News

CAPE Night: Worker's Compensation Event

The Partners of Ford & Wallach, one of California’s preeminent workers’ compensation law firms, will be holding a special CAPE Night: Worker’s Compensation training session on Wednesday, May

Investing in Our Health: The Importance of Regular Dental Check-ups

We often hear the saying, "Health is wealth," and it couldn't be truer.

New CAPE Representation Handbook Available Now

We are a successful and thriving union, but a strong contract means little if members aren’t aware of our rights in the workplace and empowered to exercise them.

CAPE Board Update: Board Appoints Lisa Appoints Lisa Andres to Fill Board Vacancy

Late last year the CAPE Board of Directors announced a deliberate process to fill a vacancy on the Board. All of the candidates were required to submit their history of CAPE service, be interviewed by the Board, and provide a written statement about why they wished to serve.

DPW Management Overraches; Violates Member's Sick-Leave Rights: By Blaine Meek, Counsel

CAPE has long recognized the importance of Sick Leave Benefits to our members and has prioritized the improvement of these benefits and enforcing your rights to them.

I, as the Chair of the Coalition of County Unions, per the direction of your Board of Directors, have pursued this priority of improving your Sick Leave Benefits by leading the Coalition in addressing these benefits in our dealings with the County.

LACERA Board Election Update: CAPE Endorses Herman Santos for the Board of Investments and Vivian Gray for the Board of Retirement!

Public employee pension benefits are under serious political attack. One critical way that Los Angeles County employees can help protect our well-earned, secure retirement benefits is by electing LACERA Board representatives who will fight for us; Herman Santos and Vivian Gray.

Herman Santos for Board of Investments:

Attacks on Public Employee Pensions Likely Through 2012 Elections

Attacks on public employee pensions continue to surface from a variety of sources in an even wider variety of venues. CAPE members are, by now, familiar with the attempts by pension reform advocates to place pension-cutting proposals on the ballot for voter approval. All of the ballot measures submitted so far have failed to secure the necessary number of signatures, but enough time still remains to submit, circulate and qualify initiatives for the November 2012 Presidential Election ballot.

Unit & Fringe Benefit Contract Negotiations Preparations Continue

The current Bargaining Unit contracts controlling salary and working conditions for all CAPE members will expire on September 30, 2012, which is the same expiration date for the Fringe Benefit contract for all Los Angeles County employees. CAPE bargaining team members met for the 2nd time on April 11 to continue their preparations, including orientation to the collective bargaining process and an in-depth analysis of the current negotiations environment for public employees.

2012 Salary and Benefit Contracts Negotiations Ahead

Public sector collective bargaining rights are under serious attack. All across the nation, public employees and their unions are being wrongfully blamed for public agency budget deficits. It’s as if everyone has forgotten that it was Wall Street not Main Street; and definitely not public employees, who brought our nation’s economy to the brink of collapse.

Public Employee Pension Attack Update:

Last fall the Governor issued a 12-point plan he described as a starting point towards responsible public employee pension reform. The so-called “reform advocates” and public employee union representatives immediately engaged in a heated debate over what the Governor intended and which employees would, or should, be impacted by the reforms.

President’s Message
 2012 is Already an Interesting Year of Many Challenges: By Carlos Clayton, P.E. Unit 501, DPW

I was honored to be elected by my colleagues on the Board as CAPE President in September 2011. In the months since, the number and severity of challenges facing the Association, and public employees across the state, have grown exponentially.

State legislative efforts and proposed ballot measures aimed at reducing or eliminating public employee pensions are making headlines daily. Another ballot measure, already qualified for the November Presidential Election, threatens to eliminate political activities by employee groups.