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Articles
EAA’S SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS SIX MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 2008
Tuesday, Jan 01, 2008BENEFITS FOR THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP/GROUPS OF MEMBERS:
• Negotiated a new Dental Plan with greater dental benefits for EAA members. Enrollment in this plan includes the Superior Vision Plan and the Landmark Chiropractic /Acupuncture plan. This combination provides better and more complete coverage than any City-sponsored plan.
• Developed a more comprehensive website to better communicate with members and to assist in educating members about the Union, their MOUs, and City regulations affecting members’ employment.
• Successfully negotiated a shift-rotation policy favorable to EAA members at Van Nuys Airport.
• Began the process of implementing an expanded Union Stewards program by challenging the former Senior Representatives to expand their knowledge and involvement in EAA. Training of the Stewards will proceed throughout 2008, resulting in improved expertise in labor matters in the workplace for all EAA-represented employees. Members are encouraged to volunteer as a Steward for their workplace as the more educated, dedicated members we have, the more effective we can be.
• Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) was required to issue back overtime pay for overtime worked, but compensated only at the straight time rate. LAWA incorrectly argued that employees working on scheduled days off can be paid straight time. The agreement pays the omitted monies for all of over 100 EAA-represented employees who had qualifying worked overtime.
• Accreted the classes of Medical Assistant, Aquarium Educators, and Observatory Program Supervisors, thus extending union representation to these previously unrepresented employees and further strengthening EAA.
• Through its membership in the Jewish Labor Committee, EAA participated in their successful fund-raising event. This continued EAA’s active participation in labor organizations with goals common to those of EAA.
• Lobbied the Civil Service Commission regarding a change in the eligibility requirements for Senior Personnel Analyst even though EAA does not represent that classification. This was to allow our represented employees to continue to be eligible to pursue that career path.
• Joined with the Writers Guild of America in their public rally and march in Hollywood and offered additional support for their ongoing strike.
• At the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), succeeded in the negotiations for automatic advancement from System Analyst I to System Analyst II after one year of service.
• The Port of Los Angeles (POLA) upgraded 5 EAA-represented positions significantly and added 2 EAA-represented positions as a condition of allowing certain construction management contracts. In additions, these contracts have provisions for oversight by or training of EAA-represented employees as appropriate.
• Worked with the Teamsters in their successful organizing event in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Our involvement in their effort is part of EAA’s commitment to the future of organized labor in southern California and provides for mutual aid between unions in times of labor conflict.
• Obtained a judgment from a hearing officer granting the CADD bonus to the Graphic Designers at LAWA.
WINS BY STAFF FOR INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS:
• A NTCD for parking violations was removed immediately from all files after the successful grievance arguments by EAA on behalf of a member working in the Office of the City Attorney.
• After a successful fight of 2 years, EAA obtained a settlement of over $70,000 in back pay for a member at the Department of Public Works. This member was injured on the job and was improperly denied this pay.
• Reversed a 5-day suspension for a veteran employee through the grievance process by demonstrating the disciplinary standard utilized by the Police Department (LAPD) did not apply to LAPD civilian employees.
• Resolved an employee’s grievance at Cultural Affairs regarding overtime that resulted in the employee receiving payment for nearly four weeks of previously uncompensated time.
• Obtained a new probationary period for an employee at LAWA after the employee had been failed during the original probationary period.
• Settled a grievance regarding personnel files at the informal level in the Fire Department.
• A General Services employee benefited from the efforts of the EAA labor representative when the member’s annual evaluation was revised from less that satisfactory overall to satisfactory overall. Additionally, specific areas were changed from less than satisfactory to satisfactory.
• Reversed a NTCD for an EAA union steward at LAPD through the grievance process by demonstrating that, in the absence of a policy regarding the matter at hand, the grievant had sought and followed management’s instructions.
• An EAA-represented employee at the Department of Aging had his 20-day suspension for violation of City policies reduced to a 1-day suspension through the efforts of the EAA labor representative.
• Probationary termination for an EAA-represented employee in a promotional position was changed to a voluntary reversion at the Controller’s Office and all records of the termination were expunged from the files.
• Succeeded in gaining one public relations position at the POLA as a condition of allowing an outside firm to prepare a manual that will be utilized to train POLA’s public relations employees.
• Retroactive pay to 2005 was awarded to two members at the bureau of Sanitation for the CADD bonus through EAA’ efforts.
• At the first level of review, obtained reclassification of a Principal Clerk I to a Principal Clerk II. This member had been worked out of class at the higher level in the City Attorney’s office.
• Convinced the Public Works Department to eliminate all record of a probationary termination and allow the EAA member to voluntarily revert to the prior classification instead. This preserved the member’s position on the Civil Service list and eligibility for possible promotion in another area.
• Despite guilty pleas to related criminal charges, negotiated a change from termination to voluntary resignation for two LAPD employees.
• Resolved a grievance at the Bureau of Engineering (BOE) with a settlement agreement that restored lost vacation pay to a member. BOE had not paid the employee for time off in a dispute about approval of vacation time.
• A member employed by CDD received approximately $50,000 in back pay and the cleansing of the member’s personnel file as a result of a settlement in a case of wrongful termination.
• Obtained agreements in writing and in several contracts issued by POLA specifying that EAA-represented employees would be trained by the contractors in areas of the contractors’ expertise so that City employees could perform that work in the future. These contracts were in the area of specialized computer programming requiring specific licenses and in specialized railroad design.
• An EAA member working at the Commission on the Status of Women had a 10-day suspension reversed in a settlement negotiated by the EAA labor representative.
• A NTCD for an EAA member at the Bureau of Sanitation was reduced to an oral warning through negotiations by EAA.
• Resolved a grievance by employees at the Office of Finance regarding the selection panel for a promotional opportunity. The results of the initial selection were voided and a new selection panel was created to re-interview the candidates.
• A member who was on stress-related leave from Public Works had 2 days of that ‘IS’ leave improperly charged as ‘AW’ by the member’s supervisor during one of the EAA strikes. This was recently reversed through EAA’s actions and the member received the 2 days back pay.
• Utilizing the grievance process, EAA’s labor representative obtained retro checks for the Retirement Benefit Specialists at Fire and Police Pensions. Management had improperly intercepted the money and applied those wages to a bogus debt created by management’s imposition of a unilateral wage cut.
• Negotiated reinstatement with back pay for an employee terminated on probation at LAWA.
• Signed an agreement with the Bureau of Engineering that will remove a NTCD from a member’s personnel file in a significantly shorter period than normally specified, provided there are no further violations of the specific City rule.
• The EAA labor representative successfully argued a grievance against the Bureau of Street Services (BSS) for a violation of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and achieved written agreement by BSS to conform to FMLA in the future.
• Resolved a probationary termination grievance at the Bureau of Street Services by signing an agreement to allow the member to voluntarily revert to the member’s previous civil service class.
