Police Publicize Pay Fight With a Ticket Strike

A contract dispute between police and city officials spells good news for traffic scofflaws, who discovered Friday that they can roll through stop signs or fail to signal for turns with impunity.

The union for police officers voted Thursday night to issue warnings, not tickets, to minor traffic offenders as a way to publicize a contract dispute.

It is the second job action in a month by the Los Alamitos Police Assn., which represents 21 sworn officers who did not get pay raises when their contract expired in November. Earlier this month, officers grew beards--violating department rules--for more than a week to protest salary levels.

“The guys are kind of disappointed that it had to come to this point,” said Detective Rod McKenzie, union vice president. “Now we are standing up and letting the people know how we feel.”

Union leaders say officers here are among the lowest paid in the county, making a top monthly salary of $3,402; the countywide average is $3,728. They vowed to continue publicly pressuring the city to offer a raise.

But City Manager Robert C. Dunek said the city cannot compromise on raises. Falling revenue, exacerbated by state budget woes, have forced cuts in varied departments, he said, and no employee has had a raise since the recession began.

“We simply do not have the means . . . to provide for a raise,” Dunek said. “We certainly would like to address . . . the decline of competitive wages. . . . Unfortunately, we are in very severe economic times.”

Police Chief James Guess said union leaders have assured him that public safety will not be compromised and that traffic offenders will be stopped, if not ticketed.

“I don’t approve of this,” Guess said. “But I understand their frustrations.”