City News Service, May 24, 2006, Wednesday

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May 24, 2006 Wednesday 5:37 PM PST

HEADLINE: City News Service

BYLINE: ART MARROQUIN

DATELINE: LOS ANGELES

BODY:
Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick will release a study tomorrow reviewing three years worth of negotiations with unions representing city employees.
The study, conducted by former California Auditor General Kurt Sjoberg and Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Negotiations, will be released by Chick during a news conference tomorrow morning.
The consulting team examined the costs of labor agreements in Los Angeles over the last three years, including base salary changes and working conditions.
The consultants also developed new procedures on how labor negotiations should be handled.
Chick and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called for changes in labor negotiations on Sept. 20, just hours after the City Council approved large raises for about 8,000 Department of Water and Power workers, represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 13.
The deal, which boosted DWP employee salaries by 16.25 percent over the next five years, was negotiated under the previous mayoral administration.
At the time, Villaraigosa said the city's method of labor negotiations was "flawed" and "outdated," and the dispute with the DWP employees "brought us to the brink of a strike that would have paralyzed our city."
Contracts with more than 20 bargaining units are either expired, or set to expire this year, including those covering Los Angeles Police Department officers, Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters and employees represented by the Engineers and Architects Association.
The Engineers and Architects Association is demanding a contract similar to the deal granted to the DWP workers, arguing their members do the same amount of work. The city is offering a contract with no raise the first year, and a 6.5 percent increase spread out over three years.
The union's members have taken an aggressive approach to making their voices heard by broadcasting radio commercials attacking Villaraigosa, holding demonstrations in front of city buildings and disrupting several of Villaraigosa's news conferences.
Union members shouted over Villaraigosa when he announced the appointment of Gloria Jeff as transportation director, then pulled similar tactics when Villaraigosa marked the start of the FlyAway bus service from Union Station to Los Angeles, and again when he presented an award to the cast and crew of the Oscar-winning film "Crash."
However, other unions have shied away from such tactics.
Earlier this month, Los Angeles police officers approved a new contract that would raise their pay by 10.25 percent over the next three years, according to the Police Protective League, which represents more than 9,300 sworn LAPD officers. The contract still requires the City Council's approval.
The city's firefighters, represented by the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, are expected to be given a deal similar to the one given to the police officers.