Paul M. Weber

August, 2011

MOU

The LAPPL’s contract negotiation team was pleased to deliver a contract that was ratified by a 96 percent “yes” vote. Paul Weber, in front, served as chief negotiator. Other members of the team were Scott Rate, Julian Melendez, Hank Hernandez and Det. Greg Stearns (seated, left to right), and Sgt. Jeff Hart, Jackie Aranda, Ofcr. Michael Jolicoeur and Stephen Silver (standing, left to right).

Last month, the Los Angeles City Council approved a new labor contract between the City and the League. The Council vote (11-1), with only Councilman Parks voting no, followed ratification of the contract by the LAPPL membership, which overwhelmingly supported the deal.

Of the 3,598 members who turned out to vote, 96 percent supported the agreement. LAPD officers understood that given the City’s economic situation, it is a fair deal for both parties. This contract recognizes your outstanding work, dedication and the fact that LAPD officers have driven down crime to record levels.

The Board is pleased with the membership’s ratification and the City Council’s approval of our contract. We can move forward knowing our working conditions and compensation remain fair as we address the challenges the City faces.

In addition to the Board members who spent countless hours working on the agreement, I want to thank Jackie Aranda, our in-house labor relations representative; delegates Sergeant Jeff Hart, Internal Affairs; Officer Mike Jolicoeur, West Traffic; Detective Greg Stearns, RHD; and attorney Steve Silver for helping the League get a contract that many people thought was impossible to achieve.

While you can read all the details of the contract in the “Members Only” section of our website at www.LAPD.com, some of the financial highlights of the three-year deal, effective from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2014, include:

• A $1,500 one‐time cash payment in December 2011. We are still working on giving members the option to place this into their deferred compensation accounts on a tax-deferred basis.
• Officers will continue to receive compensatory time off in lieu of cash payments for the overtime they work; this will save the City $300 million over the term of the contract.
• The COLA increases will occur as follows:

July 1, 2012 — 1 percent base pay increase.
January 1, 2013 — 2 percent base pay increase.
July 1, 2013 — 1 percent base pay increase.
November 1, 2013 — 1 percent base pay increase.
March 1, 2014 — 2 percent base pay increase.

• No furloughs for the term of the MOU.
• “No Code 7” no longer a pilot; all entities included in MOU.
• Twelve‐hour notification required for cancellation of “be‐there” court, or two‐hour compensation.
• Employees on IOD will be entitled to the entire compensation they would have received but for the absence.
• Administrative Appeals will now be overseen by a civilian hearing officer.
• The medical subsidy paid by the City to defray the cost of your medical plan will increase up to an additional 5 percent in the second and third years of this MOU.

The fact sheet we presented is located on page 12.

Public employee pensions

The notion that all public workers are collecting fat pensions is simply not true. As almost everyone has seen, the headlines that scream of public servants enjoying lavish, taxpayer-funded pensions are misleading and wrong. Those who protect our families, teach our children and help keep our cities and state clean and safe live on modest wages and pensions.

The average public pension in California is $26,000 a year. The headline-grabbing pensions topping $100,000 — sensationalized by pension-busters — amount to less than 2 percent of public pensions. Politically motivated and ill-considered proposals to gut public pensions will not fix local and state budgets. Instead, they will likely cost taxpayers more. Public employee pensions amount to just 3 percent of California’s budget. Overhauling California’s public pension system will not make a dent in the state’s current budget shortfall, not by any calculation. Not now and not anytime soon. Independent analyses of some of the growing number of politically motivated pension-busting proposals find they likely will create additional demand on government-provided social services and carry unknown costs in the short run.

Ballot box proposals to gut pensions will not prevent pink slips

Claims that pensions are bankrupting state government and that pension plans are poorly run and headed for Armageddon are flat wrong. The state pays less as a percentage of payroll for pensions today than it did in 1980. Public employees have been willing participants in helping fix California’s budget woes. The LAPPL, like many organizations, unequivocally supports fair efforts to clamp down on fraud and abuse.

Overall, California public employees’ contributions to their pensions have climbed from 5 percent to 7 percent to up to 11 percent. Formulas for calculating pensions have been reduced, and stringent new rules are being established to eliminate abuses like spiking.

Meanwhile, public employees have fallen victim to a ruthless public relations campaign that attacks them at the same time they are strapped by furloughs, docked pay and pink slips. They dedicate their careers to serving the public for pay that pales in comparison to what might be earned in the private sector.

Out-of-state billionaires and extremists are driving this assault on California’s middle class.

Decisions concerning retirement security for California’s public employees should be made at the bargaining table. The answer is not allowing out-of-state billionaires to swoop in and change California’s constitution to force public workers into risky 401(k) retirement plans like those that have left private sector workers fearing for their families’ futures.

To reach me, send an email to paulweber@lappl.org or call (213) 251-4593.