8TH DISTRICT REPORT | FREDDY ESCOBAR
Members of Local 112's Election Committee help ensure a smooth vote on contract that protects jobs and essential services.
Stepping Up to Keep Our Community Safe
For more than a year, the coronavirus has ravaged our country and devastated millions of American families. Firefighters and paramedics all over California have been at the forefront of this battle – responding to hundreds of thousands of coronavirus calls in California alone, operating COVID-19 testing sites, and now taking the lead in administering vaccines to essential workers and the general public.
The City of Los Angeles has been at the epicenter of the destruction that this global pandemic has created, and our LAFD firefighters and paramedics have been on the frontlines every step of the way. The coronavirus has impacted every Angeleno, including our United Firefighters of Los Angeles City (UFLAC) Local 112 fire family as two of our young firefighters lost their lives in 2020 due to job-related coronavirus.
With tens of millions of newly unemployed Americans and cities everywhere struggling to maintain basic services, local governments are being decimated with severe cuts in revenue generated by cities and counties. In Los Angeles, the city has been projecting a $600 to $700 million deficit for the current fiscal year (2020-2021). For this reason, Los Angeles city leaders have been putting pressure on all employees, including our firefighters, to come back to the negotiating table and restructure our current MOUs in order to keep the city afloat and avoid massive layoffs and cuts in service.
After several months of discussions and political posturing, particularly from our brothers and sisters in the Los Angeles Police Department who repeatedly stated that they were not willing to renegotiate their current contract, I’m proud to say that our LAFD firefighters have stepped up once again to do our part to keep services intact and protect our fellow employees.
In February more than 92% of our firefighters and paramedics voted to restructure our contract in order to save the City of Los Angeles tens of millions of dollars over the next few years. This amended contract will provide the city with desperately needed economic relief and, most importantly, it will ensure that there will not be any cuts in the Los Angeles Fire Department. In exchange for a temporary delay of scheduled raises for our members, we received guarantees from the city that the LAFD would experience no layoffs, no brownouts, and no reductions in staffing and resources in the field.
It is always hard to delay or defer wage increases and other gains made at the negotiating table as part of the collective bargaining process. As is the case with all unions, wages and benefits are extremely important to our members. However, the global pandemic has created a financial and public health crisis in our country.
Late in 2020, our entire 10-member UFLAC Executive Board was re-elected to serve another two-year term. This included 1st Vice President Chuong Ho, 2nd Vice President Adam VanGerpen, Treasurer Domingo “Alby” Albarran, Secretary Adam Walker, and Directors Kent Koffler, Dave Riles, Rich Ramirez, Shawn Connolly, and Steve Addleman.
I’d like to believe that the trust and goodwill that our Executive Board has built up with our members over the years was a big reason for the overwhelmingly positive vote on our new contract. For our UFLAC Executive Board, we understand that doing what is in the best interest of our city is perfectly compatible with doing what is in the best interest of our members. The long-term benefits of compromising with the city during this unprecedented crisis far outweigh the short-term benefits of being inflexible in this time of great need.
Our firefighters and paramedics are committed to protecting all of the communities of Los Angeles. From historic neighborhoods such as Watts, Hollywood and Boyle Heights, to wealthy communities including Brentwood and the Pacific Palisades, the people of our city rely on the service that our firefighters provide – especially during this pandemic. I am truly proud of the fact that more than 92% of our members voted to maintain our service levels and defer a raise that all of our members were looking forward to receiving.
Since our firefighters ratified our amended MOU, the Los Angeles Police Protective League suddenly “changed course” and they reached a similar tentative agreement to defer raises in order to prevent layoffs and avoid cuts in service. Their tentative agreement was approved by 59% of their members which will create millions of dollars of additional savings for the City of Los Angeles. It is safe to assume that the Police Protective League would not have agreed to their compromise if it weren’t for the fact that our firefighters led the way in doing the right thing.
In hard times, good people pull together and look after one another. Nobody is immune to the devastation of this pandemic. We are all in this together. Local 112 members have stepped up once again to lead the way in protecting our city and the families that we serve.