City Recreation Aides Allege Job Abuses

Recreation assistants who run after-school, preschool and sports programs at dozens of centers scattered around Los Angeles plan to sue the city today, charging that they have been routinely forced to work off the clock to keep their low-wage jobs.

Eight workers are named in the suit, which seeks class-action status covering 2,500 current and former employees. Several of the plaintiffs have held their jobs for more than a decade, occasionally filling in as center directors for no extra pay.

The lawsuit, which was to be filed in Superior Court this morning, was prepared by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which is in the midst of negotiating a first contract for the recreation assistants.

Jane Kolb, a spokeswoman for the Recreation and Parks Department, declined to comment. “We are in the middle of negotiations with them,” Kolb said. “There’s really not much I can say. I’m not aware of a lawsuit.”

The recreation assistants typically earn less than $10 an hour and are not entitled to health benefits, vacations or other perks because they are considered intermittent employees. Technically, such workers cannot put in more than 1,040 hours per year--equivalent to a half-time job--although many say their responsibilities consume more time. To meet the demands of the job, the suit alleges, the assistants work off the clock. Others are subject to months-long layoffs when they exceed their hours.

One plaintiff, Ignacio Acosta Jr., was home during such a layoff this spring when his supervisor asked him to volunteer to staff the center’s annual carnival. He was paid for the same job the previous year. “I kind of figured I would be in trouble if I didn’t do it,” said Acosta, who has worked at the Lemon Grove Recreation Center in central Los Angeles for 14 years.

He now runs the center three nights a week while working by day as a security guard at movie sets. “I guess after 15 years of being laid off a lot and working two jobs, I felt like enough was enough,” said Acosta, who said his requests for a promotion have been ignored.

For sisters Paula Moss and Paulette Lewis, who have staffed the Green Meadows Recreation Center in southeast Los Angeles for 11 years, the matter is one of respect. The two have a stack of certificates from the city and its Police Department recognizing their volunteerism. What they want, they said, are benefits and job security.

“This should get their attention,” Lewis said of the lawsuit. “We hope they wake up and see that we’re more valuable than they think we are.”

A study ordered by the City Council in November found that the Recreation and Parks Department employs by far the largest number of intermittent workers in the city. At least 750 such employees logged 900 to 1,040 hours last year.

Speculation on Hahn’s Position

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who heads the council’s Personnel Committee, said he is pushing for an end to the dispute. “This really comes down to whether or not we have a practice that is unfair and exploitative,” Ridley-Thomas said. “We have not been able to get good information from the appropriate staff at this point.”

So far, Mayor Richard Riordan has stayed out of the dispute. Mayor-elect James Hahn--who was supported by the union--is expected to be more receptive, however.

Councilwoman Laura Chick, who will take over as city controller next month, said she supports converting the jobs to part-time positions. “These are city employees who are working with our youth,” Chick said. “It’s an important job, and it is one that we should value. When it comes to our children, we want the best. If people feel they are being treated fairly, they will perform better.”

But Councilman Nate Holden said the seasonal employees knew what they were getting into when they accepted their jobs. “When they took the job, they took it as seasonal,” Holden said. “And now they think they have grounds to sue the city?”