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PLAN C / PEPRA MEMBERS REMAIN AT THE TOP OF THE PRIORITY LIST FOR CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS AND LOCAL 1014
AB 1383, Senator Tina McKinnor's Public Employees’ Retirement Benefits: Safety Members, has passed out of the Assembly with a strong, slightly partisan vote and is moving on to the Senate side of the house for consideration. The final vote recorded on the Assembly floor was 70 Aye, 2 No, with 55 Democrats and 15 Republicans casting their votes in support.
Local 1014, along with our other affiliates, has been calling our state legislators to gain support and keep our issues visible and active. Assembly Members Carl DeMaio (R) and Tangipa (R) voted NO. Carl DeMaio (R), a longtime San Diego–area pension assault advocate who for years destroyed San Diego City Fire pensions, was the lead opponent and remains a key figure to watch in his well-funded outside effort to destroy all of our pensions.
We want to thank our members who have registered and submitted support letters throughout this process. Please continue to monitor and be ready to do the same as we navigate the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee, and, if successful, move to the Senate Floor for a vote. If successful on both sides of the House, the bill will then move to the Governor for consideration. |
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The bill was amended to remove CalSTRS (something we negotiated with the education unions) and was offered to the Committee.
The bill was further amended by the Committee to reduce the pensionable cap from the IRS single benefit limit, which we proposed, to more closely align with the two-tiered system under current law. We are awaiting final language, but as we understand it, the bill will now increase the pensionable compensation cap for those in Social Security to around $185,000, and for those not in Social Security to around $250,000.
The Committee also removed the permission to bargain over employee and employer contributions for the normal cost.
The bill maintains the reduction of the retirement age (57 to 55), the opportunity to bargain for prospective increases, a new 3% at 55 tier, and the adjusted caps. While it would be better as we originally proposed, this is a positive development. We will have a floor vote in the Assembly next week and are working hard to garner a strong vote.
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We know we are pushing a giant Plan C / PEPRA member boulder up a hill during very tight budgetary times, but the elected officials we have helped into office remain committed to valuing our members for the sacrifices we make and the dangers we face with regard to our retirement.
Additionally, SB 691, Senator Wahab (D), also a partisan Democratic bill, Body-Worn Cameras: Policies, which establishes a process for firefighters and EMS personnel to request that law enforcement agencies redact footage of a patient undergoing a physical or psychological assessment or treatment, passed the Senate side and will now move to the Assembly Public Safety Committee and Appropriations Committee, and then to the Assembly Floor for a vote. If supported by both sides of the House, it will also move to the Governor for consideration.
We will keep you informed and ask for your help to weigh in once again on these two important issues for our membership. |
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CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
While progress has been slow, it has occurred. Local 1014, along with ALADS, PPOA, and LACOLA, all representing public safety unions, met with the CEO together and individually to help push all of our contract tables forward. Several factors affecting the pace of negotiations have impacted progress, including the General Fund budget, the CEO's departure during the peak of bargaining with unions in December, and the General Member Unions' need to return to the table to address language they had previously had to address.
As a result, authority for the CEO’s bargaining teams was pulled back, and despite agreements between the Union and the Fire Chief’s team that were ready to move forward on some bargaining items affecting Paramedics, Plan C members, and Behavioral Health budgets, there was no ability to bargain due to the temporary embargo on such authority.
We are proud to report that following our meetings, some limited authority has been reestablished at the table, and we have once again T/A’d some important proposals, moving step by step closer to the deal points necessary for Local 1014 to recommend a vote to support a successor MOU.
We also made significant progress thanks to the work of our 603/604 bargaining team, which addressed non-economic items and T/A’d them to protect the infrastructure articles of our MOUs. We are again proud to report that much of that work is now complete at the table as we begin shaping the Non-Sworn member proposals into a successor MOU.
Please stay informed through the Friday email messages, and if you have any questions, contact any Union Executive Board member for accurate information. We continue to maintain a unified front with all public safety unions representing Sheriffs, Lifeguards, and Fire, while each of us moves our individual bargaining tables forward. |
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SAFER LA – Binding Arbitration for Public Safety
Public safety unions also had a victory in moving our Public Safety Binding Arbitration measure forward. Sheriffs, Lifeguards, Fire, and the Building Trades that support public safety have formed a coalition to put forward a signature petition to qualify a ballot measure that levels the playing field for bargaining for unions that cannot strike.
This would be a powerful tool, alongside political action, to help move our contract tables or resolve contract disputes by bringing them to a settlement or to a binding third-party neutral for resolution. Another way the ballot measure could go before the people is if the Board of Supervisors (BOS) were to place the measure, or an alternative measure, on the ballot. We have been working with the BOS to gain an author, a second, and support for just such a measure.
A motion was introduced by Supervisor Horvath and was sent to the BOS Public Safety Deputy Cluster informational meetings. Local 1014, along with the other public safety unions and the building trades unions, was present to testify and answer questions. The hearing was successful and, with our continued support, will move to a second cluster before consideration by the BOS at a Tuesday meeting.
While this process continues, we are moving full steam ahead with signature gathering—and we will need help. We have paid signature-gathering teams operating throughout the County, and we will also host a joint public safety union signature-gathering day in two areas of the County on Saturday, February 7th. Please contact any Union Executive Board member to sign up to help.
This is one of the most powerful labor negotiation tools available to public safety and trades unions. As we move this effort forward alongside contract negotiations, we will work day and night to see both efforts through to a successful conclusion on behalf of our members—now and in the future. |
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CPOE, Investigations, and Administrative Discipline – Know Your Rights!
Anytime you are served with a CPOE letter, a subject or witness of an investigation letter, or a disciplinary letterfrom the Department, call the Union for representation.
Thank you to the amazing Local 1014 Chiefs who never forget where they came from and who consistently remind and notify our members—or us directly—when such letters or actions are pending.
The Firefighters Bill of Rights (FBOR) is the starting point for all of our rights, and we have significantly more protections in place through our MOU, Manual of Operations, and Policies and Practices and Procedures on behalf of our members.
Please take a moment to review the FBOR information and print out a card to help protect your rights. |
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Uber Transportation Benefit (FOR MEDICAL)— How to Access and Sign Up
To help make transportation easier and more reliable, eligible members will have access to a new Uber transportation benefit.
Important: You must have an active Uber account to access this benefit. When completing the form, be sure to enter the cell phone number connected to your Uber account. |
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See the presentation below for a step-by-step presentation of how to access this new benefit through your Uber app. |
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In Solidarity,
President Dave Gillotte and the Local 1014 Executive Board |
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