KTLA News: "President of Police Protective League gives press conference" (1980)

We've been reasonable. We've made movement at that table and we have come down. We have seen no movement on the city to go beyond 9%. They're trying to give 9% to everybody. They don't want to make any distinction between employees. The clerks start off at $746 a month. I mean, you know, somebody ought to do something and and look that maybe somebody ought to get over 9%. The um the LA Police Protective League announces three major events regarding its public interest labor relations program. Today, July 21st, the LA city and county employee exposure hotline will begin operation. The League has made a grant available to the center for negotiations in the public interest located at 248 California City by law improper governmental activities within their knowledge. No officer or employee of the city shall directly or indirectly use or attempt to use the authority or influence of such officer employee for the purpose of intimidating, threatening, coercing, commanding, or influencing any person with the intent of interfering with that person's duty to disclose such improper activity. We're just going to make sure that something like that works. Why is the league taking this on? Under what authority or what concern should the league be interested in? >> Well, no one else seems to be doing it and our whole approach is a public interest approach. Um people find no fault in u reporting what goes on in LAPD, what they consider wrongdoing, and we're going to make sure that that if there's anything else going on out there, it's going to be shared. >> Striking back, in other words, fighting back >> in a sense. isn't a basic issue though getting a pay raise for Los Angeles police officers. So why attack why have an ad in the Los Angeles Times? It seems all set. >> This continues regardless of whether we reach agreement on a contract. This is an approach we will take from now on. >> You think all of this is going to get higher pay for Los Angeles City Police? >> Probably not. >> Why do it? >> Just uh because someone uh should be doing it. the the attacks that we've taken in the press, uh, LAPD in particular, we think that, uh, some other people ought to be on the defense for a while, and if anything else is going on out there, they should have to answer to it. >> Do you think that taking an ad in the Los Angeles Times? >> Well, you mean the 9% $200 less per month. >> Uh, but I I saw a report by Bruce Keell that said it was $2,400 a year for police officers. >> True ad, >> right? Well, that it's true ad. It does come out to less than $200 a month, >> right? But is it do you think it's in the public interest for you to talk about uh an annual raise give an annual raise figure for Mr. Comry and yet only give a monthly raise figure for your dep for your officers. Doesn't it slightly uh change the way people may look at that ad? >> Uh we don't think so. We reported uh what was actually there. Um, we feel that we can put whatever ad we want in there and the people can read it just like they do other reporters opinions and editorials and ads just the same way they report our salaries with a burden rate attached to it. The same way we we reported his salary with a burden rate attached to it. >> That's why that you're doing essentially the same thing that you've accused us of doing. >> Well, this is factual information. >> But was it factual? 76,000 combined salaries about the cards. Okay, we'll try another way. But that was a way to get the word out without having guys put pressure by not being there. >> How much do you think this is actually going to influence the public more? >> Well, from what I understand, there are quite uh quite a few number of calls coming in to city hall. Uh maybe they can't take all those calls. Maybe they're not that responsive to the public. And if they're not, then the people will do what they did with Prop 13 and take that decision away from those public officials. >> How much can the public actually influence the pay raise you hope to get? >> Public influence. >> They're being bound by President Carter's wage guidelines. And uh there are other units, plumbers, carpenters, truck drivers that are going beyond those guidelines. In Southern California, the rate is 12 to 15%. That's what they're holding to. The charter says we get prevailing wage. They they saw fit to take the formula out of the uh city ordinance that used to give us that measurement of what we were supposed to get and they want to play power bargaining at the table with salaries. This is what happens. Last year the formula showed us 6.2%. We were willing to take 6.2%. We've always been willing to take what the formula showed. They took the formula out. The employee relations board said it was an unfair labor practice to do that. The council told the employee relations board to butt out of city business. Now you have this situation. How many units do you have settled with the city so far? What kind of disruption has ever occurred in LA that you've seen so far like has happened now with the clerks and the building inspectors and department water and power? Somebody's doing something wrong. If this fails, are you saying that you will strike? Are you trying all these other things? I' >> I've made it perfectly clear that my position and the and the position of the board is we do not advocate strike or blue flu. If that happens, and it is a possibility, it can happen. I mean, anyone so naive to think it cannot happen in LA hasn't been reading papers and books very long about what goes on. >> What would it take for that to happen? >> Continued frustration where the uh the employees felt that the city was being unreasonable. >> Having to hold them back. >> Well, their mood is uh of course the longer it goes on, the more frustrated they become. It's going to take till July 29th to get a mediator in here to listen to both sides. um they have agreed during those open membership meetings to go along with the decisions and the program that the board of directors saw fit to proceed with. We say we say July 29th. So the