Furlough Challenge:
Your Help is Needed!
A Voluntary Furlough Program will help close the final $3.13 million budget gap
"I'm leading the way and encouraging everyone in my crew to take a furlough day. It just takes an average of one day from each of us. These are tough budget times, and we are dedicated to being part of the solution."
– Dave Bunjac,
Crew Leader at Hyperion and LIUNA 777 Chapter President
The City entered this budget year facing a huge shortfall -- $300 million by some estimates. The Coalition of L.A. City Unions, through our “mutual gains bargaining process,” worked hand-in-glove with the City to make sure that the budget was balanced with the least impact to City services and City workers.
At the end of the day, more than 700 budgeted positions were eliminated, a budgetary move that kept current City workers off the unemployment line while reducing overall payroll costs. Further, the unions’ work during the past few years through the joint-labor management committee to slow down health care costs has helped the budget significantly. And the dozens of smart ideas submitted by workers across the City have just begun to make an impact.
All of our hard work together has made a tremendous difference, but we have just a little bit more to go. We need your help to close a $3.13 million budget gap through voluntary furloughs. This may seem like a lot of money, but to reach the goal each person who is eligible (see below) just needs to take an average of ONE DAY off unpaid between now and the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 2009).
That’s the good news. The bad news is that if we fall short of our goal, the remaining amount could be made up in mandatory furloughs at the end of the year for anyone who hasn’t taken one. Better to take furloughs now at a time of your choosing and when it fits in your family’s budget!
If you can take more than one furlough day, please do! It’s no secret that the downturn in the economy is affecting local government budgets. So the more we can save this year, the better shape the City will be in next year. Every furlough day makes a difference! "We’re all in this together as a city—the workers, the residents and city officials. This is our city, it’s facing a real problem, and city workers are part of the solution. We want to do everything we can to maintain the high level of services that city residents are used to and expect.”– Bob Schoonover, Heavy Equipment Mechanic and SEIU 721 Vice President
Click here for answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Voluntary Furlough Agreement...
Click on links for more updates.
Coalition Reaches Agreement Over Furloughs
Can 4 out of 5 Civil Service Commissioners be Wrong?
Coalition Continues to Fight Layoffs and Cuts
City Employees Step up/Speakout to Save City Services
Coalition Works to Protect Services and Avert Layoffs
L.A. City Workers Take
Initiative in Attacking Budget Problem
We are Proud to Serve LA
Jun 28, 2007 - We are the workers who keep Los Angeles running...
September 7, 2007 - Coalition Makes Impact on
Labor Day |
