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Sisters and Brothers,
Contract Negotiations Update
Local 1014 Bargaining Team has been very busy caucusing in off-table meetings with the CEO representatives and the Fire Chief to discuss pathways to settle our contract. The main driving force and issue at dispute is the Unions United COLA – 5.5% year 1 (7/1), 3.25% Year 2, and 3.25% Year 3 and the Department’s ability to fund such a raise. Local 1014 has given the CEO and the Fire Chief many paths of travel to reallocate expenditures, suspend spending, and move to efficiencies that will net the needed revenue.
Make no mistake about it, there are financial difficulties that must be dealt with longer term irrespective of salary and benefits in this negotiation or any other, and we are at the heart of helping solve those issues. We have pushed work to the rule again and once again, we ask that you do everything in your power not to support anything over and above our regular job duties until we settle. This pressure is important and has gone hand in hand with our meetings with the Board of Supervisors to garner support to finish our table.
In short, the bargaining Co-Chairs Tony Carcioppolo and Chris Reade, along with your Executive Board, have been very busy handling the financials to SHOW the Department where the money is and also to negotiate the details should we reach a point to reconvene the table and push to a finish. We are cautiously optimistic that a path to finish is in view, and next week we are meeting with the CEO following our meetings with the BOS.
Finally, the BOS has resumed in-person meetings and we are planning out a direct event and rally with our members to testify on the closed session item pertaining to our contract. Additionally, we have asked the Fire Chief to actively advocate for the finish and ability to fund with very stark and hard changes to how we business. We are working hard to bring this contract to a conclusion, but not without the parameters to bring a fair contract and recommendation for your support on a contract vote, The reality is it might take our loud and louder voice and messaging to the BOS and eventually to the people we serve.
Stay the course and fight with us to carry the message and the impact on our families and us. We will update you next week after our meetings with the CEO. You may have also heard the Chiefs who are considered non-represented on record as managers no different than other managers in the County are set to receive the raise and this is additional information the BOS did not have in view as the CEO works to obstruct our progress based on funding issue. This is unconscionable in the path of the CEO, but also highlights our position on the ability to pay.
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Local 1014 Elections
On Tuesday, October 11th nominations were accepted for Local 1014 Executive Board positions. As per the Constitution and By-Laws the nominees have 5 business days to accept their nominations in writing. On Tuesday, October 18th the following candidates accepted their Nominations:
PRESIDENT
Dave Gillotte (Incumbent)
1st VICE PRESIDENT
Kurt Kobler
2nd VICE PRESIDENT
Tony Carcioppolo
TREASURER
John Smolin (Incumbent)
DIRECTORS
Mike Cash (Incumbent)
Jason Cervantes (Incumbent)
Jason Green (Incumbent)
Chris Reade (Incumbent)
Matthew Duhamell
Aaron Katon
There are no contested seats and one nominee for each position. Therefore the nominees are elected by acclamation and shall be installed on January 10th 2023 at the first General Membership Meeting. We want to thank all of the members who have stepped up and committed or recommitted to serving our members and our families. It is not an easy task to say the least and we have much work in progress in the short term and the long term and we are well at work in advance of January 10th in transition and education and training to keep our momentum and work in play.
Brothers Pat Dolan and Lew Currier are not only retiring from the Union but also retiring from their service as Fire Captains on our amazing job. Both Pat and Lew deserve a debt of gratitude from us all for their double decade of work on behalf of our members and their families. Tenacious and dogged in their work ethic and approach to representing members and our contract and benefits issues, these two Labor greats deserve their time back with their families. Congratulations to both Pat and Lew for their hard-earned and well-deserved retirement.
Also, we want to thank Brother Will Pryor, who served tirelessly on our Executive Board for double decade numbers as well as at Hawthorne prior to LA County, and his continued and amazing service to us as our Elected LACERA Board Member. Local 1014 works to elect both the Board of Retirement and the Board of Investments seats for Public Safety Members at LACERA. This is so critically important that we not only have that seat, but also are partnered with the General Member Seats and the BOS-appointed seats to ensure our pension and healthcare funding is on pace with expenses for a sustainable plan for us all. Will has set the standard nationally with all IAFF Locals and has established credibility, education and experience in all aspects of pension funding and benefits management not only for our plan, but for other plans as well. While Will is moving closer to his own retirement, we are lucky to have had him both as a LACERA officer but also as a Battalion Chief who has set the standard on “not forgetting where you came from” in getting the best out of the rank and file under his command. Will is going to mentor and lead Director Jason Green, who we expertly ran and elected to both the Board of Retirement and the Board of Investments for public safety. This was not easy and we are proud of Jason for stepping up and following Will’s training and mentorship and landing the spot for a smooth transition for the benefit of our plan and our members. Congrats to both Will and Jason.
Kurt Kobler will be moving to 1st Vice President and will continue the leadership and oversight and direct report of half of the Directors and the work involved in so many areas of representation. Thank you for continuing your service and work as an officer of the Local.
Tony Carcioppolo has agreed and taken on the added workload and responsibility in our 2nd Vice President role and will maintain oversight and direct report of half of the Directors and the work they handle for the Local. Tony was specifically appointed along with Director Chris Reade to co-chair the negotiations table to get the experience and the education in work involving the CEO and the BOS and Fire Chief at the highest levels of authority and responsibility so we can train our future generations of officers. Thank you to Tony and Chris as they return and continue the work on the contract as our number one priority.
John Smolin is an executive beyond name and title and his expertise benefits every member of this Local and their families in ensuring we can fund and maintain political and labor strategies to write and land legislation for our members, fight contract fights, push hard and represent members in administrative and promotional hearings and more. John is an accomplished Fire Captain and Union Officer and we thank him for his return.
Jason Cervantes is now officially the “Goat" and the most senior and experienced Director on the Board who will carry the Pat Dolan weight from here on out solo but in a position to mentor the new directors and handle the EMS and Family Support and Memorial Services and Workers Compensation Issues to name a few. We are fortunate to have Jason returning and helping shape the future of our Directors while also maintaining the line and the push needed to defend and work to advance our issues.
Mike Cash is returning to represent our members and the issues on the Board. Mike undoubtedly has been exposed to and handled more than he ever thought he would touch and his experience and expertise have grown exponentially as part of this team he has contributed so much and has been a great force in our efforts and accomplishments.
Finally, we would like to congratulate and introduce you to the two newest Board Members of Local 1014 Mathew Duhamell and Aaron Kation. Two of our recent stewards, these two brothers, have stepped in and already begun helping with our work prior to running for the Board and we thank them for their interest, their work and now their commitment to serve at the highest level of Union work as part of our TEAM of TEN on the Board of Directors. They both come with real-world experience and perspective and we welcome them to the Board.
President Gillotte returns to the Office of President and in an unprecedented run of work, will continue to help train and guide the team and the new officers and board members as we work to finish the Contract and set our new permanent Fire Chief and Leadership, level the hiring and promotional moves to ensure vacancies are filled and to grind through the hard work to fix our workers compensation system that fails our members and contributes to not only the vacancies and recalls, but to our financial problems on the department.
President Gillotte also serves as the 7th District Vice President and President Pro-Tem for the California Professional Firefighters and Chairs the State Fire Service Commission on Behavioral Health and serves on the State Board of Fire Services as a Governor Appointed Board Member through multiple governor terms and finally serves within the house of labor as the Chair of the County Coalition of Unions (CCU) in bargaining our fringe benefits in coordination with over 40,000 Union members represented by their Vice Presidents. His experience and relationships return to our Local and he has taken on the task of training the newer members of the Local and Officers Roles to ensure we are building a succession of proud and bold experienced Union leaders critical for the future of our members and representation to ensure our Department and our profession is well cared for.
We are working to get an opportunity for our members to meet the Executive Board and learn more about the many issues in process at the County, State and City levels, in addition to the work with the Interim Chief and his staff that affect our members. We likely will move to a large webinar format meeting to introduce the new members of the Board and hear from the returning members, including those who have taken on officer or LACERA roles on your behalf. We are working on the logistics to set that up and look forward to the conversations as well as the work ahead. It is an exciting time of transition to a temporary interim chief, and, ultimately, to a new chief and all the possibilities for a bright future for our Department and those who serve in our stations and sites. |
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NEXT WEEK IS THE LAST WEEK FOR OPEN ENROLLMENT!
The Local 1014 Health Plan is among the most comprehensive plans available to Firefighters anywhere in the nation and is tailored to meet our Firefighters’ needs. It is also the #1 choice for our members and their families. |
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In Solidarity We Work to the Rule,
President Dave Gillotte and the Local 1014 Executive Board |
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