Articles

EAA GETS RESULTS, NOT HEADLINES

Periodically, EAA publishes, for the education of its members, a summary of some of its more significant accomplishments.

The accomplishments are separated into five (5) categories:

1. BENEFITS FOR THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
2. WINS BY STAFF FOR GROUPS OF MEMBERS
3. WINS BY STAFF FOR INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS
4. INVOLVEMENT AND RECOGNITION BY OTHER LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
5. MEMBER COMMUNICATIONS ENHANCEMENTS

SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS - SIX MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 2009

BENEFITS FOR THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP:

• EAA continued to operate in a fiscally responsible fashion, well within its budget. In recognition, your Board of Governors issued $40 Target gift cards as a "thank you" to all voluntary dues-paying members of EAA for their support throughout 2008.
• EAA added another benefit to those already enjoyed by EAA members by providing an accidental death and dismemberment policy for all members and fair-share payers at no cost.
• EAA mentored a disabled worker during its participation in Disability Mentoring Day. This reminds us all that the disabled are capable of meaningful and productive work if they are only given a chance to demonstrate their abilities. We thank Michael Morales for coming to EAA for mentoring and wish him well-deserved future success.
• EAA continued its policy of hiring experienced Los Angeles City employees to bolster its ranks of labor representatives. EAA hired Christopher Moody, a Superintendent of Operations at LAX, in July 2008 and recently added Richard C. Sanchez, retired from the Department of Building and Safety. Their long years of City service help them understand the unique features of the Los Angeles Civil Service system and particular issues within departments where they worked. In addition, both were involved in aiding other employees with workplace issues during their time with the City.
• EAA was active in the City budget hearings, not only attending but also providing public comments at Council meetings regarding threatened layoffs of EAA members. Additional comments on the subject were made by EAA at grievances, UERPs and other in other venues. As a result, virtually all EAA positions are now funded or the incumbents have been transferred to a funded position.
• EAA awarded its 2008 $2,000 scholarships to Colin Kopitzke and Armand Cuevas, the sons of active EAA members Jon Kopitzke and Noemi Cuevas respectively. This continues EAA's tradition of honoring achievement by the next generation.
• In a UERP at the ERB, EAA proved the City was required to bargain over terms and conditions of newly-accreted classifications at the time of accretion. The City’s position was that no bargaining was required until expiration of the existing contract. This ruling not only benefits EAA, but all Los Angeles City unions.
• EAA continued its advocacy at the City Council through public comment by an EAA labor representative at a Personnel Committee meeting. As a result of the comment, the Committee instructed the Personnel Department to investigate creation of a supervisory classification for Neighborhood Empowerment Analyst. This will provide additional career paths for EAA members.
• EAA worked constructively with City Planning to reduce the amount of contracting out through the mechanism of increasing staffing by competent City employees who could perform the same work more effectively and more economically. This offers additional employment opportunities for EAA members.
• Chief Harbor Engineer Antonio Gioiello to send a letter of thanks to EAA dated November 3, 2008. He stated that "EAA was a key partner in expediting this project", the project being creation of 18 additional PM positions. Mr. Gioiello realized that without his partnership with and the advocacy of EAA, the positions would never have been approved.

WINS BY STAFF FOR GROUPS OF MEMBERS:

• EAA's efforts proved successful for 108 Airport Operations Superintendents. Each of them received 2 years of retroactive holiday premium pay that was unjustly denied by LAWA. The compensation received ranged from $500 to $6,000.
• Out of paygrade grievances at LAPD were successfully resolved at the first level through EAA’s actions. The higher level duties were reassigned to the appropriate level employees. In the future, the appropriate compensation as defined in our MOUs will be provided for temporary supervisory duties.
• Labor representatives Darryl Cherness and Christopher Moody ensured that recently hired employees at General Services received correct amounts of sick pay for their probationary periods. There was a problem with the proper manual operations not being performed at the proper time which resulted in under-crediting of sick time. With this correction, all members now have the proper amount of sick time credit.
• The Office of Finance paid thousands of dollars in unpaid mileage pay to EAA members after EAA filed an UERP and convincingly demonstrated that management had misapplied the mileage compensation article in the EAA MOUs.
• LAWA unilaterally changed its on-call policy for 60 IT employees. Through the intervention of EAA, LAWA management agreed to meet and confer about the subject and successful resolution was achieved without the need for using the grievance process. The pay was restored at $24 per day and a committee of affected members was established to administer the program in the future. This demonstrates that management and EAA can resolve issues effectively through mutual cooperation.
• Staff Coordinator Angel Calvo prevailed for the Industrial Waste Inspectors at the Bureau of Sanitation in an UERP case regarding unilateral action by the Bureau in its mileage policy. The inspectors received back pay and the policy was restored to the correct previous policy.
• Police and Fire Pensions improperly with-held alleged overpayments from the retro checks for EAA-represented employees. EAA successfully had the full amounts restored and paid to those employees.
• LAPD unilaterally changed the method of temporarily replacing a supervisor with a lower level employee. EAA filed an UERP over the failure to meet and confer and once again prevailed over LAPD.
• EAA-represented Public Relations employees at LAWA received back pay for improperly denied on call/standby pay due to the intervention of EAA.
• EAA succeeded in correcting a mistake by the CAO's office by obtaining a 2% increase in the pay for GIS Chiefs.
• Utilizing the MOU-mandated meet and confer process for contracting out, EAA was successful in obtaining five (5) Program Manager positions for its members at LAWA.
• At LAPD, EAA prevailed in two separate grievances regarding overtime. In one at-large grievance, LAPD had been improperly treating employees as FLSA exempt. Over 100 hours of overtime back pay was paid to one employee as a result. In the other grievance, LAPD had rejected overtime pay in a situation where they previously had approved it. EAA prevailed again and employees received back pay.
• The Office of Finance unilaterally began issuing "goal memos" setting 'quantity of work' goals. EAA's action caused the Office to define those memos specifically as non-disciplinary items and reinforced with the Office of Finance that any actions affecting terms and conditions of employment are subject to meet and confer.
• The Personnel Department added a new higher-level task to a classification of their employees. When EAA contacted management to discuss the issue, the task was reassigned to a more appropriate classification.

WINS BY STAFF FOR INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS:

• The Fall 2008 issue of the EAA Newsletter demonstrates that EAA works long and hard behind the scenes for individual EAA members that are wronged by management. EAA does not publicly discuss details of any case it handles for members until resolution is achieved and never identifies individuals without prior permission of the individual. This is due to personal privacy issues and to the possibility of premature publicity affecting the outcome. EAA thanks union brothers Kartik Patel, Won Davis, Carlos Espinoza, and Richard Gaydowski for allowing us to publish their stories and demonstrate for all to see how much a dedicated and knowledgeable staff of labor representatives can accomplish through hard work and perseverance. Many additional cases are highlighted below these four.
  1. EAA worked to ensure that EAA member Kartik Patel continues to be employed by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Transportation. Brother Patel's case began in August 2006 and demonstrates how long some circumstances take for resolution. He thanks EAA and two staff members (Bob Aquino and Ben Pezzillo) specifically for their representation and enthusiastically supports using his name.
  2. EAA member Won Davis agreed to allow publication of his case because of the extraordinary benefit he received from EAA. He received reinstatement to City employment, back pay, sick time, seniority, and retirement credit as a result of EAA Labor Representative Angel Calvo's efforts on his behalf. This case involved an unjust probationary termination by LAWA.
  3. EAA member Carlos Espinoza thanked EAA Labor Representative Darryl Cherness for his diligence and hard work in fighting an unjust termination by the Department of Recreation and Parks. Brother Espinoza received reinstatement, back pay, seniority, and all benefits. It takes a dedicated and knowledgeable staff to pursue these injustices over many months and to ensure that members are protected and made whole.
  4. EAA member Richard Gaydowski faced a situation that included a personal vendetta and falsified documents at the LAPD. Richard received full back pay and all references to disciplinary action were removed from his file. His EAA labor representative would settle for no less than making our brother union member whole. Richard states that "for me to endorse EAA too loudly or too strongly would be impossible".
• Diligent perseverance by EAA through the Civil Service appeal of a termination of an EAA member at LAPD resulted in the member being re-instated to work and being compensated with back pay and benefits of about $100,000. LAPD had no evidence of the alleged theft and was in fact pursuing a personal agenda in this case.
• Negotiated changing a Civil Service exempt termination of an EAA member at the Los Angeles Zoo to a voluntary resignation with a substantial cash payment to the member.
• At CDD, EAA succeeded in negotiating a settlement for a member accused of making improper comments to an outside agency. The settlement provides for an NTCD, which will be removed after only 1 year instead of the usual 5 years.
• A grievance by an EAA member at LAPD about a poorly prepared performance evaluation was resolved at the first level due to successful arguments by Labor Representative Ben Pezzillo.
• Labor Representative Darryl Cherness succeeded at arbitration in getting a 5-day suspension of a Recreation and Parks employee reduced to a NTCD. The employee was unjustly accused of encouraging a hostile work environment. The employee received the full 5 days back pay and benefits.
• An EAA member at the City Attorney's office was accused of improper behavior and comments to an outside individual. The original discipline of a 10-day suspension was reduced to a 1-day suspension as a result of the negotiating skills of Darryl Cherness.
• Staff Coordinator Angel Calvo succeeded in having a member’s suspension reduced to a counseling memo by providing proper representation and insisting on LAWA following its own policies toward discipline.
• Negative evaluations of a LAWA employee were removed from the employee's file after EAA demonstrated that the evaluations were arbitrary and unfounded.
• Through informal negotiation with a member's supervisor at the ITA, a negative evaluation was changed to a positive evaluation, benefitting the member far into the future.
• LAPD was investigating disappearance of an item allegedly in the control of an EAA member. A suggestion by the EAA representative resulted in the item being recovered and all investigations stopped.
• In the Bureau of Engineering, their Personnel Section rejected an EAA member's application for appointment as an Engineering Associate III on alleged grounds he was not qualified. The member and EAA grieved and the immediate supervisor granted the grievance as was perfectly proper. The Bureau’s Personnel Section overrode, causing EAA to file an UERP. EAA prevailed and this member can apply for all future Associate III positions.
• At the last minute, LAWA rescinded a previously-approved request for vacation for an EAA member. With the timely intervention of EAA, the vacation approval was reinstated and the member was able to travel as planned. This was accomplished by working with LAWA to find another solution to their perceived problem.
• At City Planning, EAA succeeded in resolving a member's grievance regarding the workplace at the second level of appeal.
• Informal negotiation with a member's supervisor at LAWA caused a negative evaluation to be replaced with positive evaluation. This will aid the member in future promotional opportunities.
• A supervisor at ITA exhibited harassing behavior towards an EAA member. By intervening with the HR personnel at ITA, EAA was able to have the behavior stopped permanently.
• EAA succeeded in having a 10 day suspension and paygrade demotion reduced to a 6 day suspension with no demotion for an employee at LAPD. Once again, the problem was unduly harsh discipline for the offense.
• An Office of Finance employee had a 2 day suspension reduced to a NTCD after EAA successfully demonstrated that the discipline was out of compliance with the concept of progressive discipline and was overly harsh for the offense.
• EAA and a supervisory EAA member prevailed in a grievance against an unjustified NTCD at LAPD. The NTCD was rescinded and no record of discipline placed in the employee's file.
• By actively representing a veteran member at LAPD through the Civil Service Commission appeals and hearing process, EAA succeeded in the reversal of a 10-day suspension. The member was made whole through these actions by EAA.
• At the Department of Building and Safety, the EAA representative succeeded in getting a member's request for 4 months of family leave approved. The member's request had previously been denied.

INVOLVEMENT AND RECOGNITION BY OTHER LABOR ORGANIZATIONS:

• The Jewish Labor Committee honored your Executive Director Robert Aquino with its Abe Levy award for his "honesty, integrity, and dedication to the high ideals of the union movement." Tributes were paid to him by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, by 13 members of Congress including Nancy Pelosi, by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. Bob was credited with transforming EAA "into one of the most dynamic public employee unions in California." The full event is described in your December 2008 EAA Newsletter.
• With its active representation at the Jewish Labor Committee, EAA assisted in the coordination of the 74th Anniversary Awards Recognition Brunch held by the Committee.
• Your EAA Governor Aida Tomines (MOU 20) was honored at the Working Women's Luncheon, sponsored by the Harry Bridges Institute, for her extraordinary effort on behalf of EAA members. This was the 7th annual presentation of the award, which honors women who have strengthened the union movement through their dedication and hard work. You can read the entire article about the event in your December 2008 EAA Newsletter.
• EAA representatives participate actively in the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and regularly attend its meetings.
• For the second year in a row, the Harry Bridges Institute (HBI) honored an EAA member with its Cesar Chavez Labor Person of the Year award by presenting the award to EAA Board President Michael Davies. Brother Davies is dedicated to the union movement and has been for his entire life. Previously, he worked with Cesar Chavez in organizing farm workers and was a member of the United Steel Workers. A more detailed article is contained in the Summer 2008 EAA Newsletter. Last year, the HBI award went to EAA member and Union Steward Debbie Cabeza.
• EAA Executive Director Bob Aquino was one of the labor leaders who spoke at the Harbor Coalition of Unions labor Day rally at Banning Park. SEIU leaders were conspicuous by their absence from this solidarity event.
• As active members of the LA/LB Harbor Labor Coalition, EAA continued to participate in meetings and events of this organization.

MEMBER COMMUNICATIONS ENHANCEMENTS:

• EAA continued its expansion of both representation and communication by continued training of its Union Stewards. The response of the Stewards is gratifying and we are hopeful that members already notice the increased abilities and responsibilities of the Stewards. Of course, many work locations remain without a Steward. EAA encourages any voluntary dues-paying member who wishes to work closely with EAA's elected officials and staff in providing representation and communication to co-workers, to come forth as a volunteer Union Steward. Full details on the process for becoming a Steward are available on the "Meet Your Elected Representatives" page of the EAA website.
• EAA implemented the video presentation section on the Home Page with the creation of the PowerPoint presentation "I am EAA". This presentation was designed to communicate the reality of labor unions and the benefit of EAA as your representative.
• EAA developed an improved database capable of various sorts by utilizing data from the CAO official EAA listing, CityFone, the Daily News, and other sources. This allows targeted communications regarding subjects applicable to specific groups of members.