News

The election for the CAPE Board of Directors is approaching soon.  This year, the two-year terms of five (5) Board Directors must be filled.

June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community's diversity, resilience, and achievements. CAPE is proud to be a union that fights for the rights and well-being of everyone, and we're proud to stand with our LGBTQI+ colleagues and allies.
In the aftermath of the devastating California wildfires, we find ourselves grappling with a profound sense of loss and resilience. Many in our CAPE family have faced unimaginable hardships as homes and livelihoods were reduced to ashes.

The 2011-2012 CAPE Board of Directors Election ballots were tallied on Wednesday evening, August 31st, at the CAPE office.  The vote tally was overseen by California Elections Company, an independent election vendor, and assisted by CAPE member volunteers of the CAPE Nominating and Election Committee.

CAPE members provide a wide variety of vitally important services for County residents and businesses.  Properly identifying those services, especially the work that expedites the region’s economic recovery, has become a primary task for CAPE representatives as they prepare for 2012 salary and benefit contract negotiations.

This year’s annual benefits enrollment is quickly approaching and CAPE Union members are encouraged to plan ahead in their review of the Choices Annual Benefits Enrollment program. Choices Annual Benefits Enrollment is October 1 - October 31, 2011, for coverage as of January 1, 2012. As a reminder you will have the chance to enroll by online enrollment or telephone. Both enrollment systems will be available 24 hours a day and seven days a week over the course of the enrollment period.

There will be an unprecedented number of open seats and competitive incumbent seats up for election in the State Assembly and Senate in the June 2012 Primary and November 2012 General Elections. CAPE representatives have already received several requests from candidates for our support. Those requests, and many that will follow, will be reviewed by the CAPE Political Endorsement Committee -- CAPE PEC.

On March 22, 2006, a DPW CAPE member was called into an investigation meeting believing he was being interviewed as a potential witness to a retired former DPW employee’s misconduct. Thinking he was a witness, the CAPE member felt that he did not need representation and did not assert his Weingarten Rights (his right to have a union representative present).  However, he soon found himself the target of the investigation.  

By now, all CAPE members should have received their 2011-2012 CAPE Board of Directors Election ballot in the mail. This year, there are seven candidates competing for five open positions on the Board of Directors. The election ballot also includes an important amendment vote of the CAPE Bylaws.

Governor Jerry Brown signed the Fiscal Year 2011-2012 State Budget Act on June 30th. The final package, which balances the State Budget, was adopted by the Legislature on a majority vote with no Republican support, and imposes program cuts beyond those slated in prior versions to make up some of the remaining $9.6 billion of red ink.

Last month, Los Angeles County CEO, William T. Fujioka, announced a $23.3 billion proposed budget for FY 2011-2012 that is balanced, preserves critical services, and avoids work furloughs and layoffs for County employees. However, the County's budget situation remains unsettled as the ongoing budget debates at both the State and Federal level threaten to impact funding for critical County programs and services.