Unit 14 Civil Service Report – January 2022

Sisters and Brothers,

I hope you are all doing well and staying safe. Hopefully by now you have taken the necessary steps to get vaccinated for COVID-19 to protect yourself, your families and your coworkers. The relatively new Omicron variant, while seemingly less virulent, is much more pervasive.

L.A. City

We, along with the Building Trades and the Coalition of City Unions, are currently negotiating a wage reopener with the city. These negotiations are primarily dealing with wage inequity proposals. I will keep you apprised as to any developments that concern our members. The full contract negotiations will begin this summer, so please take the time now to send me any proposals.

LAUSD

Several members have raised concerns about being required to report time away following a positive COVID test result, or a close contact exposure. This concern has been addressed with the District with the following response;

“Employees required to isolate as the result of a positive, lab-confirmed COVID-19 test, or quarantine as the result of close contact exposure as determined by a Community Engagement Team, shall be paid without having to utilize contractual or statutory leave time. Employees in these situations should indicate MSND on their Certification of Absence forms.”

We are still negotiating your successor agreement and we are fully aware of how long this process has taken. We ask for your continued patience so that we can bring you a contract that is worthy of your vote.

L.A. County

Unfortunately, very little progress has been made in negotiations. The county stance is that all bargaining units accept no raises in favor of a contract extension. This is not acceptable either to IBEW Local 11, or to the Building Trades in general. I will keep you updated.

HACLA

In December, our members voted in favor of ratifying the tentative agreement for a successor MOU. The vote passed by a majority of 67% and was subsequently approved by the Board of Commissioners. The new contract is for a term of three years with increases each year of 4%, 3% and 3% respectively. It also includes a one-time COVID appreciation bonus of $1,500 payable the month following its adoption.

For further information, please feel free to contact me. Fraternally,

Luis Arida
Civil Service Business Representative
(626) 712-4769
arida@ibew11.org