WHEREAS:

The merit-based civil service system in the city of Los Angeles has nobly protected both the public against political patronage and the city workforce against arbitrary and capricious hiring and firing decisions since its establishment in 1903; and

WHEREAS:

Hiring, firing and promotional practices are open, fair, unbiased and transparent under the Los Angeles civil service system; and

WHEREAS:

The Los Angeles City Council on July 1, 2016, adopted a watershed charter amendment headed to the voters for approval in November, which could strip away the civil service system in the Department of Water and Power (DWP) and weaken civil service protections in every department of the city; and

WHEREAS:

DWP is one of the largest municipally owned utilities, serving 700,000 water customers, 1.4 million electric customers and employing 10,000 workers—one-fourth of the city workforce—and hence, what happens here has reverberations across the country; and

WHEREAS:

Any DWP charter amendment in the city of Los Angeles should serve the interests of the ratepayers and the public by preventing cronyism and corruption and by increasing, not decreasing, oversight; and

WHEREAS:

Civil service laws, next to collective bargaining agreements, are arguably the most important protections affecting public sector workers; and

WHEREAS:

The trampling of Los Angeles civil service protections unlawfully impairs the vested rights of city workers and AFSCME members, including their department-to-department transfer rights, bumping rights and promotions based on qualifications and competence; and

WHEREAS:

The Los Angeles civil service system’s emphasis on competitive testing and merit-based hiring assures that the city, including DWP, employs highly skilled and qualified service providers; and

WHEREAS:

The Los Angeles civil service system fosters social mobility for minorities, women and other historically disadvantaged applicants as an effective vehicle to civilian career pathways; and

WHEREAS:

The civil service system was employed as a democratizing force by legendary Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, who sought to reflect the diverse fabric of Los Angeles within the city workforce; and

WHEREAS:

Tea Party ideologues such as Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin, and even elected officials in politically progressive Los Angeles, are increasingly seeking to attack civil service protections; and

WHEREAS:

The nationwide attacks on civil service protections have eliminated competitive examinations for hundreds of thousands of local and state public workers, for whom such exams have been effectively administered for decades.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME reaffirms the sanctity of the Los Angeles civil service system as a bulwark of democratic governance and of workers’ rights; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will lend its support to defeating the DWP charter amendment in November; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:

That AFSCME encourages its locals and affiliates to vigilantly protect civil service laws wherever and whenever possible.

SUBMITTED BY:

Alice Goff, President and Delegate
AFSCME District Council 36
California