L.A. council puts off DWP pay raise vote

The Los Angeles City Council delayed a vote today on a five-year package of raises for employees of the Department of Water and Power, pushing that decision to Friday.

Much of this morning’s meeting has been consumed by the council’s efforts to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries.
                               
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has thrown his support behind the labor agreement, which provides a 3.25% increase this year, followed by four raises ranging from 2% to 4%, depending on inflation. Villaraigosa said he was happy that the first-year increase would be in the form of a cash payout -- ensuring that it won’t add to the base salary of DWP workers.

“That’s the gift that keeps on giving,” said Villaraigosa, whose appointees on the DWP board have already approved the increase.

Critics of the DWP have assailed the contract, which comes at a time when other city workers are seeing zero raises or, in some cases, pay cuts. But representatives of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18, which represents more than 8,000 DWP employees, have defended the agreement, saying the first-year cash payment will not add to the utility’s retirement costs.

Over five years, a cash payment would help the DWP avoid $330 million in retirement costs, union leaders said. DWP officials provided a considerably smaller estimate, putting the pension savings at $180 million.

Pension costs have become a serious concern at the DWP, which experienced a 15% loss in its investment portfolio last year. In October, the city’s top budget official issued a report saying the major cost of the five-year contract would be future payments into the DWP’s retirement system.

The five-year contract could cause pension costs at the DWP to go up by more than 150%, the report said.

-- David Zahniser at L.A. City Hall

Comments

[Kathy Rae]

NO raises at this time. Let's lower rates and taxes for those of us who are living on less. Let's allow our money to go a little further-not to have to pay higher utility rates to fund raises for this select well paid group. There are too many of us who are having to subsist on less.

[jay]

I just feel like I'm being robbed!!!!

[Two Cents]

And just who do you think they're passing on the costs for all the water main breaks to? I'm betting the ratepayers... And the City Council is more than happy to approve bonuses and raises for DWP employees, but they don't tell you that some of your emergency services personnel (your 911 operators) have started taking furlough days. So I guess it's more important for the DWP employees to get bonuses and raises, than it is for the residents of the City to have emergency personnel available to them.

[Astonished]

The gift that keeps on giving!!! Who the heck is he kidding! The only one getting the gift is himself!

[Peg]

These people already get way overpaid PLUS outrageous retirement. Their union donates heavily to politicians. If they need money so badly, perhaps they should ask their union for the lobbying money back. Do you know ANYONE who got a raise this year? Anyone not working for government, I mean? Ask Social Security recipients how much their benefits went up this year. 0%.

[dzzrtRatt]

150 percent?

[Larry]

No Raise for DWP. This is wrong!

[andrew nelson]

Is it just me or does it seem slightly insane to give wage increases during the same time Los Angeles city workers and CA state workers are being furloughed and laid off and the unemployment rate is 12.7%? There is no inflation of prices that I can see that would justify this increase, nor has there been an increase in the quality of service. Is this just a union payoff? When do normal Angelinos get a break? Why not have a year contract, no salary increase, and renegotiate for next year when, hopefully, times are better? The bad news just keeps coming and coming.

[Adam]

Well I'm glad uneducated bafoons are getting a raise. My salary was just cut 40% (and I have a post-graduate degree).

Got to love this country!

[Louweegie272]

Steve Lopez has a great article about the DWP today. It's disgusting to see how one union can have so much power.

[BLW]

With all the water main breaks, raising water rates and L.A. not having any money, they should have rejected any raises (or put off voting for it) at least until the recession is over. They're overpaid as it is anyway.

[A Concerned American]

What a joke!!!

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has thrown his support behind the labor agreement, was he not a labor union rep prior??? No wonder he agress with this while others are without work, running out of unemployment benifits, on furloughs.

Steve Lopez has a great article about the DWP today on how an exec. secetary for the DWP can make close $100,000 a year. YEP, I did put in the correct amount of zeros.
The country, state and counties are going broke but these fools beleive that they need or deserve more money????

[Ridiculous]

The reality is that the Los Angeles ratepayers are the owners/investors of the LADWP. It's very clear that ratepayers are saying NO to this. But elected officials, who relied on IBEW Local 18 to win office are in an awkward position to either represent the public's interest or the interest of their financial supporters, the union. It's pretty certain which they will support the pay raise. What will be interesting is the comparing the votes between officials who received IBEW campaign contributions and those who did not.

[Umm]

If you receive a DWP rate increase ever again, print out this article and send it in the remittance envelope, instead of a check.

And if you EVER IN LIFE vote for an incumbent on the City Council (or for that matter, anyone endorsed by an incumbent), you deserve what you get. Wake up, Los Angeles!!!

[Kent]

I think its time to privatize the DWP. Right now they answer to no one, they can print their own money----by raising rates, so at the end of the day they have no desire to be fiscally responsible.

Spin half of it off to the citizens of LA and let LA city hang on to the over part via a trust.

[patrick]

This delay comes the morning after the DWP labor union (IBEW) endorsed candidate Christine Essel lost big-time, despite or because of all the money they dumped into her race. The councilmembers got the hint and decided to delay, like with everything that's controversial. They're good at avoidance, while they focus on some obscure issue or feel-good resolution outside their jurisdiction.

As this article notes, the mayor supports the DWP raise, and tying it to Essel who he allegedly supported (along with Controller Wendy Greuel, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and his assistant David Berger, Zine, Rosendahl, Perry and Hahn, Parks, etc.) helped sinker her like the Titanic. His insistence on ramming Measure B down the throats of wary taxpayer advocate groups and even suing them (and losing) was a prime rallying cry against Jack Weiss, who in fact had nothing to do with DWP or Measure B, but Garcetti and most of the council did. Guess it took this second lesson for the Council to finally feel the 2X4: but did the Mayor?

Even the Police Political League which poured $400,000 into Essel's campaign hoping to get the same VIP treatment the DWP does even at the expense of cutting a class of recruits and shrinking the LAPD, is mad. (The rank & file cops, even angrier that the PPL has again thrown a ton of their dues at an outsider candidate with no experience supporting law enforcement just because they think they can buy her - it backfired with Loose Canon Trutanich who's too disliked and distrusted to get anything done, and this time because Essel was tarred with associations to BOTH Trutanich and the Mayor, their money was a total loss.)

This Council MUST start making the right decisions for the right reasons, all down the line. They work for the public, who demands safety and basic services, and is telling them loud and clear that raises our taxes and rates to pay off their campaign donors has to end.

[Christian]

how are these people getting RAISES?!?! They should be getting cuts for ever water main breaks that have occurred all over! Well cuts in general so our bills will go back down too! (like that will happen!)

Gotta tell John and Ken show about this!

[Robert]

Since Antonio is not running for anything now, he may not care that he's stealing money from the ratepayers instead of working for them. He works for the unions, here it's IBEW, and that's his m.o. over his career.

This may come up later when he will inevitably lines up another political office to run for. His narcissism and arrogance overwhelms any desire he has to do right for the public at large. Special interests and self-agrandizement direct his actions

[Two Cents]

Interesting how the moderators here at the Times won't post certain things...for instance, I tried to post a comment earlier about how some of the City's emergency services workers (911 operators) are being furloughed, while the DWP employees are getting bonuses and raises....and how I wonder if the ratepayers are getting the costs of the water main breaks passed onto them...and how the City Council can get themselves behind this. Is there a reason that post wasn't approved? Maybe this one will get by the moderators...we'll see...

[LA City employee]

We city employees who are on furlough days are so pissed off that the Mayor has approved a raise to DWP employees. We are losing so much pay and are struggling to pay our mortgages and bills while DWP is getting raises and have no clue what it feels like to lose a large amount of money each month. There will be a mass exodus of furloughed departments to DWP! Everyone I talk to wants to work there so they won't have to be on furlough days thus losing their homes and cars! We employees can not stand the Mayor! We have absolutely no respect for him and I speak for the majority of City employees!

[LA City employee]

Why is it that the Mayor is happy to approve a raise for DWP? While at the same time he is happy that the majority of city employees are on furlough days? The City of Los Angeles (the Mayor) is constantly spending money that they claim they do not have but they spend money on a laker parade, funerals, ugly LAPD sculptures, christmas parade etc... I am thankful I do not live in the City of Los Angeles paying those enormous DWP fees but unfortunately I work for the City and I am struggling with these furlough days!

[Julian B Duron]

Putting off this vote now only means this council will sneak thru a vote on a future Friday when no one is paying attention. Local 18 IBEW’s 1.5 Million dollars in campaign contributions to this Mayoral Patron buy’s a lot of political influence.
QUID PRO QOU is now the rule of this Chicago style Political Machine in Los Angeles now. Until the voters of Los Angeles decide to either vote out these bad decision makers that are costing taxpayers millions and stiffing a select group of unions with the bill.
Can a re-call of the corrupt Political Machine elected be mounted in time to save this city? If it smells bad, it is. City Attorney Tru has his hand full to the depth of how far up the chain of command the smell goes. But is no big mystery to me.

[Two Cents]

I don't think very many City employees (except the ones that work for the Mayor or the Council members) have any respect for any of them. They operate with seeming disregard for the citizens of LA and the employees of the City. They continue funding for their favorite projects, travel, etc, etc... There are 2 City Council members drawing police pensions and a large City Council salary. I would be interested to know just HOW MANY members of the Mayor's or Council Member's staffs are taking furlough time...the same furloughs that are being imposed on most other City employees.

[crooks and liars]

city hall dont have no respect for the taxpayers of los angeles
is mad what they get alway doing
the ladwp is run by a mobster, who dont give a dam who he moves out of his way is his way or no way at all
this will stop when the taxpayes say no more and i belive is coming we will get slap one time but not a second time

[A Nonny Mouse]

DWP rates are currently considerably lower than Edison rates.
City employees are complaining about layoffs and furloughs, yet DWP is currently hiring laid off city workers. Don't complain that you don't like your job. DWP is hiring. Take a course, pass a test, join the workforce and stop the whining.