All 41 members of the newly democratically elected SEIU 721 Executive Board Members were sworn in by SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger on April 21, 2010. The executive board is charged with governing SEIU 721 consistent with the bylaws that members voted upon last fall.

"...It's been a long road to get us here and I look forward to working with each of you on behalf of our members..." Bob Schoonover, SEIU Local 721 President. 

Above: City workers sent a message to the mayor as he delivered his State of the City address at LAPD headquarters

In his State of the City address today, Mayor Villaraigosa talked about closing the budget deficit with more cuts and layoffs. But city workers were there with our own plan that closes the $432 million deficit without layoffs, furloughs or service cuts to parks, libraries, fire stations or neighborhood services.

The Mayor announced:

• 750 layoffs: including hundreds of Coalition members
• 16 to 26 furlough days: a 10% cut in services
• Cuts to fire safety: staffing cuts at neighborhood fire stations, paramedic disaster response and hazmat units
• Cuts to library hours and parks programs
• Cuts to police patrols: while the Mayor continues to hire officers he's cutting civilian positions, pulling officers off patrol and sitting them behind desks

We got a jump on the Mayor by announcing our plan on Friday at Griffith Park Observatory, and when trash trucks rolled out yesterday to thousands of residents with signs reading: "Don't Give Up on LA, Mr. Mayor" and directing residents to www.keepLAstrong.com for details of our plan.

"26 furlough days is over 5 weeks of service cuts to residents. That's not a solution, that's a disaster."

-tree surgeon Art Sweatman (talking to a reporter, right)

 

 

 

 

"I work for Building and Safety. We're also tasked with keeping the public safe. I'm a plan check engineer. With us on furlough delays in plan checks lead to delays in construction."

-structural engineering associate Chad Doi (far left, talking to a reporter) 

 

The fight continues next Tuesday, April 27, at City Hall when budget hearings begin. Call your Worksite Organizer or Steward or the Member Action Center at (877) 721-4YOU [4968] to join the push.

 

LA city trash trucks rolled out across the city this morning with a bright red message to Mayor Villaraigosa: "Don't Give Up on LA, Mr. Mayor."

Nearly 800 trucks that pick up trash daily from 150,000 households across the city carried posters referring residents to www.keepLAstrong.com, where city workers have made their own budget proposals to close the $432 million budget gap for next year and protect parks and libraries.

Management discovered the posters and halted many of our trucks. But dozens still got through to deliver the word of our strong budget to thousands of homes. We also walked neighborhoods to talk with residents and hang the same message on trash bins, recycling bins and doorknobs--including at the houses of Councilmembers Jose Huizar (pictured at right) and Bill Rosendahl.

Learn more about what we're proposing at www.keepLAstrong.com.

What is a Strong Budget?

It's $432 million in solutions that don't cut parks, libraries, public safety and neighborhood services. It's a plan to fix LA's budget crisis without layoffs and paycuts to city workers who provide those services.

Visit www.keepLAstrong.com to watch a video and learn more about what we're proposing.

Today at the Griffith Park Observatory firefighters, parks workers, trash truck drivers, librarians, and engineers spoke at a press conference. They said that the mayor's budget plan is wrong for LA.

See photos from the Strong Budget release at our Facebook page.

Read City Council President Eric Garcetti's motion calling our proposal a "methodical, reasoned approach" to addressing the City's budget issues.

"What the mayor has proposed will make it harder to do business here, harder to raise a family, harder to live in a city," said Cathie Chavez-Morris of the Bureau of Sanitation.

Go to www.keepLAstrong.com to read our budget plan and see how we're changing the debate at City Hall. It's time to focus on what matters: our neighborhoods and the services that sustain them.

 

Since March 1, employees at Northeast Valley Health Corporation (NEVHC) have been meeting with management and joining together to negotiate employer-paid family health insurance and a wage scale to encourage employee longevity and retention.

Stacee Karnya is a chemist at LA City's massive Hyperion water treatment plant, which is literally where the sewers meet the sea.

Like other city professionals she's on a 10% furlough. She spent her furlough day with a TV crew from NBC Nightly News on the beach in Santa Monica, where LA City employees test the water to keep swimmers and surfers safe from toxic runoff.

"We consider ourselves public safety," she said. "We protect the public's health by testing the beach water -- over 54 miles are tested every day to make sure it's OK to swim, that the fish you catch are OK to eat."

Watch her on NBC Nightly News.

On Tuesday the mayor called for a two-day-per-week shutdown of the city. We hit back immediately against his furlough gamble, going on TV to talk about why it didn't make sense.

"We're in the worst economic times in 80 years. We're not going to get out of this by throwing a bunch of one-liners out there and holding a press conference. That's not how we're going to do this."  -SEIU 721 President Bob Schoonover on Good Day LA, April 8
     
By Thursday the mayor backed away, saying that money had been found and the shutdown was no longer needed.

MOUs 8 & 17 were certified as members of SEIU721 on November 23, 2009. At that time, all dues and agency fees ceased to be paid to EAA-IUPA Local 8000 and were held in escrow pending a legal agreement instructing the city to pay all dues and agency fees to SEIU721.

The Agency Shop Interim Agreement between SEIU 721, representing MOUs 8 & 17, and the City will stand only until a new contract is ratified by the members.

The pledge from SEIU 721's President Bob Schoonover and Executive Board to city professionals regarding dues remains in effect: "You won't pay a penny more than your current .54% dues until you vote to approve a better contract with SEIU 721."

Following the Mayor's call to shut down City services two days a week, the Coalition of LA City Unions issued the following statement:

"DWP and the mayor are painting LA residents into a corner," said SEIU 721 President Bob Schoonover. "The mayor should order DWP to transfer these funds immediately, not cut core services. That's what we need to hear."

Residents who rely on city services and workers who provide those services are about to become collateral damage in a political fight around DWP funds.

This is playing brinksmanship and city residents will pay the price. This is not a game, it shouldn't be treated as a game.

Los Angeles has a serious crisis, but we are doing something about it. We need to change how our city does business, to resolve budget problems and preserve services for the future.

City workers are putting together a real plan, not political games. We call on everyone to come together as one City, put residents first, and work our way cooperatively through the very real challenges we face.

"Closing libraries two days a week will hurt thousands of children we see every day, who rely on our libraries as places to study, discover their creativity, and find safety," added Madeleine Kerr, a librarian who works with children and teens. "Closing recreation facilities affects child care, sports and after-school programs for Los Angeles families. The mayor is reacting not leading."