Mothers tout DWP lactation service; chief says it will stay

About 50 stern-faced mothers who work at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power confronted the agency’s board Tuesday and won the ability to keep using lactation services provided as a benefit of employment.

Some members of the group, organized by their union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18, lined the boardroom holding signs that read: “Mayor Villaraigosa’s appointee: Nick Patsaouras is anti-women.”

Last week, Patsaouras, who was appointed by the mayor to the DWP board presidency, questioned whether the benefit should be paid for by taxpayers and said he would not vote to renew the contract with a lactation specialist who provides counseling and education on breast-feeding to new-parent employees.

But DWP General Manager H. David Nahai told board members that the service is “within my jurisdiction and I will not terminate it.” Nahai has discretion over any contract under $150,000, and this contract is capped at $50,000.

Agency officials say the benefit has been available to employees since 1988.

Sarah Perez, 35, who works in the DWP’s environmental services division, described how helpful the specialist was to her and added that since returning from her five-month maternity leave, she has missed only four days of work to care for her 19-month-old, Joaquin. “He is healthy because he was breast-fed,” Perez said after her testimony.

Also appearing before the board was Jodel Navarro, a supervisor in the DWP’s print shop. In an interview before she spoke, she said: “My son was a 1.5-pound, four-month preemie who was supposed to die. But the specialist told me to force Kaiser to take him out of the incubator and let me breast-feed him. The doctor swears that is why he’s alive. Johnny’s now 13.”

Navarro, 50, said she also made use of the on-site breast milk pumps available at DWP offices. The agency has a separate contract of up to $25,000 with Medela, a breast pump manufacturer, to provide the pumps for use by employees.

The mothers on hand included Wendy Ramallo, wife of DWP Director of Public Affairs Joe Ramallo. Wendy Ramallo did not use the DWP benefit but -- with son A.J. in a stroller nearby -- criticized taxpayer watchdog Walter Moore, who first raised questions about the expenditure last week. She told the board that a private lactation consultant, not her healthcare provider, recognized that her son had jaundice and sat with her for hours as she struggled to breast-feed properly.

“For those, like Mr. Moore who don’t know what lactation services are, I suggest they come out of their caves and join us in 2008,” Ramallo said.

After the meeting, Moore said it was appropriate to question the service. “If they wouldn’t try to hit the taxpayer and ratepayer for every stupid program they can think of, then maybe I wouldn’t have to live in a cave,” he said. “The issue isn’t whether classes on lactation or anger management or Pilates or sphincter control are of some value to someone. The issue is why should we, the taxpayers and ratepayers, foot the bill for every frivolous program someone claims is of value to them.”

DWP spokesman Ramallo said his agency’s healthcare providers are not interested in providing lactation services. “Our health managers feel that were we to negotiate it, it would cost more than this contract,” he said.

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daniela.perdomo@latimes.com

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Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.