The “landmark pension and healthcare reform agreement with a coalition of six Los Angeles civilian unions” proposed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Council President Eric Garcetti does little to eliminate the projected budget deficit of $500 million and the $11.7 billion unfunded pension liability (64.4% funded) of the City’s two pension plans, the Los Angeles City Employee Retirement System (“LACERS”) and the Fire and Police Pension Plans (“FPP”).
Rather than addressing the structural issues that are leading our City into insolvency, our Elected Elites and their campaign funding Partners in Labor are proposing a “reform” that is really just another in a long line of gimmicks that severely compromises the operational and financial flexibility of the City.
This proposed agreement also strengthens the negotiating leverage of the Coalition of LA City Unions by extending the existing agreement by a year so that so that “wages and benefits do not become hot button issues in the next mayoral election.”
Furthermore, by deferring raises to January 1, 2014, the Coalition will have a $100 million hammer to pressure the City into even more concessions for the labor agreement that now expires on June 30, 2014.
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