Brothers and Sisters,

BINDING ARBITRATION AND NEGOTIATIONS

Local 1014 hosted union leaders and members from Local 1014, the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS), Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association (PPOA), LA/OC Building & Construction Trades Council and Los Angeles County Lifeguard Association (LACOLA)  to say thank you and break bread with LA County Board of Supervisor Lindsey Horvath from District 3, who serves the West Side.

Supervisor Horvath led the effort to advance a Board motion placing the Safer Los Angeles County Binding Arbitration Measure before the voters. She made the motion, which was seconded by Supervisor Solis and passed with four AYE votes—Supervisors Horvath, Solis, Barger, and Hahn—and one abstention from Supervisor Mitchell.

The motion faced strong opposition from the CEO and County Counsel, who described it as a “seismic shift” in bargaining leverage toward labor. We disagree. For unions that cannot strike, binding interest arbitration is a necessary tool to help level the playing field in contract negotiations. It is not a tool anyone should want to use, but one that encourages both sides to reach a fair agreement. Statewide experience shows that in the few jurisdictions where it exists, it is rarely used and instead promotes good-faith negotiations.

We also hosted Councilmember and former Mayor of West Hollywood John Erickson, the current President of California Contract Cities, representing all of our contract cities. There was much discussion about the health of the contract cities and our service relationships, and the conversation turned to negotiation progress, or the lack thereof.

The Board of Supervisors communicated directly with all public safety unions that they expect the CEO and the unions to negotiate aggressively and fairly to settle our contracts with a fair successor MOU. That expectation will now be carried directly to the CEO as a result of our efforts, and we expect a different posture from the CEO in the next month. The Fire Chief and his team have been stellar to this point, arriving at the table with authority and substance to complete a large portion of the work.

As we move forward, we will continue to engage the Fire Chief to support key issues, including the very important Post-PEPRA Plan C member parity issues. This work requires political action, leverage, and hard, engaged negotiations to achieve results, and the Fire Chief plays an important role as a voice to the Board of Supervisors.

Know that we remain in solidarity with all public safety unions at the table on the same timelines. We have all committed to not settling until we address the important needs of all our members and support each other on individual unit issues within each union.

Stay strong and remain patient as we move forward with force to secure a fair successor MOU.

The Board of Trustees of the Local 1014 Health Trust wants to address recent concerns regarding claims processing for some of our members and their families. We understand that a number of you have experienced delays or issues with reimbursements and benefit access, and we recognize how frustrating that can be, especially when it involves your family’s health and well-being.

Please know that we are actively working to resolve a technical processing issue that has contributed to these disruptions. At the same time, the Trust is in the middle of a major system upgrade and organizational restructuring designed to modernize our operations and significantly improve service to our membership.

While periods of transition can present temporary challenges, these improvements are being implemented with one clear goal: to provide better, faster, and more efficient access to benefits and reimbursements for our firefighters and their families. 

We thank you for your patience as we navigate this transition. The work being done now will result in a stronger, more efficient Health Trust that better serves all of us in the long term. We remain committed to continuously improving the plan and tailoring it to meet the evolving needs of our members and their families.