Ports, airport management unhappy with LA labor pact

Back in the early 1970’s when public unions were authorized the airport and the harbor, like DWP, were to separate bargaining units from the rest of the city. The City Council however, fill-flopped at the last minute and only allowed DWP to be its own bargaining unit but left airports and harbor with the rest of the City when it came to bargaining. This created a situation that has reached the point in the last few years of making recruitment and retention of talent in these two departments difficult as workers follow the money to DWP. Given the two department are the lynch pins of the economy in Southern California the current move to cut the hours, and hence pay, in these two departments is shortsighted and foolish. The cutbacks will make it difficult for the airport and the harbor department to provide timely services and development project to tenants and businesses wishing to use their facilities. This will further reinforce the perception that the City of Los Angeles, and especially the harbor, is not business friendly. Disgruntled shippers and shipping lines are increasingly routing their cargo through other ports like Prince Rupert and the Gulf and East Coast ports. With the expansion of Rupert and the revamped Panama Canal, this will increase. When the economy improves not all of the lost cargo will return but will be permanently lost to these other ports. This will hurt all of the harbor area and its workers. Census data finds Southern California is losing college educated workers to other areas of the country. Maybe it is time for more of us to get out of Dodge before the final train wreck.

What I question is why did these two executives go public on this because I don't see what they expect to gain by it. I think their stories here make them look either out of touch with what is going on with the rest of the city, or they fail to have the clout to make their case when it is a valid one by the story as it is told here.

Moreover, what was Hahn thinking when she made her recorded remarks about the union wage and retirement deal on the day of the council vote as played on the news radio stations. She was all goo-goo eyed over the fact that they voted for something they thought benefits all parties. Read this article and you have to say, "Hardly." She "missed the boat", again.

The DWP reference is really interesting, too. The wage increases for the DWP workers are based on a CPI formula written into their MOUs. If the CPI increases anything up to 3.25%, the wage increase is 3.25%. Above that and anything up to 6%, the wage increase is 100% of whatever the CPI is. Any CPI increase above 6% and the wage increase remains capped at 6%. http://labrel.ladwp.com/Documents/MOU_Amend_T... The CPI formula they use for Aug. to Aug. for this year is negative and therefore no salary increase, according to the negotiated MOU language. There was no reference I could find on the DWP web site to the deal worked out according to the article.

The mayor is a loser and dosen't know how to budget L.A.'s money so the hard working people have to suffer and loose money in their pay so the stupid mayor can pay his bills that he don't know how to handle in the first place, what a looooooser.

Cry me a river. These are two of the most wasteful departments in municpipal government anywhere. Start by cutting their PR budgets.

Hahn is a complete FRAUD. She allowed the Port of approve a plan with no timeline. Then criticizes the plan. HAHN WE KNOW YOU APPROVED THE PLAN. JUST LIKE PARKING METERS. JUST LIKE THE 35 COPS TAKING OUT OF HARBOR DIVISION. Ms. HAHN YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. STOP POINTING FINGERS AND START DOING SOMETHING. STAND UP AND DEFEND THE COMMUNITY BEFORE YOU ACT AGAINST US.

The real money for this project is not spent until 2017 when HAHN is out of office, all the port executive staff is gone and this Board of Harbor Commissioners are all replaced by the next Mayor. THIS WAS INTENTIONAL. HAHN knew it, the Mayor knew it. And they both approved it. Hahn heads the City Council Commerce Committee that oversees all port spending. This project could not be approved without her consent. She is a Fraud.

This whole exercise was just to placate the community. The port plans to allocate $25M a year for a $1.2 Billion project. At that rate the project will be completed is 48 years. Great work councilwoman, great work Mayor V. You are both huge disappointments and even bigger liars.

It would probably help if Hahn and Knatz actually talked to each other and worked together rather than against each other. The thing they have in common is to ignore the reality of the declining cargo volumes and its effects on the budget (bottom line the waterfront will be stalled for years to come).

Watching the train wreak wrote:

Back in the early 1970’s when public unions were authorized the airport and the harbor, like DWP, were to separate bargaining units from the rest of the city. The City Council however, fill-flopped at the last minute and only allowed DWP to be its own bargaining unit but left airports and harbor with the rest of the City when it came to bargaining. This created a situation that has reached the point in the last few years of making recruitment and retention of talent in these two departments difficult as workers follow the money to DWP. Given the two department are the lynch pins of the economy in Southern California the current move to cut the hours, and hence pay, in these two departments is shortsighted and foolish. The cutbacks will make it difficult for the airport and the harbor department to provide timely services and development project to tenants and businesses wishing to use their facilities. This will further reinforce the perception that the City of Los Angeles, and especially the harbor, is not business friendly. Disgruntled shippers and shipping lines are increasingly routing their cargo through other ports like Prince Rupert and the Gulf and East Coast ports. With the expansion of Rupert and the revamped Panama Canal, this will increase. When the economy improves not all of the lost cargo will return but will be permanently lost to these other ports. This will hurt all of the harbor area and its workers. Census data finds Southern California is losing college educated workers to other areas of the country. Maybe it is time for more of us to get out of Dodge before the final train wreck.

I think that all who are upset by the mayor or council SHOULD move out. The sale of homes is what will help revive the socal economy and the more disgruntled who leave the better everything will be for those of us who LOVE living here. SEE YA!!!!!

I asked around a little bit this morning to find out how this situation could come about. DWP is a service that serves all residents of the city and, therefore, is in the interest of the entire council. Consequently, the council has a strong working relationship with the DWP.

The port and the airport are entities serving the region, but not on a daily basis for each city resident like the utility. Therefore, they have the ear and interest of their proper council member more than the council as a whole.

"No communication" is right. Knatz and Hahn need to develop a close and positive working relationship. I don't know enough about Knatz, but Hahn seems too sensitive to criticism and too weak at dealing with adversarial inputs to work well with someone who doesn't share the same mindset (and hardly work at all with someone who might have similar traits).

Knatz needs someone who is more than a populist politician to work through the needs and issues of the port. Maybe she'll get a better personality for that in Hahn's successor.

Hahn is much brighter and Knatz. That's the problem.

Ms Jones wrote:

Hahn is much brighter and Knatz. That's the problem.

A lame comment unless you can be more specific.

This is hard to believe considering what is left of the Seattle Washington Airport that Gina Marie Lindsey ran. Very import for the LAX workers to reseach.

Yes, give the workers at the harbor and airport a separate bargaining unit just like DWP. This will attract the best people to work there.