LA City Board Rejects Change to Joint Health Care Approach

Keeping health care costs down is critical for every family. For more than 20 years, labor and management have worked together to design health care plans that hold down costs for workers, their families and taxpayers.

On August 23, the LA City Employee Relations Board voted 4-1 to reject the city’s attempt to unilaterally change how much workers paid when they go to the doctor.

CAO Miguel Santana had tried to move to impasse, which would have undermined the rules of the Joint Labor Management Benefits Committee. The committee allows the city to control costs with uniform packages for the city’s civilian workers.

The ERB rejected impasse, saying it did not have jurisdiction to override the committee’s rules.

“For more than 20 years, we have worked together to find the best deal for workers, their families and the city as a whole,” said SEIU 721 President Bob Schoonover, who attended the hearing. “We’re in a crisis now, but what the city proposed would have hurt our ability to find the best health care rates in the future.”

SEIU 721 argued against the CAO’s motion on behalf of the Coalition of LA City Unions. 

Click here to read our letter to the LA City Employee Relations Board.