LA city leaders and activists came together last night to plan the fight for a strong LA budget that will keep us working and keep city services running.

80 people reviewed research by SEIU with strong recommendations for cutting contracts, renegotiating bank deals and cracking down on deadbeat debtors. They talked about what it will take to implement our strong budget, not the mayor's plan.

"I'm special funded and my furloughs do nothing to help solve the budget problem.  Who's going to explain to all of these people that their concerns aren't going to be addressed because the city is furloughing people they don't need to?"  --Transportation Engineer Michael Hunt's testimony to City Council on February 24

(Read Hunt's account of his meeting with Councilmember Bill Rosendahl and his follow-up letter to the Councilmember here).

Grievance Update: The Fight Against Furloughs

SEIU 721 has adopted a focused strategy to fight the furloughs for LA City Professionals, that hamper their work for the citizens of Los Angeles, and get out from under the mutually contradictory approaches pursued by EAA in violation of the MOUs they negotiated.

A message to LA City professionals from Michael Hunt, Department of Transportation and MOU 17 Bargaining Team Member.

We are bargaining but the City's Executive Employee Relations Committee has not given instructions to their chief negotiator - so we haven't been able to move forward. I joined more than 400 SEIU members at City Council on Wednesday, February 24, to tell them about the negative impacts furloughs have on our jobs and to get the City moving on bargaining. Here's some of what I told them:

"I'm special funded and my furloughs do nothing to help solve the budget problem.  Who's going to explain to all of these people that their concerns aren't going to be addressed because the city is furloughing people they don't need to?"
 
After my testimony, Councilmember Rosendahl immediately pulled me out of the audience to discuss this issue in more detail. He assumed that because we had joined SEIU back in November 2009, that we were no longer being furloughed.  He was unaware that we're still beholden to the furloughs with our old contract.  He wants to see this issue resolved as soon as possible and will assist any way he can.  He asked me to keep him informed of our progress.

I sat down with Councilman Rosendahl on Tuesday, March 9. Keep reading to see the letter I sent him after our meeting.

LA city tree trimmer Art Sweatman and transportation engineer Michael Hunt sat down with Steve Lopez from the LA Times yesterday to talk about the city budget crisis and SEIU 721 members' ideas to address it while preserving services.

"Sweatman noted," Lopez writes, "that he and other employees have already [contributed] to the cost of an early retirement program that will eventually take 2,400 city employees off the payroll" and they've already taken pay cuts through furlough hours.

When asked by Lopez what he'd do if he had to take the Mayor's proposed 15% wage cut, Art said, "I'd jump out of a tree."

Lopez also took on the mayor and council for "throwing numbers around" about layoffs. "It has looked, at times, like they're throwing darts," he wrote.

During budget deliberations this week, Los Angeles city professionals and frontline workers challenged the need for dangerous cuts proposed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa when alternative cost-savings solutions exist.

SEIU 721 members, including engineers, architects, chemists, tree trimmers and animal licensing canvassers, described their contributions and solutions to solve the city's budget deficit. They highlighted recommendations such as suspending multi-million dollar privatized contracts and supporting revenue generating departments.

LA City workers took vacation time to attend budget deliberations. Coalition Union members are showing up in force at Council - but more support is needed to hold the line against the 1,000 layoffs proposed by the mayor.  

Join the Fight: Come to Council Meetings, Show Up, Speak Out!

Join the Fight: Come to Council Meetings, Show Up, Speak Out!
Thursday and Friday (Feb. 11 and 12)
Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb. 16 and 17)
Meetings begin at 10 a.m. in City Hall

Tell your city council member to protect services: Find council contact information by clicking here. 

To save services, city professionals propose:
• Suspending costly contracts estimated to cost the city hundreds of millions.
• Establish an efficiency review process of outsourced contracts and consultants. 
• End the unilaterally implemented 10% furlough cuts of engineers and scientists to spearhead the completion of critical projects.

Members Speak Out

"What we are doing is forcing the council to live up to our agreement. Forcing the council to lead, by making decisions that make sense. The reason we have a union is because fights like this come up." - Art Sweatman, Tree Surgeon and SEIU 721 Steward

 

  "The services I provide allow the public to flush a toilet, take a shower and wash clothes without thinking twice about where the water goes. My services help maintain the largest waste water and storm water collection system in the nation." -Rafael Yanez, Environmental Engineering Associate, Bureau of Sanitation Wastewater Collection System Division

 

"Each day, more than 54 miles of coastal water are analyzed for bacterial contamination to make sure it is safe for public swimming. As city professionals, we are at the frontlines of keeping the public safe and healthy." - Stacee Karnya, Chemist, Environmental Monitoring Division

 

Protecting Revenue Generating Departments

Workers in the Department of Animal Services emphasized the benefits of supporting a revenue generating department, which earned $249,000 in the collection of licensing fees and an additional $37,000 through animal shelters last fiscal year as a result of canvassing efforts of SEIU 721 members. 

  

"Cuts to animal services will lead to more breeding, more dogfights and disappearing revenue generated from the licensing of spayed and neutered animals." -Wendy Brown, Animal Licensing Canvasser, Department of Animal Services

 

"We knock on doors, bring in revenue daily, host mobile pet adoptions and educate the public about animal care and licensing. If we're not around, who would address reports of a stray dog biting a child? We need to protect these services." -Carliose Lane, Animal Licensing Canvasser, Department of Animal Services 

Take Action: Keep pressure on the LA City Council
Attend budget deliberations on Feb. 11-12 and Feb. 16 - Feb. 17 at 10 a.m. in City Hall. 

Tell your city council member to protect services: Find council contact information by clicking here. 

 

LA City professionals pressed the LA City Council to put off a harmful plan to lay off 1,000 employees. But Mayor Villaraigosa is pushing ahead with his plan. On February 4, he pledged to speed up implementation of the Coalition of LA City Unions agreement for early retirements and transfers -- but also threatened to move forward with 1,000 layoffs.

Workers spoke out this week against proposed layoffs this year and demanded accountability for the millions of dollars wasted as a result of privatizing public services. Talks with the City were cancelled so that bargaining team members could speak out.

"The impact of not implementing the Coalition's Contract Agreement is the ripple effect it has on more than 2,000 city professionals including engineers, criminalists and scientists." -Chad Doi, Structural Engineering Associate, Building and Safety Department.

"The City needs to work with us to fill specifically funded positions with general fund ones. We are pressing the Council to make intelligent budget decisions." -Michael Hunt, Transportation Engineer, Department of Transportation.

  

We Found Solutions, Use Them

LA City workers found ways to save money to save services, but the Council continues to drag its feet in implementing these critical recommendations. Workers propose: 

• Immediate moratorium on all consultant and personal services contracts.
  10% fee cut on contractors, vendors and consultants.
• Evaluate all outside contracts against their contribution to core services and terminate unnecessary contracts.
• Target $400 million owed to the city.

 

Take Auto-Action
Use a special message on auto-reply and email signatures to fight furloughs. Let the community know that public service is a full-time job.

•  Use an auto-reply when out on furlough:
Ex: "I am unable to assist you today because I'm out of the office on mandatory furlough. If you need immediate assistance please call (Dept phone #) __________ and ask to speak with a supervisor. Thank you."
•  Use an email signature line:
Ex: Public Service is a Full Time Job!" or "Public Safety is a Full-Time Job!"

•  Contact a Contract Action Team member at your site for anti-furlough posters and furlough tape.

LA City professionals and engineers bargaining their first SEIU contract have been meeting since December. They are seeking:

• An immediate end to furloughs
• No layoffs, cuts, takeaways or steps backward
• Ensuring public work is done by city workers, not expensive contractors

They have stressed the absurdity and costs to the city of working next to contractors who are being paid overtime to do work that our members can't do because they're furloughed.

They called for General Managers and decision-makers to come to the next bargaining session to explain their vision for moving forward in partnership after early retirements and with reduced budgets to provide services more efficiently--for instance, by reforming contracting practices.

Just three weeks after officially becoming members of SEIU Local 721, City of Los Angeles professionals and engineers on Tuesday presented their initial bargaining proposals to the City and demanded a comprehensive budget overview from the City.

Core principles of the proposals include:

▪ An immediate end to furloughs
▪ No layoffs, cuts, takeaways or steps backward
▪ Ensuring public work is done by public workers

Now that City of Los Angeles professional, engineering and scientific employees in MOU 8 are officially members of SEIU, an important new phase in preparations for bargaining has begun.

What we're setting out to negotiate is not a typical contract. We're pioneering what a public sector union of engineers, professionals and their supervisors can be, and we're building a vigorous engineering and professional chapter within SEIU 721.

At this unique moment in our city's history, Los Angeles needs to hear our united voices more than ever. We encourage you to devote the time to think critically about your priorities, to think big and bold about your job and workplace, your new union, your city, about what you want for your future and your family's future.

MOU 8 members:
Complete the bargaining survey online

The City of Los Angeles Employee Relations Board has officially certified SEIU Local 721 as the bargaining representative for nearly 2,000 City of Los Angeles employees, clearing the way for contract negotiations to begin with the City.

Thousands of City engineers and professional employees represented by the Engineers & Architects Association (EAA) have been taking steps since summer 2008 to switch to SEIU 721.

"We finally have a union that represents us."
--Steven Kehrmeyer, Civil Engineer, Bureau of Street Lighting (MOU 17)