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DWP Board to Weigh Higher Pay for Workers

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Times Staff Writer

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power workers would see their pay increase at least 17% and perhaps as much as 34% over the next five years under a proposal that has drawn objections from some City Council members and union leaders.

The raises, to be considered today by the DWP board, would dwarf those for employees in other city departments and add to the disparity between salaries at the public utility and the rest of the city workforce.

The proposed contract poses a challenge for newly elected Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was backed by the union that represents DWP workers but ran on a platform calling for more fiscal responsibility.

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Councilman Tony Cardenas, who heads the committee that oversees the DWP, said he is troubled by the proposal and vowed that the new contract, which requires council approval, will be closely scrutinized.

“In the midst of water rate increases, lawsuits lost by DWP and environmental mitigation, we need to thoroughly look at the current financial capacity and stability of this department,” he said.

Councilman Greig Smith also has serious concerns that the raises are out of step with what other city departments are offering, said Mitchell Englander, Smith’s chief of staff. “He has concern over the disparity issue when people at the same job receive different amounts of money at different city departments.”

The DWP, a semi-independent city agency, generates its own revenue through water and power fees and has been so successful that its surpluses of more than $100 million have been tapped each year by the City Council to help cover costs of other city departments.

Under the contract proposal negotiated by DWP managers and union leaders, the DWP would pay nearly 8,000 employees raises tied to the consumer price index for urban wage earners. The employees, represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18, would be guaranteed annual raises of at least 3.25% and could receive as much as 6% if inflation rises.

Villaraigosa does not plan to intercede by pressing the DWP to renegotiate the contract, his spokesman said, noting that the deal was negotiated under the administration of former Mayor James K. Hahn.

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“He would not have negotiated the same deal,” said Joe Ramallo, a spokesman for Villaraigosa, noting that the mayor has concerns about escalating labor costs. “He knows we cannot fiscally sustain this kind of growth.”

But Ramallo explained that Villaraigosa believes the city could be accused of unfair labor practices if it tries to scuttle a deal that has already been approved by the union membership.

A recent study by the city administrative officer confirmed that a gap exists between wages paid to DWP workers and employees of council-controlled departments, officials said.

An equipment mechanic makes up to $61,700 working for most city agencies, but the same job can pay $67,067 at the DWP. An entry-level civil engineering associate can expect to make $2,000 more a year working for the DWP than other city agencies.

Mechanics who fix DWP vehicles earn as much as 27% more than mechanics who keep police cars running, according to officials with the Service Employees International Union, Local 347, which represents non-DWP employees.

Robert Hunt, general counsel for the SEIU local, said he believes the gap may be as much as 10% overall.

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That disparity would be increased by the new contract, critics contend.

In comparison to the minimum 3.25% per year proposed for DWP workers, the last contract for the 10,000 blue-collar employees working for council-controlled departments increased wages an average of 2.08% per year for three years, but included no raise last year.

Police officers also received less than DWP workers would get, winning a contract averaging 3% per year.

Hunt said city employees not working for the DWP feel betrayed by the DWP contract proposal.

“The main issue is it’s still one city,” said Hunt, who noted that his members agreed to a wage freeze because the city said it was in difficult financial straits. “Since news of this fairly sizable increase came out, our members have expressed outrage and frustration.”

In defending the contract proposal, DWP Chief Operating Officer Henry Martinez said the agency must compete with other utilities, which generally pay more to engineers and other skilled workers than do city agencies.

“We have to compete for the skills and crafts with other utilities,” he said, adding that some positions such as linemen and splicers “are in short supply and high demand.”

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The electrical workers union represents about 96% of DWP workers, so some employees such as mechanics are benefiting from the competitive market for more specialized utility workers.

However, the disparity has led to a brain drain from some city agencies as employees repairing firetrucks and police cars realize they can make more fixing vehicles for the DWP, Englander said.

“We’re not just talking about money. We’re talking about saving lives,” the council deputy said.

The concern has come to the attention of the DWP board, which still consists of members appointed by Hahn.

Board member Silvia Saucedo said she has not decided how she will vote today. “I am still looking at it,” she said.

The electrical workers union hopes the contract will be approved today by the current board. Otherwise, the matter could be deferred for consideration by the board that Villaraigosa is about to appoint. His nominees are expected to include at least two environmentalists: Mary Nichols, director of the Institute of the Environment at UCLA and a former California resources secretary; and H. David Nahai, an attorney and member of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

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The electrical workers union was one of only a few unions to launch major campaigns for Villaraigosa, a former union organizer. The union’s defense league spent $306,000 independently to support Villaraigosa’s election.

During the campaign, Villaraigosa asserted that Hahn failed to expand the police force as promised in part because he spent most of the city’s new revenue on raises for employees. After the election, Villaraigosa said the city would have to scale back to avoid budget deficits.

The mayor does not have veto power over the DWP contract if it is approved by the City Council, Ramallo said.

Electrical workers union leader Brian D’Arcy said the contract will probably result in raises of 3.25%, not 6%, because he does not expect inflation to rise that much.

“It’s by no means a rich contract,” he said. “We are a revenue-producing department that has direct competition in our industry.”

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