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Councilmember Garcetti introduces resolution after rec assistants urge end to 1,000-hour cap
Summary
Rec assistants and union representatives urged the Los Angeles City Council to end an intermittent classification and a 1,000-hour cap that deny many workers pay and benefits; Councilmember Eric Garcetti introduced a resolution asking city departments to renew negotiations with AFSCME.
More than a dozen recreation assistants and union representatives asked the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday to move quickly to end a longstanding classification and the so-called 1,000-hour cap that they say denies many workers pay, benefits and promotions.
The group’s supporters included AFSCME and SEIU representatives and clergy. Councilmember Eric Garcetti introduced a resolution, seconded by Council President Antonio Padilla and Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas, directing the Department of Recreation and Parks, the Department of Cultural Affairs and the City Administrative Officer to renew efforts to negotiate with AFSCME on the rec assistants’ classification and terms.
The public comments and the introduced resolution came during the meeting’s public comment period. John Barton of AFSCME told the council the rec assistants voted for union representation ‘‘exactly 408 days’’ earlier and urged council action to ‘‘end the artificial 1000 hour cap on their job’’ so workers can be paid for each hour they work and gain benefits. "We have a saying in the labor movement: justice delayed is justice denied," Barton said.
Julian Munoz, a rec assistant at Eagle Rock Recreation Center, described her regular duties—managing office functions, coordinating preschool and year-round sports programs, and supporting a senior club—and said the intermittent classification is used to deny health insurance and other benefits for workers who do regular, year-round work. "I am not an intermittent employee. I go to work regularly for the city," she said.
Reverend Joseph Oliver, speaking on behalf of the LA Council of Churches, urged the council to restore ‘‘dignity and respect’’ to the recreation assistants and said they deserved basic job security and benefits after years of service.
Garcetti told colleagues he was introducing a resolution that would instruct city departments and the CAO to ‘‘renew their efforts to move with deliberate speed to negotiate with AFSCME,’’ and he said the item would return to council for further consideration. Several council members voiced support for taking action to stabilize the rec assistants’ positions and the services they provide.
The resolution was introduced for council consideration; the council did not take final action on a contract today. Garcetti said the item would be heard again at a future council meeting and asked departments to begin or renew negotiations.
The case highlights a recurring council-level labor issue: council members and union representatives framed the rec assistants’ jobs as providing essential services—child care, youth sports, senior programs—while lacking compensatory status and benefits afforded to other city employees.
The council did not vote on a final contract or adopt a binding agreement at Wednesday’s meeting; the resolution was introduced to direct renewed bargaining and further work by staff and departments.
