L.A. County CEO Threatens Workers with Layoffs if Unions Don’t Agree to Immediate Pay Concessions Without Member Input or Approval
On Thursday, May 28, the Coalition of County Unions (CCU) was asked to participate in a virtual labor-management meeting with CEO staff. We were asked to participate in the meeting specifically to review the County’s COVID-era financial condition and discuss the possibility of temporarily suspending the employer’s matching contribution to the Horizons deferred compensation plan in alignment with the County’s suspension of the matching contribution for Flex and MegaFlex participants into the Savings (401k) Plan. The CCU was the proper venue for this discussion as the Horizons Plan match is a part of the CCU Fringe Benefits MOU – not your Unit contract.
After a brief presentation on the County’s alleged financial condition, CEO representatives shocked the Coalition by demanding that the body agree to the following concessions by June 5 or face layoffs:
- Suspend the dollar-for-dollar employer match, up to 4%, to the Horizons Plan for Fiscal Year 2020-21;
- Delay the half-step negotiated 2.75% Sustainability Bonus for one year; and
- Delay all Bargaining Unit’s 2020 2.5% Cost of Living Adjustments for six months.
It is important to note that the County cannot unliterally suspend the employer match into the Horizons Plan. They are legally obligated to make the match as it is compensation codified in your Fringe Benefit Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Further, the employer cannot take away either the Cost of Living Adjustments or the Sustainability Bonus because they are both set forth in your Bargaining Unit’s MOU. In order to make these changes, both the CCU Fringe MOU and each individual MOU would need to be amended. In the case of your Unit contract, an amendment would require a positive ratification vote by the members. Negotiating with the Coalition and every single Bargaining Unit, and receiving member ratification, by June 5 is not feasible.
The County’s proposed layoffs would occur effective October 1, 2020, and there are numerous intervening events that would make such layoffs unnecessary:
1. County Unions are actively advocating, along with the County of LA, for the Federal government to provide significant revenue to local cities and counties to backfill sales tax revenue lost during the Stay-at-Home orders;
2. We may identify existing funds that may be used to fill the shortfall or make it significantly smaller. We are actively working with the County to verify the amount of the shortfall and available one-time funding to fill the alleged shortfall; and
3. The CCU and your Union may reach an agreement using other less drastic employee givebacks to fill the shortfall.
Though we certainly understand the challenges faced by the County of LA and every employer across America, we are resolute in our commitment to protecting your paycheck in these difficult times. We are partnered with the County and Unions at the local, state, and international level and will continue to do everything in our collective power to protect your paycheck and vital County services.
