retire!