COUNCIL CAN REVISIT CONTRACT DWP UNION THREATENS STRIKE IF PACT NOT OK'D BY OCT. 1.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

The City Council can re-examine a controversial five-year contract that would give Department of Water and Power workers lucrative raises, the city's Personnel Committee was told Wednesday.

City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's office concluded that the council could re-examine the agreement providing it created a record with community and other input that demonstrated it was doing so in good faith, outside counsel Frederick N. Merkin told the panel.

The contract with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18, would give 8,000 DWP workers a 16.25 percent pay hike that could climb to 30 percent if inflation surges.

The proposal has drawn fire as it comes amid water-rate increases and other unions raising questions about equity. But city officials had questioned whether they could change the contract's terms because it already has been ratified by the union.

Union chief Brian D'Arcy has threatened a strike if the new pact isn't adopted by Oct. 1.

The hearing Wednesday by the Personnel Committee was the first public debate by council members on the contract. The split panel moved the contract forward without recommendation.

Councilman Dennis Zine, the committee's chairman, said Wednesday that he couldn't recommend approval of the agreement because of the potential for raises to balloon to 30 percent.

Zine said that would worsen the current disparity in salaries between DWP and other city union workers, could lead to increased utility rates, and cut into other city services.

``I'm not a gambler,'' Zine said. ``At what point do we finally say enough is enough?''

The DWP's union is the only one in the city that for the past 12 years has negotiated contracts in which salary increases are tied to the consumer price index.

Councilman Eric Garcetti, the committee's other member, said he would recommend approval of the contract, despite questioning why it is for five years rather than the more common three years.

City officials said the contract length is the result of instructions from council members in closed session prior to the negotiations.

Garcetti said he didn't want to penalize DWP workers, many of whom he said still struggle to afford a home, but noted that disparities with other city workers would better be addressed more narrowly, or one class at a time.

DWP general manager Ron Deaton defended the proposed contract, saying it is unlikely the national CPI will climb much higher than the minimum 3.25 percent a year proposed in the contract - and at that rate, the contract would represent a ``good deal'' for the utility.

Deaton said if inflation does climb rapidly, the utility would be more vulnerable to the rising costs of natural gas and concrete than to the additional labor costs.

He said the proposed salary hikes account for just a fraction of a proposed 3.8 percent increase in water rate hikes next year, and that even should inflation boost the salaries by 6 percent, it would only add approximately another 1 percent to those rate increases.

Deaton said that while DWP doesn't have a written strike plan in place, management has discussed how the utility might respond to a strike.

Beth Barrett, [phone]

beth.barrett(at)dailynews.com