LA CITY MOU EBLAST 12-30-21
Hello All,
We hope you are doing well and staying safe during this holiday season. As this year winds down, we wanted to update you on four important items: 1) Stewards Program; 2) Quarterly Membership meetings; 3) January Salary ReOpener negotiations, and 4) the Vaccination Mandate.
LIUNA 777 STEWARDS
We hope you will welcome our new (and returning) LIUNA 777 Stewards. Our group completed their training in November, and their respective City Departments have been advised of their status as Stewards. Our Stewards will be our front-line workers keeping your operational issues at the forefront of our work, assisting members with Informal meetings and First-Level Grievances, and convening monthly to go over all the important work we need to accomplish for our members. Here is our list of Stewards beginning with our LA Chapter Board members:
LA Chapter Board
David Yuen, LAPD Custody, Principal Detention Officer
Art Sweatman, PW Urban Forestry, Tree Surgeon Supervisor
Mike Sanchez, LAPD Custody, Principal Detention Officer
Cheryl Lloyd, LADOT, Senior Traffic Supervisor
Anthony Jones, LAWA, Airport Maintenance Supervisor
Ron Haywood, LADOT, Senior Traffic Supervisor
Stewards
Danielle Pickens, LADOT, Senior Traffic Supervisor
Val Balaton, LAPD Custody, Senior Detention Officer
Brian Moen, GSD, Fleet Services, Automotive Supervisor
Katina Cole, LAWA, Custodian Supervisor
Michael Bates, LASAN, Waste Water Supervisor
Robert Irvin, LASAN, Waste Water Supervisor
Brian Moen, GSD, Fleet Services, Automotive Supervisor
Pete Miranda, LASAN, Labor Supervisor
Francisco Rivera, LAWA, Principal Security Officer
Martin Alarcon, PW Street Services, Supervisor
David Breedlove, LAWA, Custodian Supervisor
Lillian Parker, LAPD, Sr. Property Officer
Scott Harmon, PW Urban Forestry, Tree Surgeon Supervisor
Derrick Griffin, LASAN, Refuse Collection Supervisor
Our Stewards will cover work primarily in their respective Departments, but can and will represent our members in all the City Departments. If you have an issue that needs assistance, please email our Business Representative ([email protected]) and/or call the LIUNA 777 main office line (951-682-4590).
QUARTERLY MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
Our Los Angeles Chapter Membership meetings are scheduled for Quarterly meetings on the second Tuesday of the month at 6 pm (currently via Zoom format). Our first Chapter Membership meeting with be Tuesday, January 11th at 6 pm, followed by meetings on March 8th, June 14th, September 13th and December 13th. We hope that many of you will register and participate in our regular meetings.
JANUARY SALARY REOPENER NEGOTIATIONS
As all of you are aware, we agreed to push back our MOU 12 by 18 months and our raises by 12 and 18 months as part of the Third Letter of Agreement with the City. As part of that agreement, we included a ReOpener for Salary only for January 2022.
Our Chapter Board has met individually as well as with the Coalition Negotiation Chairs to develop our bargaining proposals and to reach out to the City to begin these negotiations. Many of you may recall that we also “primed the pump” with the City Council during the budget approval process in April/May, meeting with every Councilperson and expressly raising the importance of our January Salary ReOpener. So, we are prepared to engage in intense and we hope quick negotiations with an eye to providing our members a COLA and other salary recognitions beginning in early January.
These negotiations are focused on Salary only, not the full contract negotiations which will begin late this coming year before our MOU expires in December 2022. We should have information on these negotiations at our January Membership meeting.
VACCINATION MANDATE
The City’s Vaccination mandate has reached its December 18th deadline for full compliance and we have begun fighting the City as they are beginning to impose administrative leave without pay for employees who have not registered on the Blue Stone site, have not applied for an exemption, and/or are not submitting to regular testing. If you have received either administrative leave or intended discipline, please contact us immediately so that we can assist you.
As the year comes to a close, we want you to know that we see your tremendous work and dedication to the City’s overall mission even if City Management and the City Council don’t recognize it. Going into the January Salary ReOpener bargaining, we will be pointing that out to Management as we fight for a well-deserved salary increase for you and your families. We wish you a healthy, safe, warm, and fun New Year.
In Solidarity,
Esteban Lizardo, Business Representative
David Yuen, LA Chapter President
& Principal Detention Officer, LAPD
Art Sweatman, LA Chapter Vice President
& Tree Surgeon Supervisor, Street Services