City Cannot Afford Raises Due July 1

L.A.'s top budget official says the city cannot afford to pay raises due to roughly 20,000 employees July 1, according to correspondence obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana Tuesday sent a letter to members of the Coalition of L.A. City Unions calling for the reopening of contract talks, citing a $220 million budget shortfall that looms in the fiscal year starting July 1, the Los Angeles Times reported today. He wrote that raises for coalition members would cost the city $105 million over the next two years.

"Funding of these salary increases in fiscal year 2012-13 alone may require laying off 200 to 250 full-time general fund employees, particularly since furloughs are not an option," warned Santana, who, according to the Times, said he was acting on instructions from the city's negotiating committee, which comprises Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and four council members.

The letter, which said labor costs are rising faster than new revenue, disappointed David Sanders, regional director for the cities division of Service Employees International Union Local 721, which belongs to the union coalition. He told the Times the coalition had saved hundreds of millions of dollars by making concessions, reducing the size of the workforce and paying more for retirement benefits.   "In no way whatsoever would we agree to reopen the contract," Sanders told the newspaper. "We went through this process with Miguel, and we negotiated in good faith. For him to renege on that, it lacks integrity on his part."

The coalition represents such employees as sanitation workers, custodians, librarians and park maintenance employees. Its members are scheduled to see salaries increase by 3.7 percent starting July 1. Of that total, 2.25 percent will be a raise. Another 1.5 percent comes from no longer having to give up four work days.