Brothers and Sisters,

NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE

Local 1014 bargains every Thursday alongside our public safety partners from the Sheriff’s Department and Lifeguards, with ALADS, PPOA, and LACOLA also at the table. The pace has intensified, with a year and a half having passed since the expiration of our MOU and those of all public safety unions. Local 1014 has been bringing our case to the decision-makers at the Board of Supervisors. The CEO has responded by increasing engagement at the table, but considerable progress is still needed to finalize our contract.

Our PEPRA members remain our priority, although COLAs and a Year 4 for our contract are also important pieces of the puzzle. We have been bargaining with the County while the general member unions concluded their negotiations. This was important because the County could not address our special-unit issues or general salary items affecting only public safety until those tables were settled. We also suffered from the CEO’s sudden departure amid a legal battle, resulting in the appointment of a temporary CEO who has since become the permanent CEO. This delayed County business and jeopardized public safety bargaining. Although we completed our fringe benefits contract more than a year ago with significant gains in health insurance, dental, vision, and a 401(k) for our members, securing successor MOUs is the next critical piece of our wages, hours, and benefits package.

This week, bargaining centered on improving the Year 4 COLA and addressing Olympics staffing and pay, which will take effect in Year 4. It was a long day of intense negotiations, with opposing positions among the Department, the fire chief, and the union. The table reminded us that we don’t get paid simply because we are the best at what we do, but because we bargain intensely and demand fair wages and working conditions.

The Department’s perspective remains: How do we get it cheaply and with fewer personnel? Local 1014 countered with strong plans to value and support our members during the Olympics. As with other trade organizations, offering premium compensation for critical days and times helps attract members to work, be available, or feel appropriately valued when recalled for these important events with the world watching.

The Department is becoming more involved in securing funding and resources from the Olympic Committee. LA City moved early to take the lead on the Olympics, which has concerned us from the beginning. We met with Supervisor Barger to discuss this issue. She and the other members of the BOS are working with Fire and Sheriff’s management to secure the resources and support needed to have adequate staffing and personnel in place to keep people safe.

Chief Marrone must deliver results through his work with the partners involved in the Olympics. We are also seeking his support for our members—his employees—and our contracts. Over the next month, we will meet privately with Chief Marrone to address our issues and ask him to advocate actively for our contract priorities with the BOS. This is important to align the Department’s budget with the cost and value of our contract. Valuing workers requires more than words; it requires action.

We’ll keep you posted as the pace intensifies and bargaining continues next week. The County was reminded that binding arbitration is going to the ballot in November. With a high likelihood of passage, it could become a powerful tool for applying additional pressure if the CEO’s office continues to falter.

Our demand and expectation are to complete a fair MOU and present it to the members for a vote well before that becomes necessary. However, the approaching possibility of binding arbitration is now part of the discussion. We will continue working to get this done while ensuring that the important issues affecting our PEPRA members are addressed.

STAFFING CRISIS IN THE MAKING?

We are in a staffing crisis at the Captain rank. Between summer vacation schedules, an exceptionally busy early fire season, and the growing number of members off work on industrial leave (“I”), staffing shortages have reached a critical point across many battalions.

Without immediate action, we are on track to face similar shortages at other ranks as well. The Department must push back on DHR to ensure promotional exams are administered on time and listen to the concerns raised by the Union. In fact, Local 1014 had to push the Department to even release the most recent Captain promotional exam announcement because there was no sense of urgency.

The reality is that today’s staffing decisions directly impact tomorrow’s workforce. There must be a long-term strategy that anticipates retirements, promotions, and operational demands one, two, and even three years into the future. Failing to plan ahead only deepens the staffing crisis and places additional strain on our members and the communities we serve.

For months, we have pressed the Fire Chief on issues ranging from entry-level hiring to establishing a clear calendar for Engineer and Captain promotional exams. There has been little progress. The Department appears stalled under the influence of the Department of Human Resources (DHR), which continues to interfere with exam processes and dilute critical testing elements designed to identify the most qualified candidates.

This job is not for the faint of heart. It requires individuals committed to teamwork, physical and mental resilience, and service to others. Our members routinely face death, trauma, firestorms, flooding, and high-acuity medical emergencies. Despite repeated warnings from the Union, the Department has fallen behind on both entry-level testing and promotional exams, repeating failures seen under the previous administration.

To be clear, the Department has a highly capable exam unit with the expertise to deliver a strong, job-aligned testing process. The issue is the Fire Chief allowing DHR to impose a watered-down, generic approach that does not adequately assess the passion, capability, and resilience required for this profession.

The Union has proposed practical solutions:

• Continue using the FCTC written exam to maintain entry-level hiring momentum.
• Use the BEEP or OPAT tests to evaluate candidate readiness for the academy, including during 4- and 10-month evaluations.
• Reinstate a modern oral interview component, weighted appropriately (e.g., 60% written, 40% oral), with safeguards to address bias.

The Department’s response has been that oral interviews are too time-consuming. Our position is straightforward: it is far more costly and disruptive to hire individuals who are not suited for the job, those who require repeated training attempts or spend extended time off duty early in their careers. This work demands capable, committed team members who can perform consistently over time.

We continue to meet with the Department and the County to reach an agreement, but progress is stalled due to the lack of a clear plan and continued deference to DHR. The Fire Chief has the authority to work with us and the Board of Supervisors (BOS) to correct this. DHR should support the process, not control it.

The same issues apply to promotional exams. We have repeatedly called for a clear, published exam calendar so members can prepare for advancement. Instead, DHR-driven written exams have produced results that are misaligned with the Captain role, including historically high failure rates. A fair process, combining relevant written testing, appropriate assessment components, and oral interviews, is essential to building qualified promotional lists.

Again, the Department’s own exam unit has the capability to deliver this. The problem is a lack of leadership at the top. This situation requires decisive action. As President Gillotte has recalled from past experience, strong leadership matters, leadership willing to assert authority and set standards. That is what is needed now.

We are actively engaging with the BOS, and we are gaining traction. The Board is the ultimate authority, and the Fire Chief must present a plan that earns its support. In the absence of Department advocacy, Local 1014 will bring proposals directly to the BOS.

This issue is urgent. Recent incidents, including augmented staffing for fires, mud and debris flows, and major infrastructure failures, have pushed our Captains to the brink, with excessive recall rates once again. This is unsustainable.

Let this serve as a warning: the Department must act now to support the workforce. We will continue working directly with the County and the Department through meet-and-confer sessions to restore progress. The current staffing and promotional crisis is the result of inaction and lack of vision.

It is time to empower the Department’s qualified personnel, implement a system we can stand behind, and restore a hiring and promotional process worthy of this organization. We are the finest fire agency in the world. Our members and the communities we serve deserve a professional, effective, and respected system.

Management must prioritize staffing, reduce recalls, and address workers’ compensation issues. Their primary responsibility is not firefighting; it is ensuring the organization is properly resourced and supported so firefighters can do their jobs safely and effectively. There are strong leaders within the ranks, but too often they are constrained by inaction above them, leaving our members to bear the consequences.

We will continue pushing to restore the Department’s hiring and promotional systems to full strength.

BRING BACK THE ORAL INTERVIEW.
BRING BACK FIRE CHIEF LEADERSHIP IN SETTING STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS.
ENSURE WE HIRE AND PROMOTE THE BEST CANDIDATES IN SERVICE TO OTHERS AS MEMBERS OF THE LA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT.

LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY IN FULL SWING AT THE CAPITOL

Local 1014 continues to work tirelessly at the Capitol with our union affiliates at California Professional Firefighters (CPF) to advance AB 1383, the Firefighter Retirement Security Bill. Sponsored by Local 1014 and authored by Democratic Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, who represents our own Inglewood area, the bill is making its way through the Capitol.

AB 1383 seeks to reduce the retirement age for PEPRA members from 57 to 55, raise the retirement cap to allow for larger and more robust retirement benefits, and allow unions to bargain locally for a 3% at 55 retirement formula. This bill is a game changer for our PEPRA members and will enhance their salaries and benefits alongside our bargaining efforts.

This week, a long list of coauthors was added to the bill as we continue working to secure the votes needed to make it a priority in both the Assembly and the Senate. We are also working to secure the Governor’s support should the bill pass both houses of the Legislature.

Tina McKinnor has been an amazing partner who has been bold and powerful in her work to support firefighters statewide while carrying her love for the LA County Fire Department in her heart. We would not be where we are today without her commitment to our members.

Thank you, Tina McKinnor!