Social Workers Labor Relations

An e-mail deriding a union that represents Orange County welfare workers was sent to 2,000 county employees Tuesday, just weeks before their contract expires. The e-mail from the chief of employee relations, Susan Paul, said the union was misrepresenting what was happening at the negotiating table and not clearly defining demands.

An e-mail deriding a union that represents Orange County welfare workers was sent to 2,000 county employees Tuesday, just weeks before their contract expires. The e-mail from the chief of employee relations, Susan Paul, said the union was misrepresenting what was happening at the negotiating table and not clearly defining demands.

As child social workers continued their strike Wednesday, the union representing half of Los Angeles County's 80,000 employees called off a threatened strike of its own that could have crippled county operations. Capping a marathon eleventh-hour bargaining session that began at 9 a.m. Tuesday, leaders of the Service Employees International Union Local 660 emerged from bargaining tables at a downtown Los Angeles hotel at 4:15 a.m.

As child social workers continued their strike Wednesday, the union representing half of Los Angeles County's 80,000 employees called off a threatened strike of its own that could have crippled county operations. Capping a marathon eleventh-hour bargaining session that began at 9 a.m. Tuesday, leaders of the Service Employees International Union Local 660 emerged from bargaining tables at a downtown Los Angeles hotel at 4:15 a.m.

A strike by about 2,300 children's social workers who are demanding more pay was averted Tuesday when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed to offer a new wage package that will bring the two sides back to the bargaining table. County officials refused to divulge details of the new proposal, but county labor negotiator Marcus Elliot said, "We are optimistic that the offer we have for them will move us towards agreement; there's something in this package for both sides."

Fewer than 15 hours after Los Angeles County social workers walked off their jobs, a "conceptual agreement" was reached Monday evening to avert a countywide general strike threatened for today by the union representing 40,000 county workers. Gilbert Cedillo, general manager of Local 660 of the Service Employees International Union, announced the tentative agreement at a news conference, saying: "The strategy of Rolling Thunder worked."

Los Angeles County supervisors lifted a hiring freeze on children's services workers Tuesday, responding to their complaints of overwork by authorizing at least $500,000 to hire more people. Employees in the county Department of Children's Services had complained that they were handling far more cases than the maximum allowed by state and county guidelines.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum accused two of his colleagues Tuesday of an "incite to riot" by encouraging a boisterous protest in the supervisors' chambers by county welfare workers.

Union leaders for 40,000 Los Angeles County workers Wednesday threatened to resume their "rolling" strikes after a tentative agreement reached earlier this week began to unravel. "We're very angry," said Gilbert Cedillo, general manager of Local 660 of Service Employees International Union, after talks broke off Wednesday afternoon. He said the union will resume its "Rolling Thunder" strategy of staging walkouts by different county employees every day in an effort to win better health benefits.

A spokesman for the children's social workers union charged Tuesday that the county Department of Children's Services has failed to hire enough additional personnel to ease the tremendous workloads plaguing the department. Union officials said Robert L. Chaffee, director of the department, had promised that a $1.

Los Angeles County child social workers went on strike Tuesday after negotiations with county officials to reduce their workloads and increase their wages broke down. The walkout by most of the union's 3,000 employees was the first in what could be a weeklong wave of strikes by county workers ranging from nurses to librarians to welfare eligibility workers. Those 40,000 workers, represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 660, could begin strikes as early as this morning.

Los Angeles County child social workers went on strike Tuesday after negotiations with county officials to reduce their workloads and increase their wages broke down. The walkout by most of the union's 3,000 employees was the first in what could be a weeklong wave of strikes by county workers ranging from nurses to librarians to welfare eligibility workers. Those 40,000 workers, represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 660, could begin strikes as early as this morning.

Sixty-two social workers and 13 supervisors called in sick Thursday to protest an overload of cases which puts foster care children in the Antelope Valley area at risk, a union spokeswoman said. The Lancaster office of the Department of Children and Family Services has 87 social workers and 17 supervisors, said Sarah Bottorff, a two-year social worker and shop steward for Service Employees International Union Local 535. Department supervisors were unavailable for comment.

A protest by children's social workers against their high caseloads fell short of expectations Tuesday, when only about half the expected number of workers confronted the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors with their complaints.

In a protest against working conditions, 32 county children's social workers in the San Fernando Valley called in sick Tuesday, leaving supervisors to scramble for replacements to handle emergency abuse calls. The workers, who mainly comprise the emergency response unit at the county Department of Children and Family Services office in North Hollywood, are in the midst of contract negotiations with the county.

For six weeks, Israeli women have not been able, except in a few emergencies, to get the official approval required for abortions. Cases of suspected child abuse have gone largely uninvestigated. Judges have been unable to decide child custody in divorces. And the elderly have not been able to get home health care.

Los Angeles County child social workers went on strike Tuesday after negotiations with county officials to reduce their workloads and increase their wages broke down. The walkout by most of the union's 3,000 employees was the first in what could be a weeklong wave of strikes by county workers ranging from nurses to librarians to welfare eligibility workers. Those 40,000 workers, represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 660, could begin strikes as early as this morning.

Like many of the men and women who lined up Monday outside Department of Public Social Services offices in Los Angeles County, Thamar Moore was hungry. The 31-year-old engineer said his unemployment benefits had run out, his family's refrigerator was empty and he feared that striking county employees might interfere with his chances to obtain general relief.

Los Angeles County children's social workers who had been threatening to strike over alleged sex-based wage discrimination have reached a tentative agreement on a new two-year contract that would increase salaries by 20%, union leaders said Thursday.