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Brothers and Sisters,
Local 1014 meets with the County every Thursday to bargain over our items and to work to get a successor MOU in place. This week, the Local 1014 bargaining team tackled the “valuation” of our proposals and what 1% of salary costs. This important math is necessary and critical in valuing the cost of our contract proposal items.
We have a very robust proposal with COLA for all, additional across the board bonus proposals, Plan C - Ventura decision and PEPRA and retiree health items, and special unit bonus items and behavioral health budget items in play. We are holding the County accountable for the math on how we arrive at 1% of salary so we can have agreed upon cost for every item we seek to negotiate. Next week the County is expected to give not only the formulas for 1% of salary, but also be prepared to talk about budget issues and the impact of the fires on property tax collections, and also the impact of the value of nearly $150 million per year from the Local 1014 Measure E, to be used for operations including staffing to 4-0.
Thus far, the County of LA has declared financial strife as a result of Assembly Bill 218 - which expands the time limit for filing lawsuits for childhood sexual abuse assault, and expected lawsuit impacts against the County of LA, churches, and schools expected to be in the hundreds of millions potentially. The potential for lawsuits is very real, but also the proper planning, prediction, and allocation for such can be done and integrated with the other very real issues of salary and benefits for the workforce.
We will be bargaining again at Local 1014 for both Salary and CCU Fringe Bargaining with Local 1014 hosting All County Unions at the Union Hall as we push the County for higher premium increases to meet the expense of healthcare. Pushing the County to value the workers, including firefighters, sheriffs deputies, and lifeguards, will prove to be contentious, and the likely need to make our voice heard with the public and with the Fire Chief may be next on our path of travel to move support to finish public safety contracts. |
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Meeting with Community Members Post Eaton and Palisades Fires
Helping our communities heal and recover from the fires is one of our Department’s and the Union's highest priorities. Local 1014 joined stakeholders in a discussion with Supervisor Solis in Pasadena to evaluate aid, programs and grants available to those who lost so much.
LIUNA Laborers Union was also present as their workers are handling the majority of the clean up efforts, along with Labor Icon Dolores Huerta from United Farmworkers, and Ken Martin new chair of the National Democratic Party and Mark Ramos chair of the LA Democratic Party, who along with California Community Foundation have raised and distributed over $30 million of aid to victims of the fires and provided food and lunches and support for displaced school children. Chair Martin opened by stating, "This is not a Democratic tragedy, it is not a Republican tragedy, it is a human tragedy". It has pledged and is working across party lines, but within Democratic leaders in our affected area to bring the legislative and leadership efforts to the people who need it most. Complicating matters is the sudden and unclear halting of federal support, and federal funding used for clean up as efforts to reduce the local workers in the clean up efforts, and work with the Labor Federation and the party along with elected leaders is needed to keep the local workers primary in the clean up in their own backyard, many of whom lost their own homes in the fires.
The LA Federation of Labor members had over 1,100 members lose their homes, primarily in the Altadena area. The situation also calls for legal action to prevent corporations from swooping in and taking advantage of victims to swindle property owners out of their legacy land. In addition stories of three community members who lost their homes and the challenges of know how to apply for aid and how to qualify for the grants and aid as well as the mental stress and family legacy issues were discussed and heard directly by the leaders who can impact messaging and regulation or reduction of such to aid them best. Local 1014 was proud to be a partner in the discussion and follow up work to help our community partners in their recovery. |
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1937 ACT Counties Committee Work to Protect our Retirement System and PEPRA Members
Our 1937 Act Retirement System Unions met to review the Legislative bills and plans for PEPRA issues. While there is much work to be done, the power and solidarity of a united 37 ACT team of unions is powerful as we concentrate our efforts on paths we can achieve both short term and Long Term.
Click here to view the agenda for the meeting with links to laws we have passed to protect compensation as pensionable.
In addition, we discussed strategies to try and accomplish a few things to undo or lessen the impact of PEPRA. Single highest year vs. average of three highest years, raising the max annual CAP, reducing retirement age from 57 to 55 are all issues we are trying to address for those hired after 2014. In addition legal Issues regarding retirement systems abilities to hire their own subject matter experts and to determine grades and classes is also an issue to prevent elected bodies like the BOS from putting their hands in any aspect of determining pension eligibility for items or classes of members but rather protecting that autonomous right of the Pension Board to handle that business.
Click on the links in the agenda to read more about the Bills affecting grade determination, PTSI Presumption, and Disallowed Comp and special thanks to our bill authors and to Tina Mc Kennor (D) out of Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lennox, MDR, Venice, West Athens, Westchester and Westmont, for tackling our issues moving forward.
This will be a heavy lift, but both in negotiations and at the state with legislative reform post PEPRA members remain one of our top priorities.
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THANK YOU TO BROTHER XAVIER “X” CAMPOS
 Thank you for your selfless and committed service to the membership of Local 1014 as you leave the Medical Trust and help us welcome in Sister Sydney Gagnier and a new view and perspective as our business continues.
Brother “X” is no stranger to Union work having served on the Executive Board of Local 1014 under many Presidents, representing members in areas of discipline, exam appeals, staffing and more. X retired with a rich and rewarding career as a cornerstone of Fire Station 3 in East LA, and mentored many, including President GIllotte, in areas of Union work and preparing for the Engineers Practical by driving and pumping in the Alps so that any flat grinder test would be a walk in the park.
When X retired and left the Executive Board, he was asked to serve in an ongoing capacity as a retired member of the Local 1014 Health and Welfare Trust. As a trustee, appointed by President Gillotte and confirmed by Executive Board vote, X was responsible for many financial and investment decisions providing the funding for rich benefits like our dental, IVF, vision and behavioral health offerings.
X also has worked tirelessly to keep up with the legal requirements for fiduciary training, and helped us navigate national healthcare issues and legal issues for running our plan. One of the last things Brother X helped with is the ongoing transition to new software, automated approval processes to help clear up paper or reimbursable claims. While more is to come we have seen a dramatic improvement already in the reduction and more timely payment of such submitted claims. X was also one of the original members who pushed our EAP program now morphed into our PEER Support program and worked to get our initial funding to move down the path of helping our members out with mental health.
While he will be a short phone call away, we want to thank X and wish him an amazing roll forward with the next adventure for his family and he will be missed each day we do our work.
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In Solidarity,
President Dave Gillotte and the Local 1014 Executive Board |
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