LOS ANGELES : In Split Vote, Council Approves DWP Settlement
In a divided vote Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council formally approved the contract settlement it reached in September with striking workers at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Some dissenting council members wanted to reconsider the controversial 9% pay raise over three years, saying it was too costly and has led other employee groups--such as the police and firefighter unions--to seek the same.
But City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie argued that DWP workers are paid from utility rates, not the taxes and fees that support most other city employees. “Our credibility with the collective bargaining process would be diminished greatly if not entirely” if the council altered its own settlement offer, Comrie said.
The DWP contract won approval 8 to 5, with council members Hal Bernson, Marvin Braude, Rudy Svorinich Jr., Joel Wachs and Rita Walters dissenting.
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