Members of the Coalition of L.A. City Unions will not see layoffs and furloughs for at least the next two fiscal years, if a tentative agreement between city and union officials is finalized.

The agreement, which was approved last Friday by the City Council and now awaits ratification by the coalition, is expected to save the city more than $500 million over the next two years by way of deferred wage adjustments and the implementation of an early retirement incentive program. As a result, the city would forgo layoffs and furloughs amongst coalition members. Layoffs, however, would only come as a last resort; meaning that the city exhausted every option with the help of the coalition.

According to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s office, the city would see a savings of $200 million the first year, followed by $300 million the next year. “This agreement,” said Villaraigosa, “allows us to balance the budget without layoffs and furloughs that hurt workers and cut services at a moment when our families need them most.”

The city’s other six unions would not be included in this deal, only the coalition’s 22,000 members. According to city officials, all unions were asked to participate at the onset of negotiations but some declined.

“There will still be layoffs [of] some people,” said Councilman Bernard Parks. “But if this conceptual agreement goes forward as it’s currently intended, then members of the coalition would not be subject to layoffs or furloughs unless there’s a significant downturn in the city’s economy, some catastrophic financial event.”

The council is expected to finalize the agreement within the next six weeks following an actual study as well as the ratification from the union. The coalitions’ bargaining teams have already voted unanimously to recommend its approval by the membership.

“We strongly recommend that they approve this tentative agreement. We believe that it’s the best way,” said coalition spokeswoman Barbara Maynard. “With this agreement we have assurances from the city that there will be no layoffs or furloughs for the workforce that we represent. So, clearly it’s in the best interest not only for the workers and their families but also for the city services that they provide.”

Under the arrangement, “coalition members would defer all raises and cost of living adjustments for two years,” starting from 2009-10, said a statement from Mayor Villaraigosa’s office. This, said city officials, is expected to save the city $342 million in payroll over that period.

“Clearly the entire agreement is a compromise because we already had a fully negotiated contract but because of the economic crisis, city employees were facing a major paycut through furloughs as well as layoffs,” said Maynard. “Basically what city employees felt and what we heard loud and clear from members is that they were willing to share in the sacrifice in order to maintain those services...”

Despite this, coalition members would then be compensated with increased salaries every six months for three years. Every July, from 2011-13, workers would receive a 2.25 percent increase and every January, from 2012-2014, a 2.75 increase. In addition, they would receive subsequent cash bonuses amounting to 1.75 percent of their salaries in November 2011 and 2012, as well as July 2013. Also, two cash payments averaging $1,300 will be issued.

The Early Retirement Incentive Program, which is open to all city workers, will be implemented and will encourage 2,400 workers to retire. Those approached will be those already eligible to retire or those within five years of retirement. If the city reaches this goal, payroll costs will be lowered by roughly $200 million.

To cover the net cost of the program, workers will increase their contribution to the Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System by 0.75 percent. As for what will happen to workers if the city does not recruit the desired 2,400 retirees, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721 President Bob Schoonover said, “We will have to find a way to deal with that.”

“The ideal plan is to have an open window on this early retirement [program] of 45 days, starting August 1,” he said. “It will obviously take some period of time if these 2,400 people sign up to get them off the books.”

Negotiations “began 18 months ago because the outgoing [city administrative officer] realized that even without the economic downturn of last year we were facing a structural deficit that would be significant [to] $300-$350 million this year,” added Schoonover. “And then with the economic downturn, of course, it makes it worse. And the only way to really fix a significant structural deficit like that — as you look at the situation the city was in — was to reduce the workforce. … With the position of the economy at the present time, nobody was really relishing the fact sending 2,400 or 3,000 people to the unemployment line because that wouldn’t do any good for the local economy, which would again impact certain services and could also cause an increase in housing foreclosures. So, the best way to do it was through early retirement.”

Maynard agreed: “Although it was a long, hard negotiation process with the city of Los Angeles, we are very grateful that we were able to work in partnership with the city to reach this resolution,” she said. “Because without the labor management partnership services would have been destroyed in the city of Los Angeles and people would have lost their jobs and even more people could be losing their homes and families could have been destroyed. So, we feel that this is the best possible agreement that could be reached in this economic crisis.”