Los Angeles Prepares for Layoffs Erip R.I.P.
With the very real possibility of furloughs getting rescinded after a federal appeals judge ruled unconstitutional the Furlough plan implemented by Prince George County.
General Managers are now tasked with making new financial assumptions or resorting to previous layoff lists established to meet the current budgets savings.
Departments have made assumptions on personnel prior to the ERIP savings, it is unknown if there will be additional names and classifications posted to this list and if departments will be forced to generate new lists of classifications to notify for layoffs. These Layoff Lists are available for download in the Forums section for most departments.
Laying off employees would start at the top and work it’s way down, since the bumping rights of senior workers would take effect. Seniority will pay off for many workers who will see vacancies at the top open up with a normal attrition rate of workers retiring and with the layoffs. Layoff Process per classification takes nearly 6 months.
Workers with less then 1 year of service could be in jeopardy if there classification is chosen for layoffs, but then Proprietary departments may choose to absorb the best candidates from those laid off as seniority and proprietary hiring are not mutually inclusive. Proprietary departments will still maintain the right to review personnel folders of candidates from what we have learned unlike other city departments.
ERIP, R.I.P. SEIU has sent out a desperate email to it’s members acknowledging the pending demise of the ERIP plan, you might remember there previous email clearly stated everything was fine and the Mayor CAO Council LACERS and Santa Claus were to blame for the mistakes, possibly misleading there members to hide the fact ERIP was so flawed and destined to fail or bankrupt LACERS.
If SEIU was so wrong on the state of the ERIP, and the outrage from it’s members could they actually publicly support a new Vote with individual options to select on how people would like to “share the sacrifice” run by the city clerk without there biased voting form and misleading propaganda?
We must work together on these issues we must have the facts and we must be allowed a free vote untarnished by the manipulation of the unions or the city.
Council should make a motion calling for the city clerk to prepare voting materials for all vested city employees clearly explaining the options and allowing the members to have a Real Vote on what our future holds.
If all members were given a voice we could actually stomach the sacrifices that lay ahead for us.
I think that it is a major mistake to count out the ERIP just yet. The City is losing $1M every day that nothing is resolved. Keep in mind with the layoffs the City will also be responsible for Unemployment payments, some medical and other expenses. In addition, there is the 6 months it will take to finally implement the layoffs. In the meantime without being able to enact furloughs, having to PAY all of the Coalition folks for their COLAs, you are going to see a City teetering on the edge if not a free fall into bankruptcy.
Do you really think after watching the LAUSD vote yesterday to contract out 20 schools that the Mayor or Council will let the ERIP go down??? If you do, then you are being short sighted and believing what the misguided EAA’s Aquino is saying. If you at all care about the City and if you are a City employee you will be praying every night that the ERIP does go through and that the City does not fall to bankruptcy.
So you know in bankruptcy, all contracts (including MOUs) are null and void. If you think EAA taking furloughs is the worst that could happen think again! If you are a contractor working for the City and seeking payment, get in line the bankruptcy court will decide if the money the City owes you will be wiped clean or if you are lucky enough to get 10 cents on the dollar owed you. Bankruptcy is UGLY! Something I don’t think ANYONE wants…so be careful for what you wish for in hoping the ERIP is dead!
There are 126 days until the end of the year…without some conclusion to this the City will be in the whole $126M by January 1st. But by then ERIP or not I will be retired…and it will fall to the other City employees to pick up the pieces.
It just makes me sick to see the City I have worked 32 years for to have fallen into this, and it makes me angry that EAA has someone who runs it that doesn’t seem to give a DAMN!