City, workers reach deal

About 22,000 Los Angeles city workers will receive raises of 14% to 25% over the next five years under a labor deal reached this week, a union spokesman said Thursday.

Six unions that represent about half the city’s workforce agreed to the contract late Sunday, minutes before the previous contract was set to expire. Among the workers who will benefit are traffic officers, trash truck drivers, clerical workers, crossing guards, tree trimmers and many others in blue collar jobs.

City sources said that the total value of the deal over five years is about $200 million, with the brunt of the costs in the last three years. The contract still must be ratified by employees and approved by the City Council.

News of the agreement comes the same week as the Department of Water and Power’s board decision to seek a rate hike and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s announcement that he intends to ask voters in February to reaffirm the city’s right to collect telephone taxes from residents.

The tax is being challenged in lawsuits, and city financial analysts said the court cases could result in the loss of $270 million annually and cause steep service cuts.

Matt Szabo, Villaraigosa’s press secretary, declined to comment on the deal, since it has not been ratified.

Szabo said, however, that there was no connection between the labor agreement and the other financial issues. Both, he said, have been ongoing for months.

Barbara Maynard, the spokeswoman for the Coalition of L.A. City Unions, said the raises were justified.

“City workers have made tremendous sacrifices for the city by forgoing pay raises in past years and taking pay raises that were smaller than the actual cost of living,” she said. “We’ve worked closely with the city through the mutual gains process to come up with an agreement that works for everyone, and we have agreed to continue to work with the city as we go forward.”

Under the last four-year deal, the unions received no raise in the first year, followed by raises of 2%, 2% and 2.25%. That has been a sticking point for the union because in 2005 many Department of Water and Power employees received a far greater raise.

The new deal provides a cost-of-living increase of 2% retroactive to July 1 and then a 2% raise on Jan. 1, 2008. The last four years of the contract provide for annual raises of 3%, 3%, 2.25% and 2.25%, respectively.

In addition, many workers who have had at least 4 1/2 years’ experience with the city will get additional 2.75% raises in the final three years of the deal.

steve.hymon@latimes.com