SPECIAL BULLETIN March 16, 2011

Technical Support Unit

Technical Support Unit Members Reject
Management’s Contract Extension Proposal
Current MOU to Remain in Effect through June 2014

The contract MOU votes of Technical Support Bargaining Unit members were tallied Tuesday evening, March 15, 2011. By a large margin, 82% of voting members chose to REJECT management’s contract extension proposal. The current MOU for the Technical Support Unit remains in effect through June 2014.

The decision of Technical Support Unit employees to reject management’s contract extension proposal comes as little surprise. At worksite meetings conducted by CAPE representatives last month, Technical Support Unit employees expressed serious concerns with management’s proposal. The CAPE bargaining team relayed those concerns to management on February 25th, but unfortunately, management refused to negotiate any changes.

One major concern of the employees was that management failed to show any economic justifications for the proposed takeaways. Technical Support Unit employees are aware of the current budget deficits facing many other public agencies and are willing to work with management as necessary to help solve problems. However, pay and benefit concessions must be economically justified.

Another major concern of the employees was the proposed term (length) of management’s contract extension proposal. The current Technical Support Unit MOU does not expire until June 2014, two years later than most other employee groups at the Sanitation Districts. Management’s refusal to bend on the 5-year term of their proposed contract extension would have forced Technical Support Unit employees to give up any opportunity to renegotiate the major terms and conditions of the MOU for eight years (through June 2019). It also would have forced the Unit to sign onto the proposed takeaways (including the proposed reduction in the annual COLA formula) for two years longer than other employee groups.

The current MOU for the Technical Support Unit remains in effect through June 2014. Unless or until management agrees to work with the CAPE bargaining team toward a more equitable contract extension for Unit employees, we expect the current MOU to be honored.

All Technical Support Unit employees are encouraged to contact the CAPE bargaining team or Timothy Farrell, Business Agent, at (213) 484-0400 with any questions regarding this important issue.

CAPE Technical Support Bargaining Team:

Pat Cashen, Industrial Waste Inspector II
(562) 699-7411 x 3529
Ted Bos, IT Technician III
(562) 699-7411 x 2954
James Beyers, Construction Inspector II
(310) 830-8050
California Association of Professional Employees
1910 West Sunset Blvd, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90026