Negotiations between the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) Bargaining Unit 325 and the County of Los Angeles have begun. Bargaining Unit 325 represents Los Angeles County Dentists and Psychiatrists. The first bargaining session took place on Thursday, August 27, 2009.
In the first meeting, the County gave a presentation on its financial situation. Just as they did during the opening session for Bargaining Unit 324 (Physicians Unit), the County representatives characterized their budget as badly strained, but not to the point of crisis. In its opening remarks the UAPD Bargaining Team expressed its position that even during a bad budget year our contract has a number of low-cost or no-cost improvements that can be made. We delivered a proposal to improve safety by requiring regular testing of and reporting on the emergency alarm system. Another UAPD proposal would require that the paycheck correction procedure be followed for an underpayment of any amount, not just for errors greater than $100. The proposal would also require that the County notify an employee before correcting an overpayment on a paycheck. Our team will deliver more proposals to the County at the next meeting. The County plans to give proposals to UAPD at the next session as well.
The UAPD Bargaining Team for Bargaining Unit 325 consists of Chief Negotiator Steve Cook begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, Regional Administrator John Murillo, and Los Angeles County Dentists and Psychiatrists. They are: Dr. Richard King (Psychiatrist, West Central MH), Dr. Julie Wu-Hsieh (Psychiatrist, Arcadia MH) , Dr. Felipe Oamar (Dentist, Sheriffs/Twin Towers), Dr. Joseph Mirkovich (Psychiatrist, Sheriffs/Twin Towers).
The next bargaining session will take place on Thursday, September 3, 2009.