Protecting LA City Workers’ Health Benefits

Santana will take his request to the Employee Relations Board (ERB)–without precedent or legal authority. Lawyers for the Coalition of LA City Unions are preparing our response, but according to the rules of the Joint Labor-Management Benefits Committee, it can vote down any motion.
Here are answers to questions LA City employees 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 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.

Why is Santana doing this?

It’s unclear. Again, this is the first time in the history of the City of Los Angeles that a city official has attempted to declare impasse in a committee, outside of traditional contract bargaining.

Didn’t LA City employees represented by the Engineers & Architects Assn. (EAA) recently reject a proposal to pass additional health costs onto City employees?

Yes. Earlier this month LA City employees represented by EAA, in three out of four units, voted to reject a contract proposal that contained cuts to health care.
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.

What are SEIU 721 and the Coalition doing to fight ongoing service cuts and furloughs?

Coalition members have filed group grievances for every job classification, in every bargaining unit and every department affected by furloughs:

• Opposing unilateral mandatory furloughs as a violation of the Letter of Agreement ratified overwhelmingly by Coalition members last year

• Challenging the City’s jump to layoffs before exhausting less drastic steps they agreed to follow first  

• Challenging the layoffs as discriminatory and unfair because the City failed to follow seniority, as called for in every MOU and in the City’s own civil service rules

What is happening in negotiations for LA City professionals in MOU 8 and 17?
MOUs 8 and 17 had a bargaining session yesterday, Aug. 11 and are requesting financial information to move the negotiations further. The CAO’s negotiator did not provide a response to the requests for information already submitted. The next bargaining session is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 18. 

I have more questions. How can I get answers?
We will report back to you on our progress including any new information released by the city. Please contact your steward if you have questions or call the SEIU 721 Member Resource Center anytime Monday through Friday between 7 am and 7 pm at (877) 721-4YOU.