Another Labor Group Against Charter Reform

Organized labor’s opposition to City Charter reform mounted Thursday, as representatives of almost 10,000 longshore and warehouse workers in the Port of Los Angeles announced that they will not support the charter initiative.

The Southern California District Council, the political and educational arm of the powerful International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said it will oppose the measure on the June ballot.

The council represents workers and pensioners in six union locals in the harbor area whose ranks include dock bosses, marine clerks, longshore workers, warehouse employees, harbor pilots and crews of tugboats and work boats.

“We realize the wheels of city government are slow and we need better service, but we don’t need to spend more tax dollars, elect more City Council members and have more mayoral appointees,” said Luisa Gratz, president of the district council and warehouse Local 26.

She said the council has written opposition letters to City Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr., who also opposes charter reform, and to Janice Hahn, the harbor-area representative on one of the charter reform commissions.

As the June 8 vote approaches, Gratz said, the organization will distribute leaflets to union members that are critical of the proposed charter amendments.

The council’s action comes three days after the political education committee of the County Federation of Labor voted to oppose charter reform after hearing from the effort’s two major proponents, Mayor Richard Riordan and City Atty. James Hahn.

On Monday, the federation’s vote stunned supporters of the proposed charter because many of the group’s leaders had touted its benefits to organized labor, and reform advocates had expected to win support of the federation’s committee.

Although the federation opposes the charter initiative, that alliance of local unions is not planning to campaign against the measure as the Southern California District Council is.

Gratz said her organization formulated its position after studying the issue for several weeks and hearing arguments, both pro and con, from Janice Hahn and Svorinich’s chief of staff, Barry Glickman.

“In light of the federation’s decision, this is no surprise,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, chairman of the elected charter commission. “Overall, I think the shift in labor from support to opposition has been caused by strong pressure from some City Council members.”

A majority of the City Council now opposes the proposed charter, and those members have lobbied city unions, whose contracts the council negotiates, to join the fight against the measure.

“Again, what we’ve got is the City Council and their camp followers trying to keep the status quo,” said Bill Wardlaw, a lawyer who is Riordan’s closest advisor. “The charter is in the best interest of all residents in Los Angeles, particularly working men and women.”

Representatives of the Southern California District Council say they oppose the proposed charter for a variety of reasons, including what they say is its concentration of too much power in the mayor’s office and its potential creation of costly new bureaucracies.

The option of increasing the City Council from 15 to 25 members, they say, might raise city expenses, lead to more divisiveness and dilute the current power of the council.

They also say a new charter is not needed to establish neighborhood councils that might improve community representation in city politics.

“We are not saying by any means that the city is perfect,” Gratz said. “We just think charter reform as drafted would fall short of any meaningful alternative to deal with the same problems.”

The rising opposition to the proposal has brought together an odd mix of interests, as demonstrated Thursday during a news conference held by opponents.

Among those gathered in front of a historic fire station in Hollywood were Bobbi Fiedler, a conservative former congresswoman best known for her opposition to court-ordered busing; Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, one of the council’s leading liberals; council President John Ferraro, who fought to limit the power of proposed neighborhood councils; and Gordon Murley, a homeowner advocate who fought to strengthen them.

Their arguments against the charter were similarly cross-cutting. Ferraro maintained that Riordan’s success in adding police officers, paving streets and expanding library hours demonstrated that good things were possible under the existing system, and therefore the proposed reform is unnecessary.

Councilman Mike Hernandez, whom Riordan once called upon to resign, also opposes the charter but said at the news conference that his position was based in part on a distaste for the mayor and his allies.

Murley acknowledged the unusual bedfellows represented in the assembled group, but said he was honored to join so many people with whom he had disagreed on past issues.

“We’re all smart enough to oppose this charter,” he said.