eNewsletter - August 21, 2009
Public Defender Chapter Organizes and
Saves 11 Attorneys from Layoff
SF Redevelopment Agency Members Ratify New Contract
Is Your Name on The List?
Save-The-Date! March with Local 2 on September 7, Labor Day
Save-The-Date! How to Reduce Your Stress - SF & East Bay Workshops Scheduled
Training Opportunity for California Democratic Women Interested in Public Office
San Francisco Food Assistance
Public Defender Chapter Organizes and
Saves 11 Attorneys from Layoff
When the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved the county budget more than a month ago, it slashed $1.4 million in salary and benefits for 14 attorneys in the Public Defenders Office, effectively forcing the department to turn away at least 10,200 defendants over the next year because of a lack of staff to provide adequate representation. The staffing cuts represented almost 14% of attorneys on staff, and marked the first time in the department's 82 year history where it had to stop handling a number of cases. Because of the Chapter leadership's vigilance, the County will be restoring 11 of the 14 eliminated positions, ensuring that public sector work is not contracted out to private attorneys, and the public receives a greater level of accountability.
Despite staffing levels and the availability of the Public Defender's Office to provide an attorney, all indigent defendants have a constitutional right to representation. The County is obligated to pay for their defense with public funds if the Public Defender is unable to provide adequate representation for any reason. However, the Local 21 Public Defenders Chapter was able to show that contracting out the legal defense work costs double, if not more, than employing Public Defenders to do the work in-house.
Early on, the County acknowledged its obligation to meet and confer with the Union over how workloads will be addressed, and conceded that it could not contract out any work before bargaining with the Union. Regardless, the County attempted to go ahead and contract out the work prior to bargaining with Local 21.
The Union threatened to file an Unfair Practice Charge with the Public Employment Relations Board over the County's refusal to meet and confer before hiring private attorneys to perform public work, even after it acknowledged its obligation to bargain. Furthermore, we argued that the County can only lay off employees when there is either a lack of funds or a lack of work. In this case, neither of the two requirements was met; there is no lack of work, and the County was willing to pay private attorneys more than it would cost to employ Public Defenders being laid off.
On August 11, the County halted all efforts to contract out the Public Defender work, and agreed to restore 11 positions. Negotiations are ongoing to restore the three other positions and prevent any layoffs and reductions in services to clients.
The Chapter leadership's success was attributable to a multifaceted approach involving mobilizing the public to contact their representative on the County Board of Supervisors, drawing attention to the importance of adequate funding and staffing levels in the public defender's office in the press, independently advocating for the restoration of positions with individual Board of Supervisors members, and our credible legal threat based on the failure to bargain before outsourcing the work.
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SF Redevelopment Agency Members Ratify New Contract
Local 21 members at the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency unanimously ratified a new two-year contract on August 5. In light of the Agency's financial hardships and the state's decision to take money from redevelopment agencies across California, members agreed to forgo cost-of-living increases and four day's pay per year, in exchange for four additional floating holidays annually. The decision reflects a choice many chapters are being faced with as the recession deepens and continues to permeate all sectors of the economy.
The agreement allows for any employees who retire before July 1, 2012 to be made whole in regard to all retirement calculations. Additionally, the agency agrees to undertake a study determining the comparability of agency classifications to City and County of San Francisco classifications, allowing for a re-opener to negotiate benchmarks, as well as a joint labor management committee to explore improving retirement benefits and increasing the utilization of extended range pay. All other terms of the previous contract remain in effect, with no changes to benefits.
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Is Your Name on The List?
Since June, nearly 100 Local 21 members have stepped up to invest in local government public services and jobs by becoming members or increasing their donations to the TJ Anthony Fund for Political Action.
So far this year, we've played key roles in campaigns to win new revenue measures in Oakland and Hayward, saving more than one hundred jobs and many services. It is likely that other communities will place new revenue measures on the ballot in June, 2010. Your donation pays for phone calls to voters, campaign flyers, and outreach to members. All for just $7.50 a paycheck, or whatever you can afford.
For the cost of bringing your lunch to work once or twice a month, these members are joining hundreds of current TJ members helping to elect Mayors, Council members, Supervisors, and Assembly members who understand the unique issues facing Local 21 members and win approval of revenue measures at the ballot box.
A warm welcome and a BIG thank you to the Wonderful One-Hundred:
James Baker, Cliff Bell, Barnett Bolton, Michael Bradley, Marilyn Brandt, Rachelle Brown, Robert Brown, Danny Burns, Joyce Carlson, Samuel Casas, Michael Casey, Joseph Castro, Carlos Chavez, Lin-Shao Chin, Cassandra Costello, James Cramer, Steven Danziger, Sheila Davis-Jackson, Jignesh Desai, Roland Ditan, Rebecca Dowdakin, Jo Elias-Jackson, Allen Ellickson, Terrance Fahey, David Feld, Timmothy Felton, Nancy Ferguson, Brian Gatter, Gary Gee, George Gomez, Neil Gray, Larry Griffin, Adam Gubser, Tawfic Halaby, Martha Hanson, Andrew Hayward, Mark Henderson, Meghan Horl, Andrew Houston, Kimberly Hui, Adlai Jew, Jeffery Johnson, Orin Johnson, Michelle Johnston, Ulla-Britt Jonsson, Jeffrey Krohn, Stephen La-Plante, Tedman Lee, Jaime Leon, Robert Lopez, Lily Louie, Romando Lucchesi, Albert Lujan, Elisa Marquez, Sylvia McDaniel, Ameal McLaurin, Francisco Mejia, Robert Mertens, Maria Molloy, Audrey Montana, Christia Mulvey, Robert Newman, Dorothy Norris, Rolando Padilla, Jodi Pascual, Fara Perez, Dominique Pinkney, Jeremy Pollock, Ramona Portillo, Uday Prasad, Cathy Purcell, Natalie Ramirez, Anthony Reese, Lori Reese-Brown, Carolyn Rissanen, Gloria Rivera-Lawson, Jason Rohwer, Alan Rosenlicht, Ronald Russell, Maria Ryan, Maryann Sargent, Catherine Saul, Thomas Schedler, Alison Schwarz, John Seagrave, Zach Seal, Stephen Senatori, Yolanda Skelton, Gregoria Torres, Shirley Trevino, David Valeska, Peterson Vollmann, Titus Whitehead, Jon Winge, William Wood, Julie Wu, Mohssen Yassini, and Wendy Zambrano-Mah.
To add your name to this list, visit Local 21's TJ Anthony web page.
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Save-The-Date! March with Local 2 on September 7, Labor Day
Local 2 UNITE HERE is one of San Francisco's largest and most active unions, representing hotel workers in San Francisco and on the Peninsula. From 2004 to 2006, the union fought for common contract expiration dates for many of its members and was in the middle of a strike/lockout and two-year boycott. Now, Local 2 members are at the start of another uphill battle. The union just began contract negotiations on behalf of 9000 workers including room cleaners, dishwashers, bellman, cooks, and others at San Francisco's largest hotels, and needs your support in its struggle to maintain a living wage and health benefits!
Join Local 2 members for a Labor Day march on Monday, September 7 at 11 AM, starting in Justin Herman Plaza.
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Save-The-Date! How to Reduce Your Stress - SF & East Bay Workshops Scheduled
Do you find yourself adjusting to layoffs, worrying about the reduction in your investments, watching home equity disappear, maxing out credit cards, and struggling to make ends meet? Learn how to reduce stress in your life by attending this free class for Local 21 members. The sessions, led by Kitty Costello, M.A., MFT and Richard Epstein, PhD, MFT, will take place on:
- Monday, September 21 from Noon to 1 PM at the San Francisco Public Library at 100 Larkin St., Sycip Family Conference Room, 4th floor (no food allowed).
- o Monday, September 14 from Noon to 1 PM at the Alameda County Law Library, Conference Room #3, 125 12th St., Oakland (brown bag lunches are permitted).
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Training Opportunity for California Democratic Women Interested in Public Office
Emerge California, a non-profit political training program for Democratic women, is recruiting for its 2010 class! The Emerge California program provides Democratic women in the Bay Area with a unique opportunity to get hands-on training in running for elected office. Program members receive training in campaigns and elections, public speaking, fundraising, network and coalition building, ethics and legislative process. They also get the chance to meet, interact with, and be mentored by local women politicians.
Many program graduates have gone on to successfully run for elected office. Emerge California is seeking Democratic women who have political leadership experience, dedication to meaningful community involvement, and an interest in running for elected office.
It's a known fact--women tend not to self-nominate for elected office. If you or someone you know would make a great elected official, please encourage them to attend one of the following informational sessions:
- MARIN County: Monday, August 24, 6:30-8:00pm, Kathleen Russell Consulting, 1346 Fourth Street, San Rafael
- ALAMEDA County: Tuesday, August 25, 6:30-8:00pm, Center for Community Dispute Settlement (CCDS), 291 McLeod Street (at 3rd), Livermore
- SAN MATEO County: Wednesday, August 26, 6:30-8:00pm, IBEW 617, 1701 Leslie Street, San Mateo
- CONTRA COSTA County: Thursday, August 27, 6:30-8:00pm, 3731 St. Francis Drive, Lafayette
- SAN FRANCISCO County: Monday, August 31, 6:30-8:00pm, 131 Stuart Street, Suite 300, San Francisco
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San Francisco Food Assistance
The San Francisco Labor Council Community Services Program has provided emergency hardship assistance to union members in need for the past decade. The Labor Council offers referrals, information, and temporary relief to help union members avoid losing their homes, having utilities shut off, and forgoing necessary medical care. Any San Francisco-based members in need of temporary relief should contact their chapter officers or staff representatives for more information.
The Labor Council also offers services to ensure union members and their families have enough food to sustain themselves. San Francisco-based members seeking food assistance can go to any of three weekly food pantries for union members:
- Old First Church, 1751 Sacramento St., Saturdays at 9 AM
- Providence, 4699 3rd St., Thursdays at 10:30 AM
- Interfaith, 1011 Garfield St. between Beverly St. And Junipero Serra Blvd., Wednesdays at 4 PM
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L21 Express is the weekly email publication of IFPTE Local 21. Local 21 represents more than 7,000 Bay Area professional public employees. Main Office Phone: 415.864.2100 South Bay Phone: 408.291.2200
