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The history, activities, and organization of the All City Employees' Association of Los Angeles

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The history, activities, and organization of the All City Employees' Association of Los Angeles

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Content THE HISTORY, ACTIVITIES, AND ORGANIZATION OF THE ALL CITY EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the School of Government University of Southern California In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Public Administration by Lawrence D. Pritchard June, 1940 UMI Number: EP64436 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. DissertaEton PVMisMng UMI EP64436 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 This thesis, written by ........ LAYm^NOE.. D.,...:PR%Tom™.......... / ^ j- / ^ under the direction of JkB... Faculty Committee, and app ro ved by a ll its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Council on Graduate Study and Research in partial fu lfill ment of the requirem ents f o r the degree of mSTER OF SCIENCE IH PEDtiO AmiNISTRATION D e a n Secretary ate ^ ------ F a c u ltv C om m ittee iair\ ACKNOWLEDGMENT Efficient workers in the public service of the City of Los Angeles and major contributors to the success of the All City Employees* Association, Alexander Chisholm, George A# Terhune, and Miss Josephine Hollingsworth have made this study possible♦ TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION................................... 1 Purpose ............................... # 1 Effect on public administration 1 Significance as a social movement 2 To provide historical reference •••••»• 2 Method of approach •• 5 Source of material ............* . 3 Functional approach .................... 3 Limitations on this study................ 4 Inadequacy of written material.......... 4 Impossibility of adequate personal interviews 4 Absence of detail and personalities • • • « • 5 Arrangement of chapters ...................... 5 II. A THUMBNAIL SKETCH ............................ 7 The founding.............................. 7 The second meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Third meeting.......................... 9 The first year ................... 10 Early days . 11 Type of meeting............... 11 Annual picnics .............................. 12 Annual balls ................... 15 The Wampus Club ...................... 14 iv CHAPTER PAGE City Engineers* Athletic Association . . . 15 The magazine . ..................... * * 15 Growth ................................. 16 Two men ......... 17 Walter P. McNamara .................... 16 «Pat” D o y l e . IB III. THE ROAD TO RETIREMENT.......... 21 Prior efforts ..... ........... 21 1918......... 21 1920 ........................... 22 «Reason for being” ......... 23 First step ......... 25 The next best thing ............ 26 A plan presented ......... 27 Election defeat ................... . 28 Two new efforts ........... 28 1927 ........................... 28 1930 ........... 29 The successful drive....................... 30 , The Ordinance of 1935 30 The Ordinance of 1936 33 The initiative measure 34 Writ of Mandate......................... 36 The plan . 39 V CHAPTER PACE Retirement................................. 39 Ordinary disability ........................ 39 Disability in line of duty ........... 40 Death before retirement . * ............. 40 Death after retirement . . ............ 40 Withdrawal....................... 40 Rate of contribution . .................... 41 IV. IN UNITY THERE IS STRENGTH...................... 42 City Employees’ Mortuary Association.......... 42 The beginning................. 42 Incorporation proceedings • .............. 44 The plan in brief ........... 45 Progress of the plan .................... 46 Eclipse of the Mortuary Association........ 47 Group insurance ........................ 48 The founding............................... 48 The plan in brief....................... ♦ 49 Development • • ......................... 50 Change of insurance company ................ 51 Today 51 Credit unions ............................... 52 The Municipal Credit Union................. 52 Los Angeles City Employees’ Federal Credit Union 53 Founding ....................... 53 Vi CHAPTER PAGE How it works................................ 54 Progress........... 57 Life insurance . . ................... 57 Establishment............... 57 The plan .................................. 58 Health and accident insurance ................ 59 Auto and fire insurance..................... 60 The Ross-Loos Medical G roup................. 60 The adoption ............... , . . . 61 The plan................................... 62 V. THE GOLDEN R U L E ............................... 63 The Associated City Employees’ Fund for the Unemployed— First P ha s e................... 64 The beginnings ..................... 64 The plan................................... 66 Results........................... 67 The Associated City Employees’ Fund for the Unemployed— Second Phase .............. 69 Apple selling................................ 71 City Employees’ Airport Circus................ 71 Food and clothing warehouse.................. 72 The bond issue . ............................ 72 VI. CIVIL SERVICE................................... 76 1923-1929— Founding to Foundering........... 77 vii CHAPTER page 1930-1934— The Toboggan ............. 78 Efforts to avoid layoffs .................... 79 By reducing salaries ...................... 81 By spreading the work............ . . . 84 By raising revenue ........... 88 Gasoline t a x ......................... 89 Secession or consolidation ................ • 92 Other efforts . ........................... 92 How to handle layoffs— the question of seniority 93 1935-1939— Recovery............. 96 Salary restoration .......... 96 1935 96 1936 98 1937-1938 ............... 98 Ever alert * ......................... 99 Toward a career service .................. 101 VII. FOR SUCCESS— BE ORGANIZED........... 109 General information ...... .............. 109 Who is a member? ................ 109 What are the officers and how are they elected? 110 When do they meet ?................. Ill Duties of officers ......... Ill President and vice president ........ Ill Recording secretary ............ ...... Ill viîi CHAPTER page Financial secretary ................. 112 Treasurer........... . 112 The Board of Directors ............... 112 Committees • • • 113 Method of appointment .......... 113 Appointment Committee..................... 115 Advisory Committee................ . . . 113 Arrangements Committee.................... 114 Athletics Committee . .................. 114 Auditing Committee ....................... 114 Career Service Committee • 114 Civic Affairs Committee.................. 114 Civil Service Committee .................. 115 Credit Union Committee................... 115 Grievance Committee ............... 11Ô Group Medical Committee ............ 116 Insurance Committee .......... ••••••• 116 Legislative Committee........... 117 Membership Committee ...................... 117 Metropolitan Government Committee ........ 117 Personnel Committee ................ 117 Public Relations Committee ........... 118 Research Committee....................... 118 Retirement Committee...................... 118 ix CHAPTER PAGE Ways and Means Committee . ................. 119 Welfare Committee........................... 119 VIII. CONCLUSION....................................... 120 Program ..... ............................. 122 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........... . 123 APPENDIX.................................. 127 LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE I. Paid Memberships of the All City Employees’ Association of Los Angeles— 1927-1939 ..... 19 LIST OF EXHIBITS EXHIBIT PAGE I. Exemptions and New Classifications............ 102 II. Promotional Examination for City Treasurer . . . 103 III. Opposition to Charter Amendment ........ 105 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION I. PURPOSE Effect on public adminis trat ion. Students of govern ment are faced with the fact that theories of public admin istration must be tempered with practical considerations. Among the factors to be weighed in the determination of workable principles of administration is the influence of pressure groups upon administrative rules and procedures, and upon legislation* One of the groups which exerts a significant influence on government is that of the public en^loyees* Employee organizations in the public service have been growing in size, number, and prestige* Whereas in former years party organizations, taxpayers’ associations, and other citizen special interest groups exhibited the principal in fluence over local government, today the employee organiza tions are a factor to be reckoned with* In view of the increasing political power of employees and the growth of their influence on public administration, it is important that their activities be studied and understood* A primary purpose of this study is to present a review of the All City Employees’ Association of Los Angeles as it affects public administration and public policy. It is of z interest and of value to know what the organization has done and how it has done it* A historical perspective is of merit, too, in determining the objectives of the Association in order that one may evaluate the employee position with rela tion to that which might be considered the interests of the citizen* Significance as a social movement * A history of the All City Employees’ Association is of value, also, in reveal ing an insight into one phase of a major social movement. This is a day of organization. It is a period in which employees in all fields of activity are cooperating to per fect their own organizations to meet the problems of modern employer-employee relations. The public employee is no ex ception, and an understanding of what he is doing in this connection can be obtained best by a history of his institu tional activities. To provide historical reference. The third general purpose of this study is to provide a needed document of historical reference. A history is of interest to those whose institutions are chronicled and is often of value as a source of information and as a purveyor of perspective. No such document of any kind has ever been written about the All City Employees’ Association. An expressed desire on the part of certain city employees for some such history and an 3 interest in the problems of the employee on the part of the writer have combined to prompt the compiling of the informa tion herein contained. II. METHOD OF APPROACH Source of material. This study is based for the most part upon the minutes of the Association, the magazine, and personal interviews. That informâtional sources should be limited to these three was not a matter of choice. Practi cally no other written material exists. Many possible sources of information were investigated before it was concluded that little had been written about the Association and that no other history existed. Functional approach. Those interested in a chrono logical approach revealing personalized incidents may be disappointed in this history. Emphasis has not been placed upon those intimate touches of interest to employees who enjoy recalling the days ”when,” and, wherever possible, petty detail has been eliminated. For the purposes of this docu ment, it was felt advisable to adopt a functional treatment of the subject. After all the essential materieüL had been compiled, edited, and catalogued, it was possible to determine upon certain principal activities of the Association. These ac tivities or projects have been traced from their beginnings 4 to the present time. In doing this only significant dates were included and a minimum of persons’ names was mentioned. The guide to all such choices and editing has been the sig nificance of the subject material involved rather than the enjoyment of the casual reader. III. LIMITATIONS ON THIS STUDY Inadequacy of written imterial. This history has been restricted by the fact that little written material has been available. Although the minutes and magazine were used ex tensively, these sources are in many respects quite inadequate The minutes often mention important items without elaborating on them, and frequently these records are so sketchy as to place the historian on very uncertain-ground. Many important undertakings of the Association are not included either in the minutes or the magazine nor are they recorded in any other place. Impossibility of adequate personal interviews. To fill in the gaps and to appreciate the full background of certain events, personeüL interviews with those possessing first-hand knowledge are necessary. Although many helpful interviews were obtained, the writer is conscious of the fact that he was not in a position to secure enough. It is to be hoped that someone who is familiar with the Association may amplify the material included in this paper and may correct any misinterpretations which may have occurred. Absence of detail and personalities. Although deliber ately done, the elimination of many names and minor events may be, to some persons, a limitation on this history. It should be pointed out, however, that the person wishing more detail will find the use of the footnote references of excep tional value. It is felt that major developments have been correctly analyzed and included, thus forming a framework for any amplification that others may be in a position to make. IV. ARRANGEMENT OF CHAPTERS It has been pointed out that the chapters of this his tory have been arranged on a functional basis. With this in mind, the reader need but review the chapter headings to appreciate fully the over-all organization. Chapter II con tains a very brief sketch of the founding and growth of the Association and of certain interesting events which do not belong in any of the functional chapters* Chapter III traces the history of the efforts to se cure a retirement plan. Chapter XV relates the background of the various mutual welfare undertakings of the organization. Certain activities of the Association during the depression which were directed toward the relief of the unemployed are described in Chapter V. Chapter VI Is an exposition of the efforts which the 6 Association has directed toward civil service. In Chapter VII the present organization of the All City Employees’ Association is outlined. Chapter VIII is the concluding chapter in which the writer suggests a program for the Association. CHAPTER II A THUMBNAIL SKETCH I. THE FOUNDING The All City Employees’ Associâtion came into being on the seventeenth day of March, 1923. At that time a small group of pioneers met to effect the organization and to select officers. Elected were: President, C. R. Lewis, Playground Department; Vice President, J. M. ^uint. Engineer ing Department; Recording Secretary, Fred C. Walsh, Electri cal Department; Treasurer, Sheridan Ingmire, Sewer Maintenance Department; Financial Secretary, R. Francis Brown, Engineering Department ; and Assistant Financial Secretary, George D. Thompson.^ At the same meeting Charles E. Furguson was ap pointed Chairman of a By-Laws Committee to draw up the rules of the new organization, and J. M. Simms was named Chairman o of the Membership Committee. The second meeting. The second meeting of the Associa tion was held on March 31, 1923, at a hall located at 232 South Hill Street. Several items were considered at this gathering. ^ All City Employees’ Bulletin, Vol. I. No. 2 (July. 1923), p.— --- — -------- 2 Minutes, All City Employees’ Association, Los Angeles, March 31, 1923. 8 Mr. Furguson read his committee report on proposed by-laws, and it was then voted to consider them section by section at the following meeting to be held on April 14. The Membership Committee had secured so many members that it had run out of registration Ofiirds and receipt books, but President Lewis promised to have some more printed. In appreciation of help ful publicity which had been given to the founding of the Association, the members present voted to make the Los Angeles Chronicle the official journal. This resolve was short-lived, however, as three months later the Association began publish ing its own magazine. The beginnings of the Scüi Pedro Branch of the All City Biz^loyees’ Association can be traced to this meeting. Pres ent was Martin Brown, 566 First Street, San Pedro, who asked that a meeting of all city employees be called in San Pedro. The President set the meeting for Saturday evening, April 7, 1925, and the San Pedro All City Employees’ Association dates from that time. The highlights of the meeting were speeches by Mayor George E. Oryer; President of the City Council, Ralph Criswell; and C. G. O’Neil of the Fire Department. ’ ’ All spoke of the benefits derived by organization and urged all city employees to join.” ”... the speakers were given applause and their talks were appreciated by all present.” The remainder of the meeting can be described best in 9 the words of the Recording Secretary: . . * Two Delegates were appointed to attend next meeting of the Amalgamated Council in the Persons of C. R. Lewis, E. C. Carpenter* Meeting to be held 3rd Monday in April. A Hall Committee was appointed by the Chair as follows: S. Ingmire, Hugh Curran, John Ely, John Mathews Quint. Short talks on organ ization was made by John M. Quint, Hugh Curran, Fred 0. Walsh who all urged to boast the Organization. The Hall was crowded with City Employees. Many Ladies present, and all seemed interested in the work. Sev eral applications was received and in the near future its to be hoped that No City Employee will be out of the organization. All was urged by the President to get acquainted with one another, work together and in the end by such an organization success and only suc cess will come to every City Employee. No further Business Meeting Adjourned. Receipts $37.50. Ex penses $3.00.3 Third meeting. On April 14, 1923, the Association met for the third time at the Union League Hall, 255 South Hill Street. The group voted to hire this hall on the second and fourth Saturday evenings for a rental of $25.00 per month. The by-laws were read and unanimously adopted without change. It was reported by the Membership Chairman that there were 339 paid members, with others signing up every day. Again the meeting was featured by addresses from well-known men. On the program were: W. H. Houston, President of the Amalgamated Council; Ralph J. Scott, Fire Chief; and Council man R. 8. Sparks, Fred C. Wheeler, and Winn Sanborn. All speakers complimented the employees on their new organization. 3 Minutes, loo, cit. 10 and each one in turn pledged his support in getting a pension for city workers. Several candidates for Mayor, Council, and Board of Freeholders were present, indicating that the new Association was destined to be taken seriously by many.^ first year. At the end of one year the Association and its officers could look back upon a record of substantial progress. During this time the organization had been carried safely through its formative stage and appeared to be firmly established. In May a Pension Committee had been formulated , and a pension campaign fund had been started.5 June had brought the first issue of an official employee magazine.® Dues had been changed from the original fifty cents per month to one dollar per year.^ Work had been begun on the campaign for a ”benefit fund” and thirty-five thousand had indicated their willingness to participate.® During the year the Association had withdrawn from the Amalgamated Council ”in good friendship,” thereby assuring the Association a full 1923). * Ibid.. April 14, 1923. 5 Ibid.. May 12, 1923. ® All City Employees* Bulletin. Vol. I, Ho. 1 (June, ^Minutes, op. oit.. May 26, 1923. Q Ibid.. November 10, 1923. 11 measure of independence*^ At the end of 1923 there were approximately twenty- five hundred paid members.^® The organization was solvent with an unincumbered bank balance of #188.85. During the first ten months of its existence, the All City Employees’ Association had received #1,894.00 and had spent #1,705.16.^^ II. EARLY DAYS Type of meeting. The most significant items of busi ness transacted in the Association meetings have been reviewed on a functional basis elsewhere in this study. Meetings for several years were general and open to all members. As the organization grew, the Board of Directors gradually assumed more authority until general meetings considered few items of business. This transition of authority from membership meetings to Board of Directors was not accomplished without difficulty and occasional misunderstanding. ^ îMâ* » August 23, 1923. According to the minutes of the Association, this figure is correct. However, it is difficult to reconcile this number with the amount of receipts for the year and with later official membership figures. Official records disclose a paid membership of 616 in 1927. There are no records prior to 1927, so it is impossible to verify the earlier statistics. None theless, the minutes clearly give the following paid member ship figures : April 14, 1923— 339; May 12, 1923— 396; May 26, 1923— 1,014; June 9, 1923— 1,210; June 23, 1923— 1,500; July 6, 1923— 1,100; July 20, 1923— 2,500. All City Employees’ Bulletin. Vol. II, No. 1 (January, 1923), p. 8. IE In the early days as a rule the business meeting was relatively short. Every gathering was featured by several speakers, each of whom was quite likely to speak upon the topic of pensions. Following these contributions to the art of oratory, came a period of entertainment which ordinarily presented musicians, dancers, magicians, or moving pictures. The entertainers almost invariably were forced to compete for attention with the audience’s anticipation of the ice cream and cake which was certain to follow. Annual picnics. A feature of Association activity for a number of years was the holding of an annual picnic. These events were not only pleasant diversions but excellent sources of revenue as well. As a matter of fact a consider able part of Association funds in the early days was derived from these holidays. The Seelig Zoo, Sycamore Grove, and Griffith Park were the scenes of picnics held ”in the good old days.” The first such outing was held on Labor Day, September 9, 1924, at Sycamore Grove. Several thousand were in attend ance, a large number of whom appear to have been speakers. Some of those who addressed from the bandstand the assembled picnickers were: Honorable George C. Cryer, Mayor; Boyle Workman, President of the City Council; Miles S. Gregory, Ralph Criswell, and Edwin Baker, members of the City Council; Walter Hanby, Hugh Crawford, Ira Thompson, and Harry Hollzer, 13 Judges; R* Lee Heath, Chief of Police; and several others. Lancing, races, gaines, and free coffee were distributed be tween speeches. The crowd was handled by the Police Depart ment ; the Receiving Hospital joined with the Golden State Hospital to provide a first aid station. A-good time was had by all.^^ Similar events were held each year until 1932. Gov ernors, judges, mayors, and other distinguished persons were invariably featured. To the picnic of 1931 the Association invited all persons and their families who were being em ployed by the city under the provisions of a five million dollar emergency employment bond issue. The result was staggering— twenty-five thousand turned out. This meant scouring the bakeries and the packing houses and forwarding relay after relay of food to feed the long hungry waiting line s.— lines over a quarter of a mile long. The officers were equal to the situation and all guests were fed. However, it may be significant that this was the last annual picnic. Annual balls. Dancing and financing were combined at the annual balls held in the earlier years. These terpsi- chorean promotions proved enjoyable and profitable. The first one held on December 21, 1927, at the 11 Patio Ball Ibid.. Vol. II, Ko, 8 {October, 1924), p. 18. 13 Minutes, 0£. cit. . July 17, 1931. 14 Room, Third and Vermont Streets, netted the All City Employees* Association $1,500.^^ The Wampus Club. No review of early days, however brief, would be complete without mention of the Wampus Club. Established before the Employees* Association, this club was an institution cherished by many and known to all. It was founded by **Pat** Doyle as a monthly good-fellowship luncheon of the inspectors* and foremen*s divisions of the Engineering Department. The fame of these gatherings grew until an in vitation was considered a distinct honor. Soon the Wampus Club became a rendezvous of city and county officials, and the members and guests included most of the distinguished officials of the Civic Center and many of the state. Meetings were invariably held at the Yale Street Yard. The banquets were prepared by members of the club and it is said these feasts could not be surpassed. "Pat* Doyle, founder and always President, was the genial, witty, iron-fisted toast master who made the meetings a delight. Mayors, supervisors, councilmen, judges, and department heads all were subject to the same rules. There were no favorites. Anyone could be called upon to speak. If he spoke too long, his discourse would be interrupted by the banging of a claw hammer. There was never any transgression of this deadline. Governor Xt>id.. January SO, 1928. 15 Ç. C. Yoimg was among the guests of this unique group. The Wampus Club was the reflection of the personality, humor, and fine qualities of one man. That it should have grown from small beginnings to one of the outstanding insti tutions of the Civic Center is a tribute to this founder and leader. When the curtain descended on the colorful life of «Pat” Doyle in March, 1932, the Wampus Club ceased to exist. City Engineers* Athletic Association. For a number of years the pages of the Employee record the activities of the C. E. A. A. This association, formed within the Engineer ing Department, sponsored an exceptionally full sports pro gram for individuals and a comprehensive schedule of intra- departmental competition. An adequate budget was maintained, uniforms were bought, and equipment supplied. On some occa sions inter-city competition was arranged. III. THE MAGAZINE With but brief interruptions, the All City Employees* Association has maintained a publication throughout its existence. The magazine for some time was published by private firms or financed by private solicitors, but this arrangement proved unsatisfactory. Finally, the Association took over the publication completely. The first magazine was issued on June 8, 1923, and was known as the All City Employees* Bulletin. This issue was 16 four inches by six inches in size and contained eight pages including the covers. Today the official magazine is known as the Los Angeles City Employee. It is an up-to-date, read able magazine of approximately thirty-two full size pages. The articles are of general rather than departmental interest and include topics of immediate employee interest as well as feature articles on a wide range of subjects. Supervision of its publication is the responsibility of the Public Rela tions Committee. IV. GROYOT Although no completely reliable figures exist for the first four years, indications point to the fact that the membership of the Association was larger the first two years than it was for some time later. However, from 1927 to the present time it is clear, from official records, that the organization has experienced a relatively steady growth. The general evolution of the group has been marked by three rather clearly defined periods. The first of these, from 1923 to 1929, might be called the formative years* This was an era in which the Association spent about as much attention on social activities as it did on serious business. Although some significant achievements were accomplished, this period cannot be said to be one in which the employees fully realized the possibilities of their 17 organization. The second period of 1930-1934 marked the real awaken ing of the All City Employees* Association. Faced suddenly with the bitter problems of depression and reduced city budgets, the Association, overnight, rose to new stature to meet the challenge. In the fight to save jobs and wages, the organization doubled its membership and acquired a new and broader perspective of its own significance. The years 1935*»1939 constituted a period in which better times made possible constructive efforts. The strength born of necessity in the depression was applied increasingly to a wider range of employee interests. Since 1935 the All City EiE^loyees* Association of Los Angeles has come to a fuller realization of its own potentialities. On the following page will be found a table of the growth of the Association. V. TWO ism It has been said that institutions often are but the shadows of men. With this in mind, one may look through the years of the existence of the All City Employees* Association and see the influence of various personalities. In early years and in late the contributions of a number of men have marked the growth €uid success of the organization. To attempt to single these persons out would be unfair. 18 if not impossible. However, an impartial observer, upon an objective search of the records, cannot avoid noticing the particular impact upon the Association of two men, Walter P. McNamara and ”Pat” Doyle. Walter P. McNamara. For more than thirteen of its seventeen years of existence, the All City Employees* Associa tion had the services of Walter P. McNamara. As Field Secre tary and as Editor of the magazine, this man gave a major share of his life to the welfare of city employees. Through out the records of the Association are eloquent indications of the large part he played in its affairs. For several years Mr. McNamara was instrumental in keeping the Association going. It was largely his oratory and tireless efforts that maintained enthusiasm and member ship high. The trust placed in him by city officials pro vided the principal liaison for many years between council and employees. He it was who edited the magazine, who wrote challenging and stimulating editorials, and who so repeatedly supplied the initiative and energy for Association affairs. The Association owes this man a debt of gratitude. * * Pat** Doyle. Without doubt the most colorful and beloved personality in Association history was that of **Pat” Doyle. His influence, expressed through official and un official relations with the organization, was great and was 19 TABLE I PAID MEMBERSHIPS OF THE ALL CITY EMPLOYEES* ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES — 1927-1939^ 1927 . 616 1926 . . 338 1929 . . 734 1930 . . 1,288 1931 . . 1,412 1932 . # 2,101 1933 . è 1,055 1934 . 1,808 1935 . . 2,016 1936 . . 2,047 1937 . . 3,530 1930 . . 3,715 1939 * . 3,497 From the membership records on file in the office of the All City Employees* Association, City Hall, Los Angeles. Com piled by Alex Chisholm, March 29, 1940. 20 good. No greater tribute can be paid to him than to say that he was appreciated and respected by his contemporaries. ”Pat” Doyle was Chairman of the Board of Directors every year from 1925 until his death in March of 1932. He was the founder and perennial leader and toastmaster of the remarkable Wampus Club. The chairmanship of picnics and other social activities was frequently his. He was more than this, for his geniality, his personality, and his idealism endeared him to all with whom he came in contact and exercised an influence on Association activities impossible of measure ment. Without the hard work of Walter P. McNamara and the social consciousness of ”Pat” Doyle, the history of the All City Employees* Association would have been a different story. CHAPTER III THE ROAD TO RETIREMENT Throughout its existence, the Employees* Association has been molded by one dominant objective— the securing of a pension plan# The desire for retirement provisions led to the founding of the Association, and it has been this same goal which mainly has occupied the attentions of the group ever since. It has been said that every healthy and success ful organization must be stimulated by some impelling force that constitutes a ♦ ’ reason for being.” For the Employees* Association this unifying element undoubtedly has been the struggle to obtain an official retirement plan. I. PRIOR EFFORTS The organization of the Employees* Association came about only after two unsuccessful efforts to secure a retire ment system. These attempts appear to have been inadequately sponsored by individual employees and certain roughly organ ized departmental groups. Through these two defeats the need for employee organization became apparent. 1918. The first attempt to establish a retirement system for city employees, other than for policemen and fire men, took place five years before the founding of the Associa tion. That effort occurred when the City Council placed on 22 the ballot for the election of November 5, 1918, Charter Amendment Number 4.1 This amendment provided an enabling act to permit the City Council to draft an ordinance creat ing a pension fund for city employees, and requiring that such an ordinance must also be submitted to the electorate before it could become effective. According to the records of the City Clerk, that proposed amendment was defeated by the follov/ing vote: Yes, 24,401; No, 38,665.^ 1920. Two years later another proposed amendment to the city charter was submitted to the electorate at the elec tion held on November 2, 1920. This amendment, known as Charter Amendment F, authorized the City Council to create, by ordinance, an ’ ’ Employee Relief and Pension Fund” to be used for payment of service pensions, disability pensions, pensions to widows, children or dependent parents of employees whose death occurred in, or resulted from, the performance of their duties, and pensions to widows, children or dependent parents of employees whose death occurred after retirement. The proposal further required the City Council to appropriate not less than 2 per cent of the total annual payroll of the ^ Minutes, City Council, City of Los Angeles; cited in Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. XI, No. 6 (June, 1937), p. 8. ^ Election records of the City Clerk, City of Los Angeles, election of November 5, 1918. 23 employees of the city from the revenues and taxes of the city. It was provided that the control of this fund be vested in a commission of five persons serving without compensation, to be known as the Employees* Pension Commission.3 The offi cial election records indicate that this proposal was de feated by but 4,050 votes, the count being: Yes, 48,931; No, 52,981.* II. "REASON FOR BEING" The All City Employees* Association was organized in the early part of 1923 and immediately devoted itself almost exclusively to pension efforts. That the securing of a retirement system monopolized the attentions of the founders is eloquently demonstrated by the first issues of their maga zine and by the early minutes of the Association. An editor ial in the first magazine sounds the keynote in its closing words: ”... so let* s boost and not knock and all pull together for a big and better Los Angeles and a pension for City Employees.”^ In the same issue is to be found an an nouncement of the next general meeting of the Association which seems to reflect the attitude and purpose of the time: ^ Minutes, City Council, loo, cit. ^ Election records, op. cit.. election of November 2, 1920. 3 Editorial. All City Employees* Bulletin. Vol. I, No. 1 (June, 1923), p. 2: 24 "Let everyone that oan come be there and pack the hall and show that the employees mean business, and that we won’t stop until we are 100 per cent and have a pension.”® The second issue of the magazine added fuel to the pension fires by printing an effective, if not too subtle, cartoon.*^ In this drawing an "active” employee has begun to fell a tree which is laden with fruit marked "pension.” He has paused to urge a lounging employee to do his share to complete the severing of the tree trunk. In the background a uniformed policeman and fireman discuss the situation by saying, ”We got ours by pulling together . . . they can do the same.” A long-whiskered individual labeled ”M. D.” and carrying a bottle marked "Pep” is ambling toward the two employees. The caption, however, reads: "Tell the World We Don’t Need a Doctor I” This cartoon must have had its effect, but one cannot avoid observing that the fruit is within easy reach and sympathizing somewhat with the "lazy” employee, who perhaps had carefully weighed the labor involved in cut ting down the whole tree and in simply plucking the fruit. References to pensions and retirement efforts fill the minutes of the early days. They indicate that committees were appointed, funds were raised and plans were laid. Min utes and magazine alike make it clear that the assigned or ® Editorial, All City Employees’ Bulletin, loo, cit. ^ All City Employees’ Bulletin. Vol. I, No. 2 (July. 1923), p.T5.--- --- -------- 25 chosen topic of all speakers at Association meetings was "Pensions.” These speakers, incidentally, included the mayor, councilmen, and candidates for the Board of Freeholders. III. FIRST STEP These early activities were focused upon one immediate objective. A Board of Freeholders was elected on June 5, 1923, for the purpose of writing a new city charter for the City of Los Angeles. It was the goal of the Association to persuade this Board of Freeholders to include in the proposed new charter some retirement provision. The first effort was that of preparing a specific retirement plan and of attempting to have it incorporated in the new charter. To draw up such a plan Charles R. Lewis, President of the Association, appointed a committee of W. C. Steele, W. J. Scott, and Robert Hardesty.® These men with the aid of the officers drew up a plan, had it approved by the Board of Directors, who presented it to the general mem bership. The minutes record the passing by the membership of the following resolution presented by C. D. Ray, Chairman of the Board of Directors: Resolved: That the All City Employees’ Association endorse the pension plan prepared by its special Pension Committee and that the Board of Freeholders is hereby requested to adopt a non-contributing pension May 12, 1923 8 Minutes, All City Employees’ Association, Los Angeles, 26 plan for all City Employees. Be it further resolved that the Board of Directors be instructed to work to this end.^ Two meetings later Mr. Ray reported that the Pension Plan and the sentiments of the Association had been conveyed to Mr. Ben Pearson of the Edison Electric Company, who had prom ised to present the case to the Board of Freeholders.^^ The next best thing. As a result of the pressure brought by the Employees’ Association, the Board of Free holders instructed Arthur Eldridge, Efficiency Director, to procure an actuarial survey and make recommendations. This was done. A summary of this report may be found in the pages of the Bulletin. Apparently the Board of Freeholders did not feel it advisable to include a pension plan in the new charter. After considerable discussion, however, they did the next best thing. A provision was included authorizing the Board of Pension Commissioners to prepare within six months after the effective date of a new charter, a pension plan for all city employees not under the police euid fire pension system and requiring that plan to be presented in ordinance form for submission to ^ Ibid., August 24, 1923. Ibid.. October 13, 1923. H All City Employees’ Bulletin. Vol. I. No. 3 (August. 1923), p.“S7 --- --- -------- 87 the electorate without alteration.After what appears to have been an eloquent address to the Association by George H. Dunlop, Secretary of the Board of Freeholders, the Asso ciation voted to approve the new city charter containing "L3 this compromise provision. A plan presented. The new charter containing this provision was adopted by the electorate on May 6, 1984, and ratified by the State Legislature on January 22, 1925, be coming effective on July 1, 1925. During this time the Association discussed various types of pensions, appointed several pension committees, and above all began a "war-chest" or pension can^aign fund. In the early part of 1926 President Charles D. Ray appointed Roy A. Knox, Efficiency Director, as Chairman of the Association’s Retirement Commit tee.Mr. Knox and his committee cooperated with Leon V. MeCardie, General Manager of the Police and Fire Pension Department, who was drafting the retirement plan as required by the char ter provision. The completed plan may be found printed in the Employee. The plan having been drawn up, the City City Charter (1925), City of Los Angeles, Art. 17, Sec. 187. X3 Minutes, op. cit.. February 9, 1924. The Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. I, No. 1 (September, 19261, p. 23. 13 Ibid., p. 18. 28 Council placed it on the ballot for the election held on November 2, 1926. IV. ELECTION DEFEAT The campaign to secure a favorable vote on the pension plan was directed by an executive committee consisting of a number of prominent employees. It was apparent that in spite of the committee’s efforts and the help of the Employee. the membership itself was not back of the plan. According to the opinion of Walter P. McNamara, then Editor of the Employee. ". . . approximately two-thirds of the employees of the city were dead against it.”l® Due primarily to this lack of un animity on the part of the employees, the measure was de feated at the polls by a vote of 51,102 for and 104,817 17 against.*’ ' V. TWO NEW EFFORTS 1927. Eeorly in 1927 a committee was appointed to pool the various ideas relative to retirement and to develop a plan which would meet with the approval of all concerned.X© After some groundwork had been done, the committee was 16 Ibid.. Vol. I, No. 3 (January, 1927), p. 1. Election records of the City Clerk, City of Los Angeles, election of November 2, 1926. X8 Minutes, op. cit.. April 15, 1927. 29 surplanted by an organization known as "City Employees Pen sion Association," which was formed on July 8, 1927, at which time the following officers were elected: H. A. Van Norman, President; Mattie H. Scherer, Vice President; Ned T. Powell, Treasurer; and F. A. Batty, S e c r e t a r y .X9 Although this group apparently got off to an enthusiastic start, its progress is not a matter of record. It appears to have dissolved with out having carried its efforts to any significant conclusion. 1930. Although pension discussion and activity never ceased, the next major effort dates from January 8, 1930. Upon that date President Oliver K. Jones appointed Hugh J. McGuire, Public Works Commissioner, as Chairman of a new Retirement Committee. This committee was composed of repre sentatives of every department in the city government. From the group Chairman McGuire appointed a sub-committee whose task was to be to draft a retirement plan. The following men were appointed: Leon Blog, Chairman; C. V. Welch, George J. Galloway, R. E. Hoyt, and G. F. Moran. Considerable time was spent by the sub-committee in drafting and perfecting a plan. Upon its completion, it was published in booklet form. The announced intention of the Association had been to submit this plan to the electorate Xhe Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. I, No. 9 (August, 1927), p. 4. 20 Ibid.. Vol. Ill, No. 10 (February, 1930), p. 2. 30 in November, 1930. However, as the year wore on, the cloud of depression grew darker, and it was finally decided by the Association to postpone action because of the prevailing economic conditions. Thus, another campaign was fruitless. VI. THE SUCCESSFUL DRIVE Success in the fourteen-year struggle for a retirement system was achieved at the end of a final drive, which lasted more than two years. It is impractical, in this general history, to describe in detail the many interesting facts in connection with this part of the campaign. The significant phases of this last successful campaign will be related. The Ordinance of 1935. New impetus was given to re tirement plan proposals in January, 1935, by a decision of the State Apellate C o u r t . This court action had to do with employees of the Park Department vftio had been placed on a half-time basis. In its decision the court ruled that the city must either employ its men full time or dismiss them from the service. Because of insufficient funds, the Park Commission was forced to dismiss fifty-one employees, many of whom had served the city for the preceding thirty or forty years. The situation thereby crystallized sentiment on the pension issue and stirred the City Council. ^X Lotts V. Board of Park Commissioners, 13 Cal. App. (2d) 625; 57 Pac. (2d) 215 (1936). 31 The Efficiency and Personnel Oommittee of the City Council, composed of Councilmen Hyde, Chairman; Cunningham, and Baumgartner, called a special meeting on January 14, 1935, to which were invited a number of persons interested in retirement plans. As a result of that conference, the following sub-committee was appointed by the committee’s chairman: Councilman Jim Wilson, Chairman ; I». V. McCardle, Secretary-General Manager, Police and Fire Pension Department; Roy A. Knox, Director, Bureau of Budget and Efficiency; Dan 0. Hoye, Chief Accountant and Deputy City Controller; Mrs. Harriet M. Sunday and George D. Lyon, Civil Service Commis sioners; Robert Stahl, Deputy City Attorney; Walter P. McNamara, Fie IdrSe or et ary, All City Employees’ Association; and Charles McIntosh, Civil Service Protective League. At approximately the same time the Association appointed a new Retirement Committee. President Paul A. Hastings named the following men to this group: Dan 0. Hoye, Chairman; Hugh J. McGuire; Leon Blog; C. V. Welch; and Charles Walbridge.^3 This committee worked with the Council committee and was apparently one of the impelling forces in the subsequent developments. Largely as a result of the work of these two committees. The Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. IX. No. 2 (March. 1935), p. "E-------^ -------- Minutes, op. cit.. January 23, 1935. 32 the City Council after several hearings adopted an ordinance on June 24, 1935, authorizing the establishment of a retire ment system for city employees, excepting policemen, firemen, and employees of the Department of Water and Power. This ordinance was approved by Mayor Frank L. Shaw on June 28 and an actuarial survey was ordered. However, the City Council, in adopting the 1935-36 tax rate on August 28 excluded the levy for the pension plan and postponed the effective date of the ordinance to January 1, 1936.^^ Several efforts between September and January to secure the provisions for the necessary funds resulted in vigorous Council debates but were unsuccessful. In January, 1936, Dan C#Hoye was again appointed to serve as chairman of the Association’s Retirement Committee, composed of Leon Blog, C. V. Welch, W. L. Nunes, L. W. Helgeson, and J. J. Hassett.^® The endeavor to obtain an appropriation to give effectiveness to the 1935 ordinance was continued by this group and the Association but without success. Despairing of this approach, the Association, on February 28, 1936, proposed that the city’s share of the retirement fund be financed by limiting the replacement posi tions to fixed percentages of the retirements during the 24 Ibid., December 18, 1935. Ibid.. February 5, 1936. 33 ensuing three years and by appropriating the resultant salary savings to the retirement fund, thereby eliminating the nec essity for additional taxation.^3 president George A. Terhune, always active in the pension campaign, sponsored this solution. Action on the proposal was postponed pending a public hearing to be held on March EG. On that date Mr. Terhune added weight to his arguments by presenting a petition urging the City Council to adopt the financing plan which was signed by 48,500 persons.These signatures had been obtained in six days by Association members with the assistance of the Street Maintenance Employees’ Association. After hearing arguments of the proponents and opponents, the Council de ferred action until April 9. At that time a motion for the immediate adoption of the financing plan for the already adopted pension ordinance lost by one vote, and the Council indicated that an amended plan might be submitted to the electorate at the April, 1937, primaries. The Ordinance of 1936. The Association, however, con tinued its drive to place the plan, with its amended financing proposal, in effect before submission to the electorate. These efforts culminated in the adopting by the City Council of a new retirement ordinance on July 31, 1936. However, this Ibid.. February 26, 1936. Interview with George Terhune, City Hall, Los Angeles, November, 1939. 34 measure was vetoed by the Mayor. This step marked the end of any real efforts on the part of the Association to attain their goal through Council ordinance and led to direct action. The initiative measure. Discouraged with previous approaches and spurred by the success of the Department of Water and Fov/er in having placed on the ballot its pension in the form of a charter amendment, the Association decided to go directly to the people. In December 9, 1936, the Board of Directors voted to seek a retirement system through initia tive petition and authorized the President, Mr. Terhune, to appoint a Board of Strategy.Selected for the committee were the following men: President-elect, Charles L. Bell, Chairman; Reuben F. Brown; Alexander Chisholm; John W. Donner; Paul A. Hastings; Dan 0. Hoye; Leon V. McCardle; Louis Miller; William L. Nunes; Tom J. Rice; C. E. Steele; and George A. Terhune. On December 21, the committee held its first meeting and selected Tom J. Rice as Campaign Director; Merrill Butler, Finance Chairman; C. K. Steele, Publicity Chairman; H. A. Manes and Reuben F. Brown, Liaison Chairmen; E. G. Evans, Personnel Chairman; George A. Terhune, Retirement Chairman; and John Z. Budrovic, Treasurer. It was voted to circulate an initiative petition to place the issue on the May 4 ballot. 28 Minutes, o£. cit.. December 9, 1936 35 To secure funds for the campaign, it was agreed to solicit the employees for contributions. A pension plan was carefully drafted which was adopted unanimously by the Board of Directors.After this was done, an intensive eleven-day drive was conducted to secure signa tures on the initiative petition. The thoroughness with which this task was done is indicated by the fact that on March 3, 1937, the largest petition ever presented to the City Council, containing 179,320 names, was submitted. Some of the spirit of the moment, a dramatic insight into the em ployees’ devotion to their cause, is caught in a contemporary description of the presentation of the petitions to the City Council. In the procession of employees carrying bundles of petitions were workers from practically every city department. Young feminine stenographers and clerks were alongside elderly male laborers, mechanics, and engineers. There were janitors and elevator operators; health employees and humane inspectors; librarians, accountants, and administrators. Some of those in the line will have to serve thirty to forty years more before they can possibly retire. Others present will doubtless retire as soon as legal provisions therefor exist. One 87-year-old Street Maintenance worker followed a stenographic employee, age 25, from the Police Department. Up the aisle they went, depositing their bundles triumphantly on the large table, sur rounded by the desks of Council m e m b e r s .30 Without the formality of checking the names, the Council ordered the proposed Charter amendment placed on the May 4 X3id.. January 13, 1937. The Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. XI, No. 3 (March, 19377,“ s T ............ . 36 ballot* From that time until election a vigorous and whole hearted campaign was conducted. The Employee was filled virtually from cover to cover with explanations, endorsements, charts, and "sales talks." As never before, the Association was welded into a unified group with singleness of purpose. Money was spent; pamphlets were distributed; speeches were made. The Employees’ Association was out to win votes— and it did. The election resulted in 179,628 votes being cast in favor of Charter Amendment No. 1 and 101,062 votes against the measure.31 The amendment was subsequently ratified by the State Legislature, filed with the Secretary of State on May 14 and became effective on July 1, 1937. This would appear to be the end of the campaign, but one more skirmish remained. Writ of Mandate. On August 25 City Controller, Ban 0. Hoye, transmitted to the City Council the proposed tax levy for the following year as required by law. In the budget had been included, of course, the estimated expense for the new retirement plan. This amount had been set at $1,069,402 by the actuarial survey of the Board of Adminis tration of the City Employees* Retirement System. After a 31 Election records of the City Clerk, City of Los Angeles, election of May 4, 1937. 37 great deal of bitter debate, largely over the retirement system; and after several proposals and counter-proposals had been made, the Council finally set the tax rate two cents lower than the year before and refused to include any levy for retirement whatsoever. In perspective it can be said safely that this action was largely prompted by the desire of the Council to avoid an increased tax rate. At that time, however, the issue was beclouded by charges that the whole retirement plan had been misrepresented by the Employees’ Association. Councilman Lewis flatly accused the city employees of deceiving the 1/ voters by allegedly claiming that the retirement plan would not cost the taxpayers anything* In this stand he was joined by Councilman Hyde, who threatened that if the employees "put anything over," they would have to suffer a cut in salaries to pay for the retirement plan. This and other charges were answered by President of the Association, Charles L. Bell, and others.®® It was pointed out that all campaign literature clearly stated the true facts and named a figure of one dollar per home-owner as the approximate cost to the taxpayer. This rebuttal was backed up by newspaper clippings from the metropolitan press. 32 Minutes, op. cit.. September 1, 1937 Ibid.. Vol. XI, No. 9 (September, 1937), p. 3. 33 58 which also definitely carried the correct information about the probable cost. Apparently the confusion arose in the minds of the Councilmen out of their failure to discriminate between the pension plan which had been proposed by ordinance to be financed by limiting rehiring and the entirely new one proposed by initiative petition. Though the employees appear to have adequately answered the charges, the Council refused to change its stand. The only recourse of the pension supporters was legal action. Accordingly, the Association sponsored a test case. John F. McAlpine, a retired city employee, petitioned the State Supreme Court for a Writ of Mandamus compelling the City Council to appropriate the money as required by the charter amendment voted in creating the pension. The Supreme Court assumed original jurisdiction and on December 22, 1957, by a unanimous decision, upheld the petitioner.In the meantime the Retirement Plan went into effect as of July 1, because the City Controller, acting on legal advice, loaned to the Retirement System the necessary money from general funds. Thus what appears to be the final chapter in a long and difficult struggle was written. Again the value of de termination and cooperation was proven. McAlpine v. Baumgartner, 10 Cal. (2d) 409; 74 Pac. (2d) 755 (1957). 39 VII. THE PLAN All regular city* employees, except those covered by the Police and Fire Pension System, the employees of the Department of Water and Power, and certain other classifica tions, are members of the retirement system. The plan is operated on an actuarial basis with employees and city con tributing equally to the cost. The city+s share of the contributions is provided by taxation or may be appropriated by the Council from any source. The employees* share, based on all salaries up to and including five hundred dollars per month, comes from payroll deductions. Retirement. An employee who has reached the age of sixty and who has been in the city service for at least ten years may retire voluntarily if he wishes. His pension in that case is one seventieth of his average salary for the past ten years multiplied by the number of years of service. When an employee reaches the age of seventy, he is required to retire. His retirement payments are on the same basis as those of sixty years of age, except that those who were em ployed at the time of the passage of the system are guaranteed a minimum of 30 per cent of the average salary of the last ten years. Ordinary disability. An employee who is disabled or otherwise is unable to work and who has been with the city 40 at least ten years, is entitled to one-eightieth of his average salary for the past ten years. He is guaranteed a minimum of one-fourth his average salary for the past ten years. Disability in line of duty^ One who is disabled as a result of his work is entitled to the above compensation plus whatever benefits may be forthcoming under the Workman*s Compensation Act. Death before retirement. The estate or beneficiary of an employee who dies from ordinary causes receives the employee*s accumulated contributions with interest. If he has been with the city for at least ten years, the widow, minor children, or dependent parents receive in addition a monthly pension for one year of one-half the employee*s salary at the time of death. If the employee is killed in line of duty, the pension is the same plus whatever benefits may be forthcoming from the Workman* s Compensation Act. Death after retirement. Upon the death of a retired employee who is receiving retirement benefit, the estate is paid the unused balance of his contributions with interest plus a death benefit of five hundred dollars. Withdrawal. When an employee leaves the city service for whatever reason, he may withdraw his accumulated 41 35 contributions with interest. Rate of contribution. It has been estimated that the employee’s contribution in relation to his salary will range from 3.96 per cent at the age of eighteen to 6.78 per cent at the age of fifty-nine or ©ver.^® Voters’ guide, ’ ’ Proposed Amendments to the Charter of the City of Los Angeles to be submitted to the vote of the electors. May 4, 1937,” Robert Dominguez, City Clerk of Los Angeles, March 3, 1937. Speakers’ Manual, prepared by All City Employees’ Association, 'on file In Los Angeles Municipal Library, City Hall. CHAPTER IV IN UNITY THERE IS STRENGTH One of the most significant contributions to employee welfare of the Association has been its sponsorship of mutual benefit and cooperative enterprises. Almost from the day of its founding the organization has concerned itself with one plan of mutual assistance or another. These undertakings have served not only to hold the association together but also have been of real aid to employees. I. CITY EMPLOYEES’ MORTUARY ASSOCIATION The beginning. The first welfare project to be obtained was a life insurance system on a mutual basis known as the City Employees’ Mortuary Association. The first recorded reference to efforts to secure such an insurance system is the appoint ment of a "Benefit Fund” committee on August 34, 1932.^ This committee consisted of C. D. Ray, C. R. Lewis, and Francis Brown. It was their responsibility to suggest a proposed plan and to attempt to secure an ordinance creating the system. A plan in outline form was formulated and with ex officio help from the City Attorney’s office was drafted into rough form. This plan was approved by the Board of Directors ^ Minutes, All City Employees’ Association, Los Angeles, August 34, 1923. 43 on January 12, 1924,^ and was then presented to the City Council. A brief contemporary description is reproduced here: Any employee of the city may join. That means all departments, including the fire and police. It will cost two dollars to join the ^Benefit Fund.” "After the first payment it will cost one dollar upon the death of a member. It will pay two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) to the employee’s dependent family. A reserve fund of ten thousand dollars will be held by the city treasurer to pay the claims. N. T. Powell, city treasurer, will act as custodian of the fund and take care of the collec tions from the employees. The largest amount paid is twenty-five hundred dollars. If there are less than twenty-five hundred members, the benefit paid will be one dollar for every member. The more members belonging, the better it will be for the employees, and the cheaper the insurance.^ After the proposed ordinance had been shuttled about to such an extent that even the officers of the Association of that time often did not know its status, it eventually was referred to the Council’s Committee on Finance. The Finance Committee returned the plan on March 22, 1924, without com ment as to its merits but with the recommendation that it be sent to the City Attorney’s office for study and drafting.^ Although changes were made and an ordinance officially drawn ^ * January 12, 1924. ^ All City Employees’ Bulletin, Vol. II, No. 1 (January, 1924), p . " T 7 ------------- ^ Communication 1615, March 18, 1924, printed in All City Employees’ Bulletin, Vol. II, No. 5 (May, 1924), p. 6. 44 up, the proposal never was approved by the Council. Incorporation proceedings. During the several months that the proposed insurance ordinance had been pending, the Association had been proceeding on the assumption that it would be adopted. Members had been asked to sign up if they were planning to join the undertaking, and by November, 1923, 3,500 had responded.® Thus, when it appeared that the city was not going to sponsor the plan, the employees decided to initiate and manage it themselves. On May 24, 1924, the Association decided to begin proceedings to incorporate their own insurance organization with the State of California and appointed Hugh Y. Gibson, the Association attorney, to draw up Articles of Incorpora tion.^ Mr. Gibson completed his assignment, and at the meet ing of June 28, 1924, the Association approved the Articles of Incorporation and the By-Laws. At the same meeting seven directors of the embryonic "City Employees’ Mortuary Associa tion” were elected as provided by the By-Laws. These were: Charles R. Lewis, Charles D. Ray, Albert C. Read, G. P. Cooke, S. Oliver, 1. R. Reese, and John M. ^uint.^ ® Minutes, 0£. cit.. November 10, 1923. ® Ibid., May 24, 1924. ^ Ibid.. June 28, 1924. 45 There was a short delay in securing the charter from Sacramento due to an error in the papers. In the meantime the Association proceeded with the necessary arrangements. Offices were secured at 101 Court Street. On August IS, 1924, the Charter arrived and the Mutual Benefit Association o was legally instituted. At the next meeting of the Employees’ Association it was voted to hire a secretary, to help pay the attorney who drew up the plan, and to spend forty dolleurs to advertise the new undertaking.® The plan in brief. The Mortuary Association was open to all city employees from any department upon the payment of an initial and annual two-dollar fee.^^ Upon the death of any member, an appropriate assessment was made against all members to cover the amount of benefit received by the heirs of the deceased. The amount of this assessment was determined by the Board of Directors of the Mortuary Association, but, by the provisions of the charter of the Association, no single levy could exceed three dollars. In the event that a member left the employ of the city, he might continue his membership; but if he became delinquent or otherwise was disqualified, he o j Angeles City Employee, Vol. I, No. 1 {September, Q Minutes, o£. cit.. September 27, 1924. Later changed to two dollars and fifty cents a year. 46 could not rejoin. Should he again enter the city service, he might again affiliate but without any previously earned senior ity. The benefits to be paid were; membership of less than six months, #500.00; membership of more than six months, #100.00 additional for each month over six months to a total of twelve months, and #100.00 additional for each year above the first twelve months. Two thousand dollars was the maxi mum payment. This schedule could be changed by a majority of the members. A member retained no equity in the fund which might be withdrawn.^^ Progress of the plan. After its founding, the Mortuary Association grew rapidly. Within two months #2,500.00 in membership fees had been collected and the first two claims of #500.00 each had been duly paid. These claims required the first assessment which was voted by the Board of Directors on November 6, 1924, and was one of two dollars on every member. By November 22, four claims had been paid^® and others were met in December* This called for the second assessment of two dollars on December 19, 1924.^^ At the end of one year By-Laws, City Employees’ Mortuary Fund, printed in All City Employees’ Bulletin, Vol. II, No. 9 (October, 1924). All City Employees’ Bulletin. Vol. II, No. 10 (November, Ï924), p. 4. Minutes, 0£. cit.. November 22, 1924. Notice of Assessment, All City Employees’ Bulletin, Vol. II, No. 11 (December, 1924), p. 16. 47 more than #20,000 had been paid in claims, and the Mortuary Association was solvent and experiencing little difficulty, except the usual collection problems.^® In two years fifty claims had been paid for a total of #41,100.^® The three year mark was passed in August, 1927, with eighty-nine claims totalling #72,200 having been paid. At this point the plan had cost the oldest members an average of #1.27 per month. . Eclipse of the Mortuary Association. The mutual in surance system appears to have functioned satisfactorily until 1928. During this year, however, it began to experience dif ficulty. Minutes and magazine record a story of increasing financial trouble. At first benefits were halved and assess ments were increased, but this did not suffice. A combination of circumstances were at work to assure the ultimate failure of the system. The first difficulty was an abnormal number of deaths during the early part of 1928 which not only de pleted the treasury but, because of the resultant assessments, caused many members to withdraw. This development was aggra vated by the fact that each year the benefits grew larger, as 1 5 Minutes, 0£. cit.. September 26, 1925. Report of Mortuary Association. Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. I, Ho. 1 (September, 1926), p. 22. Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. II, No. 9 (July, 1927), p. 4. 48 they were based on length of membership, and most employees had been members from the beginning. These hurdles were climaxed by the establishment of group insurance in April, 1928, which was sufficiently attractive to constitute the final blow. The Mortuary Association dissolved in the summer of that year. II. GROUP INSURANCE The oldest major organized service of the Employees’ Association is the Group Insurance Plan. This project has been in continual operation for thirteen years. It is today an important feature of Association membership. The founding. In the latter part of 1926 the Board of Directors of the Mortuary Association foresaw the waning pop ularity of the plan and anticipated its future difficulties. On December 1, 1926, they voted to investigate.the possibil ities of a group insurance plan on a non-mutual basis with a private carrier. Mr. A. B. Abbott, Deputy City Controller, was appointed to survey and report on the matter.^® Mr. Abbott began his study immediately by contacting insurance companies and by circulating a questionnaire to six thousand Minutes, Board of Directors, Mortuary Association, printed in Los Angeles City Employee, Vol. II, No. 5 (March, 1927), p. 3?;----- A ’ 49 19 employees. There were no significant developments until 1928 when a committee composed of A. B. Abbott, J. J. Hassett, Charles 0. Brittain, D. M. True, George Hjelte, C. D. Ray, and L. F. Mershon brought the plan into effect. This group secured a proposed set-up from the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, which was already serving the Department of Water and Power. The proposal was endorsed by the Employees’ Association, and nothing remained but to secure the pledge to join of 75 per cent of the employees, as this was one of the stipulations of the insurance company. These commitments were secured and the plan became effective on April 20, 1928.20 The plan in brief. The original plan was open to all city employees except those of the Fire, Police, and Water and Power departments. This entire group was known as the Los Angeles City Employees’ Association and was governed by a Board of Directors. This Association dealt as one organiza tion directly with the insurance company. Those who joined the plan were entitled to both death and disability protec tion. Those of fifty-four years of age or less paid $2.50 per month and were entitled to $2,500 life insurance; those Angeles City Employee, Vol. 1, No. 5 (March, 1927), p. 34. 20 ti^jiat Group Insurance Means to You," Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. II, No. 2 (June, 1928), p. 50 between the ages of fifty-five and sixty-nine paid #1.00 per month and received #1,000 protection; and those of seventy years and more paid fifty cents and were entitled to #500 death benefit. All ages were protected by a permanent dis ability clause which paid beneficiaries #53.25 per month for a period of fifty months. Each employee received an indi vidual policy in which he retained a personal vested and convertible interest. For the first sixty days no physical examination was required. Monthly payments were made by pay roll deductions. Dividends, when earned, were to be paid to on members. Development. The plan prospered and has continued in effect up to the present time. Some minor changes from time to time were made, and a somewhat different set-up resulted from a change in the carrying company in 1933, but the orig inal plan is the nucleus for the present one. At the end of the first year the cornual report indicated that during the year the membership grew from 2,992 members insured for #6,834,500 to 3,593 members insured for #7,200,000. During the year forty-three death claims were paid totalling #50,000, and five disability claims were allowed. Dividends amounting to a total of #12,693.91 were paid.22 21 Los Angeles City Employee. loc. cit. pp Annual Report, Group Insurance, printed in Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. Ill, No. 1 (May, 1929), p. 28. 51 Change of insurance company. By 1923 the insurance group was experiencing actuarial and other difficulties. Accordingly the Board of Control of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Association^® investigated the possibilities of other plans and companies. Upon the basis of new actuarial studies and the provisions of an offered contract, the Board awarded the group insurance contract to the Occidental Life Insurance Company of Los Angeles. The new company assumed the plan on April 20, 1933, the day that the Equitable con- PA tract closed. Today. There are at the present time approximately 1,500 employees receiving death and disability protection under the plan. Employees may take out insurance in the amount of $1,500; upon reaching the age of sixty-one, this amount is reduced to $1,000 and upon reaching the age of sixty-six, to $500. When a member of this group terminates his employment with the city, he may convert his insurance to any standard type of policy at standard premium rates without medical examination. Throughout its more than twelve years of existence under two companies, the Group Insurance Plan has paid out 23 The insurance group— not to be confused with the All City Employees’ Association. 24. Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. VII. No. 5 (May. 1933), p. S C ------- 52 daims amounting to more than $781,627 on 452 policies.2® III. CREDIT UNIONS Another cooperative enterprise which has henefitted greatly the individual en^loyee has been that of sponsoring credit unions. The Association and its membership have been connected with two credit unions, one in an ex officio manner and the other directly. These are The Municipal Credit Union and The Los Angeles City Employees’ Federal Credit Union. Both are operating today. The Municipal Credit Union. The first credit union organized for employees of the city was The Municipal Credit Union. This group began operation in March, 1928, under the impetus, apparently, of private sponsorship combined with public employee interest. G. C. Lane, a private citizen, promoted its founding and as permanent Secretary-Treasurer has managed it since that time. The Municipal Credit Union operates exclusively within the employee bodies of the city, county, and school district of Los Angeles. Its announced purposes are: first, to pro vide a thrift plan whereby members are enabled to save money, and, second, to use the money thus available to create credit resources at reasonable rates of interest for members of the 2® Unselfish Service, a pamphlet, printed by All City Employees’ Association, Los Angeles, 1939. 53 Union. Shares of stock are issued at five dollars per share which may be purchased only by employees of the three mentioned governmental groups. Interest is paid on these shares and they are redeemable at par value within sixty days. Employ ees who have thus become members may then deposit money with the Union as they would at a bank and are entitled to interest on their money. From the funds thus raised from stock sales and deposits, loans are made to members at rates which are ordinarily lower than those charged by the ordinary commercial loaning agency. The Union is governed by officers which are elected by the stockholders. The first president was M. E. Peterson.26 Los Angeles City Employees’ Federal Credit Union. The All City Employees’ Association is the sponsor of a highly successful credit union known as the Los Angeles City Employ ees’ Federal Credit Union. Founding. On February 5, 1936, Mr. Walter C. Thiel of the Bureau of Budget and Efficiency appeared before the Board of Directors of the All City Employees’ Association and advo cated the establishment by the Association of some form of credit union. He outlined the general approach to such a plan and stated that there was no reason why it should not 26 C. C. Lane, "The Municipal Credit Union,” Los Angeles City Employee, Vol. IV, No. 8 (December, 1930), p. 5^. 54 work for the Association. Following Mr. Thiel’s remarks, the Board of Directors voted to investigate the matter fur ther and named Mr. Thiel as chairman of a Credit Union Com mittee. 2^ The next month Mr. Thiel made his report. In it he recommended that a credit union be established in conjunction with the Federal Credit Union, which was sponsored by the Credit Union Section of the Farm Credit Administration. The Board of Directors approved the proposal and ordered the committee to proceed in the organization of such a union.2® Arrangements proceeded with dispatch. Questionnaires circulated among the employees indicated their indorsement and future membership. Details were worked out with the Federal authorities, and on May 7, 1936, the City Council and the Mayor passed the required ordinance.2® The plan beccune effective on May 20, 1936.®^ How it works. One becomes a member of the Union upon the payment of a twenty-five cent fee. Each member agrees to save at least twenty-five cents per month until one five 2*7 Minutes, All City Employees’ Association, Los Angeles, February 5, 1936. Ibid.. March 11, 1936. 29 Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. X, Mo. 4 (May, 1936), p. 2. Ibid.. Vol. X, No. 5 (June, 1936), p. 5. 55 dollar share bas been purchased. These and any additional savings may be withdrawn, but a sixty day notice may be required. While in debt to the Union, a member may not with draw more than will leave a balance in excess of his loan. The money thus collected, used primarily for loans, must be deposited in a bank selected by the Board of Direc tors, which must be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The treasurer and others handling the money must be bonded. Fees, fines, and 20 per cent of the net earnings are set aside as a reserve against bad loans. Funds not needed for lending to members may be invested only in accordance with limitations laid down in the Federal Credit Union Act. The Union is examined periodically by an examiner of the Farm Credit Administration. Loans are made only to members at an interest rate not exceeding 1 per cent per month on unpaid balances. Interest covers all charges for making the loan, but small fines may be assessed if payments are not made when due. The term of a loan may not exceed two years. Payment is usually by pay roll deductions. The maximum limits on secured and unsecured loans are fixed by the Board of Directors, but, according to law, an unsecured loan may not exceed fifty dollars and an adequately secured loan may not exceed two hundred dollars unless the Credit Union’s unimpaired capital and surplus exceeds two 56 thousand dollars. In that case the maximum size of a loan is 10 per cent of such capital and surplus. Security for a loan may include the assignment of shares or endorsement of a note, In passing on loan applications, a credit committee carefully considers the purpose of the loan, the character of the appli cant, his ability to repay, and the security offered. The business affairs of the Union are handled by a Board of Directors, a Credit Committee, and a Supervisory Committee. These directors and committeemen are elected by the members at an annual meeting each January. Every member has one vote regardless of the number of shares he holds. The Board of Directors of seven members directs the operations of the Credit Union. It elects from its own mem bership the officers of the Union, vhich are a president, a vice president, a treasurer, and a clerk. The Credit Com mittee of three members considers and passes or rejects loan applications. The Supervisory Committee of three members audits the books quarterly. Dividends may be paid from the balance of earnings remaining after expenses have been paid and 20 per cent of net earnings have been set aside as a reserve for possible bad loans. Dividends are authorized by a majority of the members voting at the annual meeting.®^ ®^ By-Laws, Los Angeles City Employees’ Federal Credit Union, February, 1939. 57 Progress. A good indication of the growth and excel lent progress of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Federal Credit Union can he had from the following statistics which compare the year 1937 with that of 1939. Assets increased from $46,433.18 to $202,188.17; loans grew from 1,437 to 6,144; dividends paid advanced from #1,086.88 to $6,117.85, and membership swelled from 1,024 to 2,223.®^ Employees appear to be pleased with the Credit Union, and every indi cation points to its continued success. IV. LIFE INSURANCE Establishment. Recognizing that the group insurance carried by the Occidental Life Insurance Company did not meet all needs, the Board of Directors of the All City Employees’ Association voted on July 8, 1936, to establish a committee to study other plans.®® It was intended, and it has been true, that any new life insurance plan would supplement rather than displace the existing group insurance. The committee as subsequently appointed was composed of George Dee, Chairman; John F. Schwartzlose; and Charles S. McCormick. After extensive investigation of many companies and the evaluation of several plans, the committee voted unanimously 32 From annual reports on file in the offices of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Federal Credit Union. ®® Minutes, op. cit.. July 8, 1936. 58 to endorse the proposition submitted by the State Farm Life Insurance Company of Bloomington, Illinois. After consider able debate and explanation the committee’s recommendations were accepted by the Board of Directors.®^ The new plan went 35 into effect in December, 1936. The plan. Under this plan each insured employee re ceives an individual policy which cannot be cancelled as long as the premiums are paid. During his city service, the employee can pay his premiums through monthly payroll deduc tions. If he leaves the city employ, he may make his payments direct to the insurance carrier. Upon proper evidence of insurability, an employee can obtain this protection up to five thousand dollars. Two op tions are provided. The first is coordinated with the City Employees’ Retirement System and provides that commencing after the age of forty-five, each one thousand dollar unit diminishes in value for each succeeding year to age seventy as the accumulated contributions of the employee to the Retirement System increase. The premium rate of eighty-four cents for each one thousand dollar unit under this option does not change during the entire life of the policy. The second option provides that the total amount of each one Ibid.. December 9, 1936. ®® Angeles City Employee. Vol. XI, No. 1 (January, 1937), p. 12. 59 thousand dollar unit does not change during the entire life of the policy, but the premium increases each year after the age of forty-five has been reached. An accidental death benefit can be obtained which pays an additional one thousand dollars in cash per unit in the event of death by accident. This benefit is available to those in non-hazardous occupations at an extra monthly pre mium of sixteen cents. A disability benefit which waives premium in case of total and permanent disability can be obtained for an additional premium of four cents per month.®® V. HEALTH AND ACCIDENT INSURANCE On December 14, 1938, Charles S. McCormick, Chairman of the Insurance Committee, recommended that a Health and Accident Insurance Plan ^be adopted. He proposed signing an agreement with the National Casualty Company of Detroit, Michigan* The report was passed by the Board of Directors and the plan became effective the same month. ®^ It provides accident and sickness benefits for fifty- two weeks and is protection on and off the job. In addition to weekly accident and sickness benefits, fifty dollars is provided to cover expenses incurred for hospital, nurse, and 36 Unselfish Service. ®*^ Minutes, op. cit.. December 14, 1938. 60 operations. A one hundred dollar sum is provided to put the employee in touch with friends or pay for his return, if he is away from home.®® VI. AUTO AND FIRE INSURANCE In June of 1929 the Association signed an agreement with the Marakas Insurance Agency which gave employees sub stantial reductions on auto insurance.®® In October a similar contract was signed with the same company to cover employee fire insurance.^® Both of these agreements have been discon tinued. Other insurance contracts have been made from time to time. Today low-cost fire insurance is available through the Association’s agreement with the Northwestern Mutual Fire Association of Seattle, Washington. This contract was signed in June, 1939.^^ VII. THE ROSS-LOOS MEDICAL GROUP Justice cannot be done in this history to the story behind the Ross-Loos Medical Group and to the Association’s relationship to it. Significant it is as a social movement, and interesting, to this writer, is its history. It is to be Unselfish Service. ®® Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. Ill, No. 2 (June, 1929), p. 1. Ibid.. Vol. Ill, No. 6 (October, 1929), p. 37. Unselfish Service. 61 hoped that someone familiar with its development may unfold the complete story in a way which is impossible here. The adoption. Early in the year of 1929 the Associa tion began to work upon the problem of securing a group medical and hospital plan. In the July issue of the magazine appeared a plan offered by the Industrial Service Association.^^ At first this plan was accepted and an effort was started to secure enough employees to put it into operation. Before this could be accomplished, however, the Board of Directors decided to go into the matter further and investigate all pos sibilities. On October 18, 1929, the Board of Directors and the general membership voted unanimously to adopt the Ross- Loos Plan.^® The next month a full page description of the Medical Group was run in the magazine.Questionnaires were distributed to employees to determine whether or not there was a sufficient number who would participate.^® It took some time to do this, to perfect the contract, and to secure Council approval of payroll deductions. The Association Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. Ill, No. 3 (July, 1929), p. 17“ Minutes, op. cit.. October 18, 1929. Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. Ill, No. 7 (November, 1929), insTde back cover. Ibia.. Vol. Ill, No. 8 {December, 1929), p. 5. 62 joined the Ross-Loos Group in April, 1930.^® The plan. Members subscribe two dollars monthly, through payroll deductions, to secure the benefits of the group. New employees may become subscribers without examina tion within ninety days after their employment. Other non member employees may become subscribers after medical examination given without charge by the Ross-Loos Medical Group. Membership entitles one to almost complete medical protection. It includes medical and surgical care, X-ray, physiotherapy, drugs and medicines, hospitalization up to ninety days each year, eye examinations, and ambulance ser vice. Dependents of subscribers are extended special privi leges at a reduced fee. ^® Minutes, op. cit.. March 20, 1931. CHAPTER 7 THE GOLDEN RULE It is often said that it is much easier to unite people in a common hate or in a common fear than it is to unite them in a common love. Those who profess this thesis point to the authoritarian regime as proof that peoples may he welded to gether more successfully by fear or hate of their fellow men than by any other means. To accept this point of view is to deny the fundamental basis of democracy; but, more than that, it is to deny, too, the goodness of man and any hope for a better society. Those who have more faith in mankind can answer these indictments of man’s social attitudes, but these pages are not the place for that. However, when one comes across an out standing example of the fundamental sociability of man, he is pleased and wishes to make his discovery known. Such an ex ample has been provided through the All City Employees* Association. Unprompted by fear or hate and without coercion of any kind, the employees of the city voluntarily at one time under took to provide for the city*s unemployed. In the depths of the depression almost unanimously the employees contributed out of their own pockets to feed and clothe thousands of people who otherwise would have been destitute. The unselfish and enthusiastic way in which a great group of people joined 64 together to help others Is am eloquent indication that ia mam is a social comseiousness that Is destined to make life richer on earth. I . TRB AaBXXXLATBD G IT T FlOm iPO R T T B B : T 0 0 a 3 3 a & 3 = 3 , C y S ] B B C o . " . j 9 T [ E B : S 3 ' j M S A E B B By 1930 the last douhts that a major economic depres sion had descended upon the country had been removed. In this year unemployment had mounted rapidly and evidences of hardship and hunger had become increasingly discernible. In answer to this challenge of human suffering, the city employees created the Associated City Employees’ Fund for the Unemployed. The beginnings. In 1930 the Oity Council, faced with thousands of unemployed in the community* voted upon two dif ferent occasions, appropriations of twenty-five thousand dollars to put men to work. These funds were spent to hire men to clear firebreaks in the Santa Monica mountains. Dele gated to handle this activity was Fire Chief Ralph I. Scott and the Los Angeles Fire Department.^ The Fir® Department proceeded with its task, and, as it did, two things became apparent. First, it was obvious that the city funds wore just a start on the probleai and ^ Editorial, Los Angeles City F^ployee. Vol. IV, îlo. B ( B*c;a,dbe%t, ]L9i5(» , 65 would be exhausted almost immediately, and, second, that des titution is a very unpleasant thing. Firemen assigned to the supervision of this work observed that "over 50 per cent of the men who had started on the job fell by the wayside after an hour or so work through weakness caused by under nourishment, or, in plain, cold American language— HUNGER."^ In November, with no other help in sight, the firemen who had had a chance to see unemployment at first hand decided that they at least would do what they could to relieve the situation. Voluntarily they voted to assess themselves 1 per cent of their salaries each month in order that the work which the City Council had started might continue. It was logical that this idea should grow to include all city employees. On November El, 1930, Fire Chief Scott appeared before the general meeting of the All City Employees’ Association and, in a dramatic plea, proposed that they join the firemen in the 1 per cent plan for a period of four months. The Association responded by voting unanimously to do so. The President was instructed to support the plan at a meeting of department heads which the Fire Department had arranged and which the Mayor had called for Monday, November 24.^ The general committee meeting was held and a unanimous ^ Editorial, loo, cit. 3 Minutes, All City Employees’ Association, Los Angeles, November 21, 1930. 66 vote for the plan ensued* Everyone present agreed to go hack to his department and work for a 100 per cent subscription* Oliver K. Jones, President of the All City Employees’ Associa tion, was relieved of his regular duties to promote the idea* Thus it was that in December of 1930 the Associated City Employees’ Fund for the Unemployed was created.^ The plan* The Fund was set up in a business-like manner. The following officers were selected: President, C. K. Steele; Vice President, George W. Dean; Recording Secre tary, J. J. Hassett; Secretary-Treasurer, Thad M. Erwin, and Auditor, Alexander Chisholm. On the Board of Directors were these persons: Charles F. Becker, E. G. Evans, M. S. Slegal. Oak Amidon, Glen 0. Grant, Oliver K. Jones, I. H. Mershon, and L. B. Freedman. Press representative was Walter P. McNamara, Editor, Los Angeles City Employee.^ A central office was secured and staffed, but not one cent was ever paid in salaries. Placed in charge of this office and of the campaign was the efficient Captain Harry Frum, loaned from the Fire Department. Other workers were loaned from other departments.^ ^ Angeles City Employee. Vol. IV, No. 8 (December, 1930), p. 2. 3 Ibid.. Vol. V, No. 3 (March, 1931), p. 7. 3 F. Shirley, "The Los Angeles Fire Department and the Unemployed," Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. V, No. 2 (February, 1931), p. 17. 67 The funds were collected from payroll deductions amounting to 1 per cent of the monthly salary after the indi vidual had signed a card indicating his participation. These funds were then used to hire unemployed for city work chiefly in the Fire, Police, Health and Engineering Departments. The wage for everyone was the same: four dollars per day and no more than three days work per week. The unemployed were contacted by having them sign applications for work. This was done through the various fire stations because of their strategic locations. All ap plications were efficiently and quickly investigated and classified by the Fire Department personnel. The classifica tions into which applicants for work were divided were: first, the preferred class of bona fide residents of Los Angeles who were heads of families with minor dependents and who were in desperate need, as indicated by the investigator?s report ; second, men who were otherwise qualified but had no minor dependents; and, third, single men, those whose need was not so pressing, or out-of-town registrants.® The over whelming number of registrations made it impossible to ever consider the second and third classés. Results. The plan evoked an enthusiastic response by 7 Editorial, Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. V, No. 2 (February, 1931), p. 2. 8 Shirley, ( 0£. cit.. p. 17. 68 employees, unemployed and the public* That the employees did their part is indicated in an editorial by Walter P. McNamara* Every man and woman in the city service from the Valley to the Harbor, and every department, division, yard, and office, has answered the call by pledging one per cent of his or her salary for four months to put men to work so that their wives and children may be fed*^ The unemployed responded to an unanticipated extent* Within forty-eight hours after the announcement of the plan, two thousand heads of families had registeredand within one month fourteen thousand had signed.A vivid picture of the response of the unemployed is left us by Mr. McNamara. The writer has seen desperate men seeking work. They can be seen every hour of the day at the dif ferent fire stations in long lines registering for work. Reputable citizens of this community, fathers of families, war veterans, sons of dependent parents — all of them American citizens— in that ghostly line, and you cannot fool these people too long; they are human beings and there is a limit to human endurance. The plan met with popular approval too. Editorials in the metropolitan newspapers supported the endeavor and such people as Will Rogers, Bebe Daniels, James Gleason, and Reginald Denny actively worked for its success. 13 The following ^ Walter P. McNamara, "The Dawn of 1931,” Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. V, No. 1 (January, 1931), p. Angeles City Employee, Vol. V, No. 1 (January, 1931), p. 35. 11 Editorial, Los Angeles Times, January 29, 1931. 1^ McNamara, op. cit.. p. 1. 13 Editorial, "Los Angeles May be Proud," Los Angeles City Employee, Vol. V, No. 4 (April, 1931), p. 1. 69 paragraph taken from an editorial in one of the major news papers seems to sum up the public reaction to this effort. The part taken by the city employees of Los Angeles in the relief of the unemployed has been so generous and so spontaneous that it deserves to be set up as an example throughout the country.14 During the period from December, 1930, to August 31, 1931, which constitutes the first phase of the Associated Oity Employees’ Fund for the Unemployed, the following fig ures measure the results. Collected for the Fund was $114,469.42. Spent to aid the unemployed was $113,640.25. During the eight months of its existence the Fund distributed 7,900 checks covering 28,410 days’ w o r k .^3 II. THE ASSOCIATED CITY EMPLOYEES’ FUND FOR THE UNEMPLOYED— SECOND PHASE From September 1 to November 1, 1931, the Fund organ ization was virtually inactive, although some contributions continued to collect. However, under the impetus supplied by a committee of George W. Dean, Chairman; Thad M. Erwin, and E. G. Evans, a new drive was started. At their meeting of October 2, 1931, the Board of Directors of the Association voted to initiate a new campaign beginning on the first of Editorial, Los Angeles Evening Express. March 20, 1931. ^3 Final Report, Associated City Employees’ Fund, Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. V, No. 10 (October, 1931), p ♦ 35 . 70 November#^3 The new officers and directors of the Fund were: 0. K. Steele, George W. Dean, Thad M. Erwin, Homer Cross, 0. K. Jones, Mrs. Anne Leidendeker, E. G. Evans, Glenn 0. Grant, J. A. Woodruff, I. M. Mershon, J. J. Hassett, and W. P. McNamara.At an early meeting of this group it was voted to give preference in employment during this phase of the Fund to former city employees who had been laid off since January 1, 1931.^® As a matter of fact, practically all subsequent benefits went to former city employees. The second phase was as successful as the first, and, considering that this time there was no novelty attached to it, its results were remarkable. At the end of six months $100,103.75 had been collected and spent to provide 25,028 work days to 17,045 individuals. Altogether, the two phases of the Fund activities resulted in the distribution of $213,744 to 34,582 persons for a total of 53,438 work days. ^3 Minutes, All City Employees’ Association, Los Angeles, October 2, 1931. 1 7 Minutes, Board of Directors, Associated City Employ ees’ Fund for the Unemployed, November 17, 1931, reported in Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. V, No. 12 (December, 1931), p . 53. Loc. cit. 19 Letter from R. J. Scott, C. K. Steele, Milton Bryan to John C. Treanor, reprinted in Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. VI, No. 12 (December, 1932), p. 7. 71 III. APPLE SELLING Another unique and successful effort to aid the un employed was an apple selling campaign. The All City Employ ees’ Association completely financed and managed this endeavor. Under the chairmanship of Homer C. White (soon called red- apple Homer) of the Department of Water and Power, great quantities of apples were bought and sold. The selling was done by unemployed women, who retained all profits of their sales. A short time after its inception on February 3, 1931, the sale led to the appearance on practically every corner of the "apple woman." With the aid of generous help from the newspapers, the Association popularized this apple sale and made possible a helpful income for the sellers. During the two and one half months of the sale, more than 600 women made a net profit of $55,062.^^ IV. CITY EMPLOYEES’ AIRPORT CIRCUS To add to the unemployment fund the Association spon sored an Air Circus. This event, arranged in cooperation with the Gibraltar Automobile Club, was held at the Municipal Airport. More than' $1,500 was raised. 20 Letter from R. J. Scott, C. K. Steele, Milton Bryan to John C. Treanor, loo, cit. 21 Report on Air Circus, Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. V, No. 11 (November, 1931;, p. 33. 72 V. FOOD AND CLOTHING WAREHOUSE During the period of approximately four months, February, March, April, and May, 1931, the Employees’ Asso ciation maintained a food and clothing warehouse at Twelfth and Olive Streets. To this warehouse came food, clothing and money voluntarily contributed by city employees; from it went help to needy persons who, after investigation, were found worthy. During this period 4,063 families or a total of 18,648 persons received food to the value of $33,769.10, an average of $8.31 per family. During this same time 18,570 pieces of clothing were distributed to 3,212 persons. At the conclusion of this activity, all remaining supplies were 22 turned over to the Community Chest. VI. THE BOND ISSUE It was obvious at all times that the efforts of the Association and of the Fund, while accomplishing much, were dwarfed by the magnitude of the unemployment problem. Ac cordingly the officers of the Fund and of the Association early directed their attentions toward a more comprehensive solution. It was largely through their efforts that the cit izens of Los Angeles voted a five million dollar bond issue to provide work for the unemployed. Letter from R. J. Scott, C. K. Steele, Milton Bryan to John C. Treanor, loo, cit. 73 The Board of Directors of the Associated City Employees’ Fund for the Unemployed prevailed upon Mayor John C, Porter to call a meeting to consider the unemployment problem. This coBMittee was convened in the Mayor’s executive rooms on February 4, 1931. In attendance were: The Honorable City Council; Water and Power Commission; Harbor Commission; Board of Public Works; R. E. Steckel, Chief of Police; B. V. Scott, Fire Chief; H. A. Van Norman, Water and Power Depart ment; Roy A. Knox, Director Bureau of Budget and Efficiency; William H. Neal, City Attorney’s office, and the Executive Committee of the Associated City Employees’ Fund for the Unemployed. The employees supplied the initiative through the Fund organization, not only in having the meeting called, but in the deliberations of the meeting itself. The Executive Com mittee of the Fund was armed with a lengthy, well-written and pursuasive resolution which was immediately presented to the group. The final paragraph of the resolution read: Now, therefore, be it resolved, that a special $5,000,000 bond election be called at the earliest possible date to provide funds for hiring the un employed to be used on projects of general benefit to the community. . . .^3 After discussion and debate the group adopted this resolution Records of the Minutes of the various meetings called by His Honor. John C. Porter. Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. II, No. 3 (March, 1931), p. 2. 74 unanimously and asked the Mayor to appoint a sub-committee to make recommendations. The sub-committee was appointed with G. K. Steele of the Fund and Association as chairman* It met, conferred with the City Clerk as to election procedures and reported back to the original group on February 6, 1931, with the recommenda tion that a five million dollar Unemployment Bond Issue be placed on the ballot on or before March 17. The report was adopted and the election was subsequently called by the City Council for March 5, 1931.^^ The brunt of the election campaign was apparently borne by the city employees. The Association records reveal that many efforts were extended by the employees in making speeches and in other promotional arrangements. The Associa tion voted three hundred dollars to the campaign^® for post cards and for incidental expenses connected with billboards. Foster and Kleiser Company donated the boards, which carried a picture of a little girl saying, "Give My Baddy a Job— Vote s for the Bonds for the Unemployed, March 5, 1931." At a time when bond issues were almost predestined to defeat, this one was passed. 24 Records of the Minutes of the various meetings, loc. cit. 23 Minutes, All City Employees’ Association, Los Angeles, February 25, 1931. 75 The result of these efforts was the employment of thousands of men in the city who otherwise would have been completely destitute. CHAPTER VI CIVIL SERVICE An Association activity of growing importance is that of protecting the employee as a worker. In this respect the organization has achieved a number of successes in the ef forts which it has devoted, to tenure, wages, layoffs, and other related considerations. In recent years only, however, have these endeavors constituted a significant part of the Association program. This fact is due to several circumstances. The prin cipal of these is that the first and foremost goal of the Association for fourteen years was the securing of a pension plan. For that period of time most of the Association’s energy, attention, and resources were devoted to this end, thus minimizing other activities. Then, too, several years passed before the Association gained full stature or appeared to realize its potentialities, a fact, which seems to have limited its horizon. Finally, it should be remembered that during the first years of its existence the Association pro ceeded under the anaesthetic of exceptionally prosperous economic conditions. It is frequently true that during times of abundance few worry about their circumstances. It is difficult to present ein adequate review of the Association’s efforts in this field of activity. Because of 77 the nature of the problems which arise, much of the work is accomplished through conferences, letters and other informal means and is not a matter of record. Only one closely con nected with the organization is in a position to do justice to the Association’s attention to the field of civil service. The history of the All City Employees’ Association’s interest in civil service affairs is divided into three periods. These are: first, 1923-1929; second, 1930-1934, and third, 1935-1939. I. 1923-1929— FOUNDING TO FOUNDERING With the pension problem monopolizing its attentions, the Association did little else about civil service matters during this period. The late twenties brought an era of prosperity which appears to have made employees of the city quite satisfied with the circumstances of their Jobs. Once in 1924,^ once in 1925,^ and once in 1926® the records reveal casual references to resolutions asking for salary increases in certain specified positions. No general raises appear to have been requested. ^ Minutes, All City Employees’ Association, Los Angeles, August 23, 1924. ^ Ibid.. October 24, 1925. ® Ibid.. March 27, 1926. 78 The year 1927 marks the first time that the Associa tion seriously devoted itself to wages or working conditions. On January 21 the question of general raises was a topic for consideration at the regular meeting.^ This is the first reference to the subject in Association records. No formal action was taken at any time, but the officers apparently gave the question some attention. The next month brought a report that some raises had been secured,3 and in September® it was stated by President C. D. Ray that additional raises had been obtained. No other references are made of similar activities until, shocked by the collapse of prosperity, the employees were solidified in an effort to save their jobs and wages. II. 1930-1934— THE TOBOGGAN In 1930 the now famous depression decended over the United States. With real estate values growing smaller and other sources of public revenue shrinking, it was inevitable that the city of Los Angeles should have less and less money with which to meet the expense of operation. Budgets had to be reduced, and, as salaries constitute the major part of ^ Ibid,. January El, 1987. ® Ibid., February 18, 1927. ® Ibid.. September 16, 1927. 79 city expenditures, this reduction had to he in the public payroll. The emplo^^ees were not long in discovering this fact, and the All City Employees’ Association was not long in responding with a burst of interest and activity in civil service affairs. EFFORTS TO AVOID LAYOFFS By not reducing the budget. At first the Association attempted to swim upstream. In the face of reduced city revenues, it attempted to persuade the City Council that there was no reason to reduce the budget at all. Although this campaign may have had its effect in minimizing the amount of budgetary reduction, it was mainly destined to failure. In the spring of 1930 Mayor John C. Porter submitted his proposed budget as required by charter provision. This budget did not contemplate any reduction in payroll. How ever, the Finance Committee of the City Counoil could not console this budget of expenditures with estimated revenue and proposed to reduce it by one million dollars. The awakening of the Association to the problem and its reaction to it is indicated by an editorial appearing in the July issue of the Association magazine: Then, like a devastating cyclone, news broke over the heads of all employed in the different departments that the Finance Committee of the City Council had revised the proposed budget submitted by Mayor Porter 80 and purposed to cut nearly a million dollars from the payroll to meet an imaginary deficit. With the wisdom of Solomon they declared unctuously that there would be no salary cuts and that nobody would lose their job. They can tell that to Sweeney. #993,340 cut and no lay-offs or salary cuts! . . . These ledgermain wizards are delegating to the heads of departments, the power to remove any, or all, employ ees inconvenient for them to carry on the payroll, grant extended leaves of absence without pay, and flagrantly flaunt Civil Service rules and regulations. Back to the "Spoils System."? The effort of the Association to meet this situation took the form of a petition of considerable length to the Mayor.® In general, the petition advanced the following arguments: (1) conditions are not as bad as pictured, (2) reducing the budget will not only work a hardship on the employees, but it also will give the city a poor name and will add to the problem of unemployment, (3) the Council could easily increase revenues and cut other expenses, and (4) rather than cut the budget, the city’s reserve fund should be used. The import of the petition is really contained in the final paragraph: Therefore, in view of the above facts, we, the members of the All City Employees’ Association, . . . respectfully petition your Honor, that you veto any ^ Editorial, "Danger Ahead," Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. IV, No. 3 (July, 1930), p. 1. ® Minutes, 0£. cit., June 20, 1930. 81 proposed reductions in the budget as originally pro posed, and that you continue your original budget for the year 1930-31 in effect, using the reserve fund if necessary, temporarily, until such moneys as are needed can be raised from other sources to replace these reserves. . . .^ This petition was fruitless. The budget cut was made and layoffs seemed inevitable. The Council ordered depart ment heads to prepare by August 1, 1930, the lists of those who would be dismissed. These dismissals were to take place on September 1.^^ During the fiscal year the number of separations was not as large as had at first appeared pos sible. This fact was due to rigid economies, some use of other funds, and to a system of part-time employment. How ever, many employees, particularly in street improvements and public works, were laid off. By reducing salaries. Some layoffs occurred in 1930 and 1931 and larger numbers were dismissed in 1932 and 1933. However, the number of separations was small c<mipared to the reduced budget. One reason for this being true was that reductions in salaries permitted the budgetary expenditures to be spread over a larger number of employees. The Associa tion fought salary reductions at first but later recognized ^ Petition j Los Angeles City Employee, Vol. IV, No. 3 (July, 1930), p. 1. Editorial, _ . ___ Employee. Vol. IV, No. 4 (August, 1930), p. 1. Editorial, "Black September," Los Angeles City 82 that they must come. During this later period the efforts were directed toward a fair and just method of reduction. It will serve no practical purpose to review here the many steps taken by the Association with regard to salaries. A few highlights are of interest. In October of 1931 it appeared that salaries would be,reduced, but the Council was persuaded to do otherwise. On November 20, 1931, the Associ ation sent the following resolution to the Council: Be it resolved by the All City Employees* Associa tion . . . that an expression of appreciation be extended to the Honorable City Council on behalf of said Association with respect to the action recently taken by the Honorable City Council in deferring con sideration of any proposals affecting compensation of city employees mitil the budget for the next fiscal year is proposed. In the spring of 1932 it was obvious to all that revenues had dropped so greatly that it could no longer be argued that pay cuts were unnecessary and that the Council could meet the deficit by other economies or other sources of revenue. As the various steps were taken to prepare the budget, a deficit was indicated of more than five million dollars. This was said to mean the elimination of fourteen hundred employees. Such a prospect so completely frightened the employees that little more was said about maintaining salaries. Instead the Association’s efforts were actually turned toward effecting salary reductions on a fair basis. Minutes, o£. cit.. November 20, 1931. 83 On February 19, 1932, the Association sent a communi cation to the City Council suggesting a number of solutions but tactically agreeing to salary cuts. One paragraph stated: That any necessary retrenchment plan which af fects compensation of employees whose services are necessary, should be for a certain specified period o n l y . 12 From February until the adoption of the budget, the Association was active in assuring equitable salary reduc tions. In a speech to the Association in July the Field Secretary, Walter P. McNamara, expressed the view of the membership: Mr* McNamara then described the strenuous battle carried on by the Association during the last month to carry on these ideals and protect the under-dog, fighting with all the strength of the organization to place the burden of the salary cuts on those best able to bear them and to protect the lower paid employees. If it had not been for this fight, said Mr. McNamara, the salaries of the day laborers, for ex ample, would by now have been cut to three dollars and fifty cents a day.13 When the budget was adopted in July, 1932, reductions of major proportions were made in salaries. These reduc tions nevertheless were in a sense welcomed, for they meant that fewer employees would lose their positions. Significantly, Minutes, op. cit., February 19, 1932. 12 Ibid.. July 15, 1932. 84 the editorial in the magazine which announced these reduc tions was titled "Gloom Takes a Tumble." From it may be secured a valid summary of Association attitude. The impossible has been achieved. The Mayor’s proposed budget has gone into the melting pot of the Council Budget Committee and emerged an entirely different document. The sum total remains the s€uae but 1,400 positions eliminated are restored to the payroll. . . . The price paid is a bitter one. You cannot face the problem of a deficit of #5,350,000 in the salary account without leaving a lot of wreckage strewn in the offing. The All City Employees’ Association rendered loyal service to all concerned in this sal vage work. It tried by every means in its power to bring the ship into port without losing a single hand. ... . . . In many cases it means a cut of 50^, 32^^, 20% and 11% over and above the 10% cut in the 5-day-week salary ordinance. It means enforced vacations with out pay. . . .14: Further reductions were effected in 1933 and in 1934. These were protested in many ways by the All City Employees’ Association, but its principal effort was each time turned toward making the reductions fair to all. By spreading the work. Another means by which layoffs were avoided was the shortening of the working time of em ployees and the reducing of their income to the same extent. The savings thus effected were used to retain employed work ers who otherwise would have been dismissed. This plan was Editorial, "Gloom Takes a Tumble," Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. VI, No. 7 (July, 1932), p. 1. 85 used effectively but was for the most part at first opposed by the Employees’ Association. As was true with straight wage reductions, the Association opposed the movement until conditions grew so bad that to accept the plan seemed best after all. The beginnings of Council efforts to reduce working time came in January, 1932. Roy A. Knox, Director, Bureau of Budget and Efficiency, submitted a schedule to the Council which called for a five-day week for everyone with all em ployees receiving pay for five days instead of five and one half days. The Association was bitterly opposed to this plan. In December it passed a resolution condemning it. The main ar guments of the employees as contained in the resolution were that (1) the number of employees under the Council’s juris diction was only 30 per cent of the total employees, thus making a small number carry the burden of the whole city problem, (2) many of the lower paid employees could not af ford the cut, particularly those on a day wage, and (3) the money saved might be used to re-employ those who had been laid off, even though there was not enough work and even though the payroll is not a dole. The resolution ended: Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved, that it is the sense of the All City Employees’ Association, repre senting the interests of approximately five thousand officials and employees of the City Government, that no such attempt should be made to establish a five day week work schedule until such time as the City 86 Charter, initiative ordinances, end State laws are amended • . ., so as to enable a uniform and non- discriminatory application of said five day week work schedule to all officials and employees of the City Government, instead of a small minority of such officials and employees as is contemplated at the present t i m e .13 The five-day week plan was subsequently adopted. It should be noted, however, that the opposition of the All City Employees’ Association did have the effect of removing from the plan many of its undesirable features. Many day wage workers were put on a monthly basis, and the financially independent departments were persuaded to take similar steps. The next month after the resolution opposing the five- day week plan had been presented, it was announced by the city officials that a deficit existed. It was stated that this would mean the eliminating of about seven hundred em ployees. Alarmed, the Association opened the door for an expansion of the part-time work principle. In a resolution submitted to the City Council in February, 1932, the Associa tion stated: . . . that in lieu of laying off this number of employees they should be placed upon a part-time basis* That the heads of all departments of the City Government should be immediately instructed to place all positions not absolutely essential in carrying on the work of government on a part-time basis, ef fective March 1, 1932, . . Minutes, o£. cit.. December 18, 1931. ^3 Ibid.. February 19, 1932. 87 On April 18 the Association went a step further in response to additional evidences of financial difficulties. Another resolution to the Council was prepared which stated in part; . * . that the employees of all departments be re quired to take the following vacation time off, with out pay, in addition to the two weeks vacation with full pay allowed by the City Charter: a. All monthly salaried employees two (2) extra weeks without pay; b. All other employees, including per diem em ployees, one (1) extra week without pay. Any plan which calls for further reduction in work ing hours . . . would not only prove a serious detri ment to the efficient functioning of the government, but is merely setting an example to private industries which will tend to lower the ordinary standards of living and in every way retard business recovery.1? As the tide swept along, the All City Employees’ Association finally came to the place where it advocated the five-day week. In a sense it was not a complete endorsement of the original principle which had been opposed, because the resolution of endorsement was so worded as to make it clear that the proposed reduced hours was chiefly to be a compensation for pay reductions which had already taken place. This point is made clear by the two final sections of the resolution which was submitted in October, 1932: Ibid., April 18, 1932. 88 Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the Honorable City Cotmoil be urgently requested to immediately take the necessary action to establish a six (6) hour day, and continue the five (5) day week, for all employees under the jurisdiction of the City Council, except in oases where the functions of the city government can not possibly be properly performed on such reduced working time; and Be It Further Resolved, that in putting into effect such six (6) hour day and five (5) day week, the sal aries of all employees affected be reduced not less than twenty (20) per cent and not more than twenty-five (25) per cent of the base compensation in effect on January 1, 1932*18 So far in this section, "Efforts To Avoid Layoffs," a very few of the many activities of the Association in this connection have been reviewed* From this summary it may be observed that a great measure of success was attained. This was possible because of constant Association pressure on many fronts* The three principal efforts, as we have seen, were: to avoid budget reductions, to substitute pay-cuts for lay offs, and to substitute shortened hours, with shortened pay checks, for dismissals* Now, let us turn to a fourth field of activity which grew out of this battle against depression. This approach is significant more because of its general interest than for any real results that it accomplished. By raising revenue* In its various efforts to avoid separations and to minimize salary reductions the Association used as its argument the contention that (1) money could be Ibid,. October 28, 1932. 89 raised to bolster revenues and (2) economies other than in salary could be made* In practically all resolutions and communications to the Council and to the Mayor these points were used as levers* As though to add weight to these argu ments, the employees also attempted direct efforts to accom plish some of the proposals that were suggested* A. GASOLINE TAX The question of the proper distribution of gasoline tax monies is current* Its implications are many and deep* This fact adds particular interest to the part the All City Employees♦ Association played in making an issue of the question* As city revenues shrunk, the Association cast about for and pointed out other sources of revenue* One of these was the gasoline tax monies, controlled by the Board of Supervisors. As early as November, 1930, the campaign in this direction had begun. An editorial in the Employee at that time had this to say: Another mirth-provoking trick of the Board of Super visors is the division of the gasoline tax* This city collects approximately #11,000,000 a year, sending the whole to the State, which retains about #5,000,000 for the upkeep of the State Highways, and sends the balance, #6,000,000, to the County of Los Angeles for distribution* The Board of Supervisors, acting as Santa Claus, gener ously donates less than a million dollars back to the source of revenue, the City of Los Angeles. Let us have a fair proportion of this money and our troubles will be 90 19 solved. Additional efforts by the Association and by city offi cials were made with some modest increase in gasoline tax allocation resulting* The real pressure came, however, in the spring of 1932 as a result of the wholesale dismissal of 321 street maintenance workers* Every effort was turned to ward re-employing these men or, at least, toward preventing the dismissal of seven hundred other employees who were threatened* Many unrecorded efforts were made by the Asso ciation to persuade the Board of Supervisors to increase the allowance to the city* The most important official effort was a resolution sent to the Supervisors on June 15, 1932: In the new budget for the City Government for the fiscal year 1932-33, the Street Maintenance Division of the City Engineering Department, comprising approximately 700 employees, is entirely eliminated. A committee of this organization * * * was given to understand that if the City Council would waive promised allocations to certain contemplated street projects throughout the City, the Board of Supervisors would cooperate with the City Council in the reallocation of this money, which would no doubt result in securing the desired relief with respect to the Street Maintenance Division* * * * In view of the foregoing facts the undersigned Execu tive Committee of this organization, representing with its affiliations approximately 40,000 governmental employees, urgently petition that your Honorable Board take action cooperating in reallocating the gasoline tax money* . * *&0 Editorial, "Chasing the Wolf," Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. IV, No* 7 (November, 1930), p* 1. 20 Minutes, 0£. cit., June 15, 1932* 91 That others were working along the same line is indi cated by the public statements of various city officials* Appearing before the Employees* Association meeting. Mayor Porter is reported to have stated that he was making every possible effort to obtain for the city its fair share of the gasoline tax money to be used for the purpose of keeping em ployed the city*8 Street Maintenance Division*Councilman George W* C* Baker put the situation a little more pictur esquely in a speech before the Association: In regard to the gasoline tax money necessary to run the Street Maintenance Division, Councilman Baker said that he had made a great many trips over to the County Supervisors, and figuratively speaking, had, with hat in hand or on bended knee, begged the Super visors for even a small portion of what we were really entitled to. . . *22 A year later the Employee is still replete with arti cles on the gasoline tax* In September, 1935, an editorial pointedly blames the County Board of Supervisors for the dismissal of 1,251 maintenance employees*23 The whole ques tion is, of course, not settled yet* It is significant, however, that increased amounts were obtained from the county and that, as a matter of fact, the Street Maintenance Divi sion was largely kept going by gasoline tax monies* Ibid*. May 20, 1932. 22 ibia.. June 17, 1932. 23 Editorial, "Sweeping Events," Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. VII, No. 9 (September, 1933), p. 1. 92 B. SECESSION OR CONSOLIDATION As early as November, 1930, the Association began to suggest that economies could be effected by the consolidation of city and county or by the secession of city from county.24, During the spring of 1932 the report of the Bureau of Budget and Efficiency which claimed a saving of twelve million dollars through separation was played up in the magazine. In a lengthy editorial in the September, 1932, magazine, the Association was very pointed: . . . but it is the only way to take the present heavy burden from the shoulders of the taxpayer of this city, and end this costly, extravagant system of two distinct forms of government. ♦ . . it is time for us to put a stop to the grotesque farce of the people of this city having not only to carry the burden of the city govern ment, but also having to contribute 60 per cent of the cost of the county government. It will also end the humiliating spectacle of our duly elected City Fathers having to go hat in hand, like poor relations, to be seech the Board of Supervisors to return to the tax payers of Los Angeles its just share of the state gasoline tax . . . the consolidation will save the taxpayers of this city at least $12,000,000 a year. C. OTHER EFFORTS Other approaches were followed by the Association in 24 Editorial, "Chasing the Wolf," o£. cit. 23 See article by Roy A. Knox, "A Study of a Proposed City and County Government within the Present City Limits," Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. VI, No. 5 (May, 1932), p. 9. Angeles City Employee. Vol. VI, No. 9 (September, 1932), p. 4. 93 its efforts to aid the Council to uncover funds with which to pay saleiries. One which has already been mentioned was 017 the suggestion that general funds be used. ' Another was the support of a charter amendment at the elections of November, 1930, which would permit the City Treasurer to O Q turn over certain interest monies to the general fund. ^ A third suggestion was that the city use certain Department of pQ Water and Power monies. Two further constructive efforts were made. In March of 1933 the Association contributed 30 part of the funds necessary to conduct a tax survey. The objective of this survey was the equalization of assessments and taxation so that reductions would be fairer and, inci dentally, not quite so great in general. The final important activity of this nature was a campaign to reduce tax delin quency.®^ Employees contributed one dollar each to finance the drive, which appears to have met with some success. HOW TO HANDLE LAYOFFS— THE QUESTION OF SENIORITY During the period of 1930-1934, as we have seen, most of the Association activities with relation to civil service Petition, Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. Ill, No. 3 (July, 1930), p. 1. 28 Los Angeles City Employee. Vol. IV, No. 7 (November, 1930) , p. 5:------------- 29 Minutes, op. cit.. February 19, 1932. 30 Ibid., March 21, 1933. 31 Ibid.. October 2, 1934. 94 were devoted to the several efforts to avoid wholesale lay offs. However, dismissals did ooour. Thus, the question of what basis should be used to select those for dismissal be- ccuae important. This problem was the only other significant one in the field of civil service with which the Association was very greatly occupied during this period. Objecting to the manner in which employees were se lected for dismissal because of lack of work or lack of funds, the Association decided to work for a charter amendment which would assure methods more to its liking. On July 13, 1932, President Payne appointed LeRoy Brittingham as chairman of a committee to draw up suggested charter amendments relating to civil service. Other members of the committee were; Elmer G. Wheeler, George J. Galloway, Paul J. Webb, and Alexander Chisholm. At the same time the Board of Directors voted to hire an attorney to aid in drawing up the m e a s u r e s .®2 Former City Attorney, Jess E. Stephens, was selected for this task. Working in cooperation with the Los Angeles Munioipâl Engineers* Association, Civil Service Protective League, and the Fire and Police Protective League, this committee pro duced a detailed proposed charter amendment to be known as Proposition 4-A. This proposition was to be presented to the voters at the November 8, 1932, election. 32 Ibid.. July 13, 1932. 95 The amendment contained many civil service changes, but throughout the document the principle of seniority was most important. In essence the proposal destroyed the Probst System outright and substituted seniority. Seniority was to be the basis of promotion and the guiding principle of lay offs. Those who had been given a promotion in the city ser vice were not to be laid off on the basis of the amount of time spent in the new position, but their seniority was to be cumulative. Employees who were dismissed because of lack of funds or work were to be put on an eligible list upon the basis of seniority and were to be the first to be rehired. Because the proposal was completed at such a late date, it was felt wise to have it withdrawn from the ballot in order to have more time for its promotion. This was done and the amendment was scheduled for the May 2, 1933, election.®® At this point the Civil Service Commission decided to draw up its own charter amendment. The Association committee worked with the Commission to this end. The result was the proposal of Charter Amendment No. 1, which proposed a new section, number 125, to the charter. This section also laid down the principle of seniority for promotion and layoff and also established the rehiring list. However, it differed from the original proposal in that it gave the Civil Service Commission broad powers to administer and make rules for the 33 Ibid.. October 18, 1932. 96 section, whereas the original had been detailed and specific* The Association backed this ballot measure with an energetic campaign, and it was passed by the voters at the May E, 1933, election. Since that time the Association, upon several occa sions, has defeated efforts to nullify the seniority principle. III. 1935-1939— RECOVERY The years 1935-1939 mark another era of Association activities in the field of civil service. During this time attention was turned from defensive measures intended to minimize the damage of depression to constructive measures made possible by improving economic conditions. Generally speaking, this period is characterized by a campaign for salary restorations, by greater interest of the Association in day by day civil service matters, and by constructive ef forts toward a career service. SALARY RESTORATION 1935. On January 30, 1935, Reuben F. Brown, Chairman of the Civic Affairs Committee, presented to the Board of Directors a suggested petition to Mayor Shaw in which salary restorations were asked. The petition pointed out that many cities had restored salaries, that Federal employees had likewise received increases, and that economic conditions 97 were improving. The communication concluded: 1. That you instruct the director of the budget to advise department heads to present next year*s budget for salaries with provisions to restore all salary cuts or reductions in salary as nearly as possible. 2. That you embody in your budget the policy and requirements for pay restoration and urge upon the council the urgency and advisability of such a policy.34 The Board of Directors approved the request and sent it to the Mayor. In addition to submitting this formal document, the Association contacted the Mayor and others upon several occasions by means of personal interviews. As a result, the proposed budget contained the provisions for a 5. per cent salary restoration. The Council, however, deleted this amount from the budget as a salary item and put it in the Unappropriated Balance account. Many efforts were made by the Association to apply the amount to salary, but these were at first with out result. On September 25 the Mayor sent a message to the Finance Committee of the Council in which he flatly and defi nitely requested the salary restoration. This message from the Mayor prompted a favorable recom mendation from the committee. On September 30 the committee recommended that the original amount which had been set aside be appropriated to salary restoration. The Council approved Ibid,. January 30, 1935. 98 the report, and as the appropriated amount was then to be spent over a shorter period than the full year, the increase 35 amounted to 5 per cent instead of 3. In the following month, December, 1935,, partial salary restoration was ef fected in the Playground Department.®® 1956. During 1936 numerous communications, resolutions, and petitions supplemented informal but effective steps taken by the Association toward further restorations. Under President George A. Terhune and Committee Chairman Paul Hastings efforts were made to secure general restorations as well as restorations for "independent" department employees and certain "lower-bracket" groups. As a result adjustments were effected for the Custodians Bureau and other low wage groups, and in December another general 5 per cent restora tion was secured.®^ 1937-1956. Activity did not decrease in 1937 and 1938. Several well written resolutions accompanied these efforts which were directed for the most part toward helping the lower paid workers and the employees of the "independent" departments. The success of this campaign is indicated by Angeles City Employee. Vol. IX, No. 8 (November, 1935), p. 1. ®® Unselfish Service, a pamphlet, printed by All City Employees* Association, 1939. 37 Los Angeles City Employee, Vol. X. No. 10 (November, 1936), p. 6:----------- 99 the records. Among the restorations obtained in 1937 were partial salary restorations for Park and Library employees in January and additional Library increases in July. In February, 1938, additional salary adjustments were made for all employees under the Council whose salaries were $125 or less, and in September of the same year employees of the 38 Park Department received additional raises. The Association is still active in this field of endeavor. EVER ALERT The last few years have been marked by increased in terest in all matters affecting civil service. The All City Employees* Association during this period has watched closely the meetings of the City Council and the Civil Service Com mission for. any action that might affect city employees ad versely. Many suggestions have been offered by the Association to these bodies, and many resolutions of protest have been submitted. The full effect and scope of the Association*s atten tions to civil service matters cannot be determined from a review of formal actions. Resolutions and other recorded steps constitute but a small part of the activity in which the Association has engaged. Through its officers and Civil Service Committee, the organization has repeatedly contacted Unselfish Service. 100 city officials and others whenever the occasion demanded. To recount these innumerable conferences or to evaluate their results is impossible. It can be said, however, that the Association has been often an important factor in the eventual determination of many civil service matters and that its in fluence and political weight has been growing steadily. There is practically no phase of civil service with which the Association has not dealt. As the questions have arisen the group has taken a stand on Charter amendments affecting civil service,®^ questions of exemptionsproblems of the creation of unnecessary classifications,^^ emergency AO A A appointments, seniority, examinations, apprentices, reclassification,^® the principle of promotion,forty-hour ®^ Minutes, cit.. February 13, 1935; March 10, 1937; April 14, 1937; April 12, 1939. 4^ Ibid., October 23, 1935; October 23, 1936; November 10, 1937. 4^ Loc. cit. 42 Minutes, o£. cit.. June 10, 1936. 4® Ibid., July 8, 1936. 44 Ibid., October 14, 1936. 43 Ibid.. February 10, 1937; April 14, 1937. 46 Loc. Git. 4*^ Minutes, cit., August 11, 1937; May 3, 1938; May 11, 1938; June 14, 1939. 101 w e e k , 48 leave,4^ leaves of absence,®® residence require ments,®^ age limits,®^ re-examination of those on doubtful lists,®® and many other questions. Inasmuch as it is not practical to present here a complete resume in detail of these civil service activities, the sample resolutions on the following pages will be of interest as characteristic of formal action taken by the Association. TOWARD A CAREER SERVICE In addition to the accomplishments mentioned in the chapters on retirement,®4 mutual welfare,®® civil service, and elsewhere, other constructive steps toward career service have been taken. These might be summarized as consisting of the Association* s setting career service as a goal, its de fining the fundamentals of a career service and the using of 4® Ibid.. October 13, 1937. 49 Ibid.. December 8, 1937. ®® Loc. cit. ®^ Minutes, 0£. cit.. October 13, 1938. ®2 Ibid.. February 8, 1939. ®® Ibid.. March 14, 1939. ®4 See Chapter III. See Chapter IV. 102 EXHIBIT I 36 EXEMPTIONS AND NEW CLASSIFICATIONS' WHEREAS the All City Employees Association has as one of its primary purposes the strengthening of the Merit System in our city government and is cognizant of the continuous effort necessary on the part of the Commission and every mem ber of the Civil Service Department to maintain its objective, and WHEREAS the combined forces of the All City Employees* Association and the Civil Service Department should result in increased employee morale through opportunity for transfer and promotion within the service on the basis of merit, end WHEREAS the Board of Directors of the All City Employ ees* Association feels that the exemption of positions from civil service regulations and the creation of positions with new titles and with duties and responsibilities almost iden tical to those of already existing positions constitute two of the greatest forces operating to upset the merit system. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Directors of the All City Employees* Association request that every proposal for the exemption of positions from civil ser vice regulations receive the careful scrutiny of the Civil Service Commission to determine whether (1) the exemption is necessary; (2) civil service regulations would not provide a better grade of employee for the position in question; and, further, That proposals for the creation of positions with new titles be carefully reviewed to determine whether (1) the duties, responsibilities and qualifications are not suffi ciently similar to those of an already existing code and position to justify the use of the existing code and position instead of creating a new one, and (2) the creation of the position would be an injustice to those on existing eligible lists or already in the city service, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Directors of the All City Employees* Association pledges its whole-hearted support to the Civil Service Commission in furthering this program as a means of strengthening the merit system. Resolution to Civil Service Commission from All City Employees* Association, Minutes, op. cit.. October 23, 1935. 103 EXHIBIT II PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION FOR CITY TREASURER®"^ WHEREAS, for more than 30 years, in accordance with the continuous mandates of the people of the City of Los Angeles, PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATIONS for competent and qualified persons in the classified civil service have been authorized under the Civil Service provisions of the City Charter; and WHEREAS, the expressed wishes of the people of the City of Los Angeles to strengthen the civil service provisions of the present Charter relating to promotions have been em bodied in the following adopted charter amendments: WHEREAS, the Board of Civil Service Commissioners at its meeting on Wednesday, April 27, 1938, by a vote of four to one adopted a resolution ordering the holding of an open competitive examination for the position or office of Treasurer of the City of Los Angeles; and WHEREAS, this action of the Board of Civil Service Commissioners appears to be contrary to the mandates and spirit of the City Charter, and is contrary to the specific written opinions of the City Attorney; and WHEREAS, this action of the Board of Civil Service Commissioners, if allowed to become effective, would nullify the civil service provisions of the City Charter relating to promotions ; and WHEREAS, the fundamental purpose of the All City Em ployees* Association is to sponsor and advance an effective Career Service, of which promotional examinations are an integral part, in the classified civil service of the City of Los Angeles; and WHEREAS, the action of the Board of Civil Service Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles and its General Manager would tend to defeat the concept of such Career Ser vice, Resolution to Civil Service Commission, the Mayor, the City Council, the City Attorney, the press, and the public from the All City Employees’ Association, Minutes, qp* cit.. May 3, 1938. --- 104 EXHIBIT II (Continued) PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION FOR CITY TREASURER NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED; (1) That the Board of Directors of the All City Em ployees* Association go on record as condemning the action of the Board of Civil Service Commissioners and its General Manager; (2) That the Board of Directors of the All City Em ployees* Association does hereby instruct the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of said Association to extend proper assistance to such meritorious causes effecting the Civil Service provisions of the City Charter where legal action has been taken or hereafter may be taken to make effective the mandates and the spirit of the Civil Service provisions of the City Charter; and that the President be and is hereby instructed and authorized on behalf of the All City Employees* Association to arrange for the institution of any necessary legal or administrative action as may be proper; (3) That in view of the repeated public statements by the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles favoring career service, he be hereby requested to exercise his executive powers to the end that the mandates and spirit of the City Charter relating to the Civil Service provisions be effectively and properly administered; (4) That the City Council be commended for its action in a recent case in support of the Civil Service provisions of the City Charter, and be hereby requested to further ex ercise its powers to the end that the mandates and spirit of the Civil Service provisions of the City Charter be effec tively and properly enforced; (5) That copies of this resolution be sent to the Board of Civil Service Commissioners, the Mayor, the City Council, the City Attorney and interested Civil Groups, in cluding the press. 105 EXHIBIT III OPPOSITION TO CHARTER AMENDMENT®® WHEREAS, the All City Employees* Association by its Board of Directors has gone on record as being opposed to any charter amendments to civil service being placed on the ballot this year, and .WHEREAS, notwithstanding the protests of this Associa tion to the City Council, there has been proposed by the Council for submission to the voters at the May election, a group of charter amendments to the civil service provisions of the City Charter to be designated on said ballot as Charter Amendment No. 3-A, and WHEREAS, these Charter amendments do not fulfill the expressed purpose of clarification but introduce new matter and changes in the civil service provisions of the charter that vitally affect the rights and welfare of City employees, and WHEREAS, the All City Employees* Association is par ticularly concerned about the amendment of Section 100 of the City Charter and believes that the underlying purpose of this amendment is reclassification of all positions in the civil service, and WHEREAS, the All City Employees* Association believes that these charter amendments are too important to the inter ests of city employees to be placed on the ballot under the guise of clarification, NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: (1) That the All City Employees* Association is opposed to proposed Charter amendment No. 3-A (2) That the Secretary be directed to request the City 58 Resolution to the City Council from the All City Employees* Association, Minutes, o£. cit.. April 12, 1939. 106 EXHIBIT III (Continued) OPPOSITION TO CHARTER AMENDMENT Council on behalf of the All City Employees* Association to omit Charter amendment No. 3-A from the May ballot; (3) That in event the said Section No* 3-A is not re moved from the May ballot, the President of this Association be authorized and directed to appoint a committee to devise ways and means of defeating Charter amendment No. 3-A at the May election. 107 them as a guide to civil service activities, its conducting of an educational campaign among the employees as to career service, and its efforts toward a program of public relations. Other than the specific items mentioned elsewhere, most of this program has been accomplished through the pages of the magazine. Specific committees on Civil Service, Career Service, and Public Relations are a permanent part of the Association organization. These groups have been and are today constantly alert to opportunities to advance the career service ideal. They have succeeded in securing legal steps from time to time and have made the term, "career service,” a familiar one to most city employees. In 1935 a public relations plan was for the first time included in the yearly program. In his inaugural address in February, 1935, President Paul A. Hastings set down eight objectives for the year. Number five was: "To present a program of education to the general public of service ren dered by city departments.”®^ The following year, 1936, President George A. Terhune went a step farther. Of his eight goals five were concerned with the elements of career service. Two of them were: "To assist in every possible manner in the nation-wide movement Minutes, o£. cit.. February 6, 1935 108 to place the public service on a career basis” and "To improve the standard of our public relations in order to attain increased prestige for public service personnel."®® Since that time the All City Employees* Association has not relaxed its efforts in this direction. The magazine has been replete with articles on career service and on pub lic relations. Books on the subjects have been reviewed and chapters of them reprinted. Biographical sketches have been printed under the heading, "Careers in the Public Service of Los Angeles,” which stressed the professionalization of pub lic service. Speeches and radio programs have been arranged as a part of the public relations program. Above all the employees themselves have been informed as to the elements of career service and have been impressed v/ith their responsi bility at all times to promote good public relations. This general type of endeavor is expanding in the All City Employees* Association. As long as this is true, one may be reasonably sure that the employees* efforts will be directed for the most part towards a public personnel policy to which the citizen should not object. Ibid.. January 6, 1936 CHAPTER VII FOR SUCCESS— BE ORGANIZED The present organization of the All City Employees* Association is the result of an evolutionary process extend ing over a period of years. Several sets of by-laws and numerous changes to the by-laws have marked the growth of the Association. The rules under which the Association now operates were adopted October 30, 1934.^ The organization and the activities as provided by these by-laws and subse quent amendments are summarized in this chapter.2 I. GENERAL INFORimTION Who is a member? All persons in the employ of the City of Los Angeles, except those of the Fire and Police Departments, the Department of Water and Power, and the Board of Education, are eligible to membership in the Asso ciation. One becomes a member upon having his application accepted by the Board of Directors and upon paying the re quired dues. One may be suspended from membership who is ^ Minutés, All City Employees’ Association, October 30, 1934. o This chapter is based upon numerous interviews, various issues of The Los Angeles City Employee. and the By-Laws (1934) of the All City Employees* Association of Los Angeles. 110 ninety days in arrears with his dues and who has been notified officially of his delinquency. He may be expelled, according to a prescribed procedure, by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a meeting called for that purpose. What are the officers and how are they elected? The officers of the All City Employees* Association are; Presi dent, Vice President, Financial Secretary, Recording Secre tary, Treasurer, and members of the Board of Directors* The officers, except members of the Board of Directors, are nominated at an open meeting in November of each year and are elected by secret ballot on the day and evening of the regular December meeting. Any person who has been a member in good standing for thirty days prior to nomination is eligible for any office. Any vacancies which may occur are filled by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is composed of representatives of the various departments, offices, bureaus and divisions. These units elect from among their own ranks those who are to represent them on the Board. The size of departmental representation is based upon the number of paid members of the Association in the department. Any division having ten to one hundred members are entitled to one additional repre sentative for each additional one hundred members, except that no one division may have more than five representatives. Ill When do they meet? Regular meetings of the whole Association are held at 8:00 p.m. in the City Hall on the first Wednesday of each third month. The Board of Directors, however, meets much more frequently, averaging at least once a month. The Board meetings are determined by resolution or may be called by the President upon written notice. II. DUTIES OF OFFICERS President and vice president. The duties and activi ties of the president are many. As is frequently true in many organizations, they are so multiple and complex as to defy enumeration. In addition to supplying the general leadership during his term, the president presides at all Association meetings, and coordinates most of the activities. It is significant that the president of the Association is chairman of the Board of Directors in which position his greatest influence is felt. The vice president assists the president and takes his place when he is absent or removed from office. Recording secretary. The recording secretary keeps all the records and minutes of both the Association and the Board of Directors. He is charged with the obligation of keeping a complete membership record. It is his responsibil ity to answer all communications and to discharge such other duties as may be required of him by the Association or the 112 Board of Directors* Financial secretary* It is the duty of the financial secretary to supervise the collection and recording of all dues and other revenues of the Association. He must super vise the maintenance of the membership records. A monthly report to the Association of all collections and disbursements is also his responsibility. To the treasurer on the next business day he must turn over all Association monies he may have and from the treasurer obtain a receipt. The financial secretary, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, may appoint assistants to aid in the routine duties. He and such assistants must be bonded in the sum of one thousand dollars. Treasurer. Custodian of the funds of the Association is the treasurer. He receives all revenues and funds, keeps them safe, and reports them to the Association at the end of each month. It is his responsibility to sign all checks against the funds which must be kept in a bank approved by the Board of Directors. All checks are countersigned by the president. The treasurer, too, must be bonded in the sum of one thousand dollars. III. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS The Board of Directors is by far the most significant 113 unit of the All City Employees* Association organization. It has virtually complete authority over all Association business. The Board determines the policies* authorizes all expenditures* and may incur indebtedness in the name of the Association. It makes all rules and acts in all matters for the Association with complete and final authority. IV. COMMITTEES Great reliance is placed upon the committees of the Association. They act as advisory, investigative* or some times administrative agents. It is through these active groups that much of the Association work is done. Method of appointment. All committee chairmen are nominated by an Appointment Committee* which is created by the Board of Directors. These nominations must be approved by the Board. The committee chairman selects his own commit tee* but his appointments must also be approved by the Board of Directors. Appointment Committee. As has been indicated* this committee*s responsibility is to nominate all other committee chairmen. It is the duty of the chairman of the Appointment Committee to make every effort "to have a majority of his committee present at every regular Board of Directors meeting. Advisory Committee. This committee* consisting of 114 officers, past president and appointed members, advises the president. Arrangements Committee. Making the arrangements for regular and special meetings and for other gatherings of the Association is the work of the Arrangements Committee. Athletics Committee. To foster and promote such athletic events as may be ordered by the Board of Directors is the task to be done by the Athletics Committee. Auditing Committee. As might be inferred from its name, the Auditing Committee audits the books and records of the Association. This must be done and a report made to the Board of Directors at least once each six months. Any other recommendations as to the manner of the keeping of books and records or as to other fiscal policies is within the scope of this group’s activity. Career Service Committee. The Career Service Committee is delegated the task of promoting careers in the city service. It is asked to be especially watchful for opportunities to improve promotional channels and transfer opportunities. The goal is the professionalization of the public service and the extension of the merit or career system to all non-political positions. Civic Affairs Committee. The Civic Affairs Committee 115 investigates and arranges, through the Board of Directors, for the participation of the Association in various civic events, national conventions, expositions and similar events. It is felt that this activity is excellent public relations for the public service and for the All City Employees* Asso ciation. Civil Service Committee. It is the purpose of the Civil Service Committee to keep in touch with the administra tion of existing Civil Service Charter provisions and rules by all means possible to the end that the merit system may be fostered and promoted. Violations of civil service rules and charter provisions are reported to the Grievance Committee which works jointly with the Civil Service and appropriate committees for the correction of such abuses as cannot be cared for by the Grievance Committee through direct contacts with the city officials concerned. Corrective civil service legislation is worked out jointly by the chairmen of the Civil Service, legislative, and Career Service Committees, and such other committee chairmen as the Board of Directors or the president may direct. Credit Union Committee. The Credit Union Committee represents the Association and its members in all matters pertaining to the operation of the Los Angeles City Employees* Federal Credit Union and any other credit union which may be 116 sponsored by the Association. The committee must be prepared at all times to give the Board of Directors a comprehensive report on the status of the Federal Credit Union. Grievance Committee. To represent the members of the Association in matters wherein their rights as employees have been violated and wherein it appears that matters may be adjusted by bringing together all parties concerned, is .the duty of the Grievance Committee. Group Medical Committee. Acting as representative for the Association and its members with relation to the medical group plan is the Group Medical Committee. The committee works closely with the Ross-Loos Medical Group, with which the Association has its contract, and supervises payments of subscribers. It meets at least once a month with representa tives of Ross-Loos for the purpose of considering any diffi culties in the operation of the plan. The committee recom mends to the Board of Directors such amendments to the medical group contract as may be deemed beneficial. Insurance Committee. The Insurance Committee repre sents the Association in all matters pertaining to insurance. It investigates and recommends to the Board of Directors such forms and contracts of insurance as may appear desirable for the Association to sponsor. The execution of all such insur ance contracts is supervised by this group. 117 Legislative Committee. An important body is the Legislative Committee. It considers and recommends to the Board of Directors the altering or repealing of existing provisions or the proposing of new provisions of any legisla tive act, charter provision, or ordinance affecting the in terests or rights of governmental employees. The chairman of the Legislative Committee, when directed by the Board of Directors or the chairman thereof, meets with chairmen of other committees to form a special committee for the consid eration of special legislation. Such committees report directly to the-Board of Directors. Their chairman is always the chairman of the Legislative Committee. Membership Committee. The Membership Committee is to stimulate interest in the All City Employees* Association and to conduct an active membership campaign. Regular attendance at Board of Directors* meetings is required of the chairman, and he is instructed to make periodic reports on membership progress. Metropolitan Government Committee. To make a study of the structure of the metropolitan government and to make periodic reports of such to the Board is the duty of the Metropolitan Government Committee. Personnel Committee. It is the responsibility of the Personnel Committee to gather data on the social and financial 118 standing of members of the Association. It must also see that the addressograph of the Association is up-to-date so that all members may be contacted easily by mail. Public Relations Committee. The Public Relations Committee is to foster better relations between employees and the public by means of the press, civic associations, schools and universities, joint endeavors with other employee groups, and by any other available means. This committee, together with the Career Service Committee, investigates and proposes for Association sponsorship such in-service training programs as will insure adequately trained persons for direct contacts with the public. The Los Angeles City Employee. official publication of the Association, is under the guid ance and supervision of this committee. Research Committee. As directed by the B.oard of Direc tors or the chairman of the Board, the Research Committee engages in research on a wide range of matters. Permanent files of material which may be of future value in research are maintained. The committee receives copies of all other committees* reports to the Board of Directors. Retirement Committee. Representative of the Board of Directors in all retirement questions before the Board of Administration of the City Employees* Retirement System is the Retirement Committee. It recommends, after approval by 119 the Legislative Committee, such amendments to the charter provisions as may seem advisable for the future welfare of the pension plan. Ways and Means Committee. The group whose duty it is to investigate and formulate plans for meeting the expenses of the Association is the Ways and Means Committee. It repre sents the Board in the carrying out of such plans. The committee recommends and supervises all group purchases. Welfare Committee. The Welfare Committee does what it can to aid members of the Association or their families in time of illness, death, or other unusual predicaments. The committee cannot extend financial aid, except upon action of the Board, but it does help in many other ways. It is authorized to make minor expenditures such as those required to send flowers. CHAPTER VIII CONCLUSION We have reviewed in the preceding chapters the growth and development of the All City Employees* Association. Its successes and failures have been evident. Emphasized, too, has been its—influence on the government of the city of Los Angeles. From this history it will have been observed that the organization achieved its prime objective— the securing of a retirement plan. Accomplished, also, have been many other goals in the field of mutual welfare and civil service. In achieving these ends, the Association has passed through three periods: the formative stage of 1983-1929, the diffi cult period of 1930-1934, and the era of readjustment of 1935^1959. Today, in spite of its firm foundation, the Association is likely to face a critical period. Two questions stand out in the mind of the author. First, with its major objective realized, will the Association be able to retain sufficient employee interest to remain a strong and active organization? Second, with new-found power to be exercised, will the Association become merely the mechanism for securing every possible advantage for employees without regard to other con siderations, or will it be able to keep its vision and high purpose? 121 There is a danger that the Employees* Association will pervert its modern goal of good public relations and career service to the selfish advantage of present employees alone. Public employee influence is, in some jurisdictions, exer cised to the detriment of efficiency in public service. Frequently this employee pressure is exerted to place undue emphasis on seniority when ability is more important, to obtain unusual safeguards of tenure that make removal for inefficiency virtually impossible, to set up unreasonable hazards to the employment of new persons who might compete with present employees, and to obtain other undesirable and selfish advantages which stand in the way of effective public administration. It is to be hoped that the All City Employees* As§ociation will not be lead into such a policy, for such would hurt city and employee alike. With a continuation of a constructive program, the Association can do much for the city of Los Angeles. Inasmuch as the All City Employees* Association, to justify its existence from now on, must pursue a constructive, well defined program, the writer wishes to submit the follow ing outline of considerations. Amplification has been sacri ficed in favor of a simplified form with possible * * dramatic** appeal. The program might be called **The Eighteen **P*s** of Public Service.** 122 mOGRAM Preparation Perfomanoe Participation Pay Protection Probationary Period Practiced Pension Protection Polities Prevented Promotional Practices Public relations Positive Personnel Policy BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY A. PERIODICALS All City Employees* Bulletin. Vol. I, No. 1 (June, 19E3); No. 2 (July, 1923); No. 3 (August, 1923); No. 7 (December, 1923). Vol. II, Nos. 1-12 (January, 1924-Beoember, 1924). LOs Angeles City Employee. Vol. I, No. 1 (September, 1926); No. 2 (October, 1926); No. 3 (January, 1927); No. 5 (March, 1927); Nos. 9-12 (July, 1927-April, 1928). Vol. II, Nos. 1-12 (May, 1928-April, 1929). Vol. Ill, Nos. 1-12 (May, 1929-April, 1930). Vol. IV, Nos. 1-8 (May, 1930-December, 1930). Vol. V, Nos. 1-12 (January, 1931-December, 1931). Vol. VI, Nos. 1-12 (January, 1932-December, 1932). Vol. VII, Nos. 1-12 (January, 1933-December, 1933). Vol. VIII, Nos. 1-7 (March, 1934-September, 1934); Nos. 8-9 (November, 1934-December, 1934). Vol. XX, No. 1 (January, 1935); No. 2 (Eebruary-Maroh, 1935); Nos. 3-4 (April, 1935-May. 1935); No. 5 (June- July, 1935); No. 6 (August, 1935;; No. 7 (September- October, 1935); Nos. 8-9 (November, 1935-December, 1935). Vol. X. No. 1 ( January, 1936) ; No. 2 (February-March, 1936;; Nos. 3-11 (April, 1936-December, 1936). Vol. XI, Nos. 1-12 (January, 1937-December, 1937). Vol. XII, Nos. 1-12 (January, 1938-Deoember, 1938). Vol. XIII, Nos. 1-12 (January, 1939-December, 1939). 125 B. RECORDS Annual Reports, Los Angeles City Employees* Federal Credit Union; on file in the office of the Los Angeles City Employees* Federal Credit Union, City Hall, Los Angeles* Election Records of the City Clerk, Los Angeles; on file in the City Clerk*s office. City Hall, Los Angeles. Elec tions of November 5, 1918, November 2, 1920, November 2, 1926. Fiscal and Membership Records, All City Employees* Association, Los Angeles; on file in the office of the All City Employ ees* Association, City Hall, Los Angeles. Minutes, All City Employees* Association, Los Angeles; on file in the office of the All City Employees* Association, City Hall, Los Angeles, California. (March 31, 1923- December 18, 1939). C. PAMPHLETS Federal Credit Unions. pamphlet, no date; obtainable in the office of the Los Angeles City Employees* Federal Credit Union, City Hall, Los Angeles. Proposed Amendments to the Charter of the City of Los Angeles to be Submitted to the Vote of Rectors. May 4. Ï957. prepared by Robert Dominguez, City Clerk of the City of Los Angeles, March 24, 1937. Speakers Manual. Charter Amendment No. 1, prepared by the Publicity Committee of the All ÜTty Employees* Association for the election campaign of the election of May 4, 1937; on file in Municipal Reference Library, City Hall, Los Angeles. Unselfish Service, pamphlet printed by All City Employees* Association, Los Angeles, 1939. D. RULES AND LAWS Charter of the City of Los Angeles; adopted, 1925. 126 Constitution and By-Laws, All City Employees* Association, Los Angeles; adopted, 1934. Lotts V. Board of Park Commissioners, 13 Cal. App. (2d) 625; 57 Pac. (2d) 215 (1936). MeAlpine v. Baumgartner, 10 Cal. (2d) 409; 74 Pac. (2d) 753 (1937). Federal Credit Union By-Laws (specimen copy) , Credit Union Section, Farm Credit Administration, Washington, D. C., February, 1939. E. UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS DeLuce, Roberta, "The All City Employees* Association of Los Angeles.** Unpublished term paper, the University of California at Los Angeles, 1938. 9 pp.; on file in Municipal Reference Library, City Hall, Los Angeles. F. NEWSPAPERS Los Angeles Evening Express. March 20, 1931. Los Angeles Times. January 29, 1931. G. INTERVIEWS Numerous interviews with several members of the All City Employees* Association. APPENDIX APPENDIX OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS OF THE ALL CITY EÎÆPLOYEES* ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES FOR THE YEAR 1923^ OFFICERS C. R* Lewis . .. . .. . .. President (Playground Department) J. M. <%uint .. . ..... Vice President (Engineering Department) Fred C. Walsh ......... Recording Secretary (Electrical Department) Sheridan Ingmire ....... Treasurer (Sewer Maintenance Department) R. Francis Brown ....... Financial Secretary (Engineering Department) George D. Thompson ...... Assistant Financial Secretary BOARD OF DIRECTORS C. D. Ray, Chairman ...... Health Department Charles S. Lamb ........ Playground Department R. W. Stewart . ^ .......... .. Engineering Department C. W. Welch . . . . . . . . Building Department Roy Balaam . . . .......... Building Department C. P. Cooke .......... Field Department Engineering L. W. Bramson . . . . . . . Port Department E. E. Foster..............Harbor Department W. C. Boston .. .. . .. . Machine Department F. W. Connon . ............ Engineering Department A. S. Eldridge.............. Efficiency Department W. C. Steele ............ Sanitary Department The officers and directors of each year as listed in the following tables were taken from the publication pages of The Los Angeles City Employee. 129 1924 OFFICERS C. R. Lewis............ .. (Engineering Department) E. R. Reese . . . . . . . (Park Department) Fred 0. Walsh ......... (Engineering Department) Sheridan Ingmire •«••... (Sewer Maintenance Department) Frank H. J o n e s ............ .. (Board of Public Utilities) George D. Thompson ...... H. Y. Gibson.............. .. President Vice President Recording Secretary Treasurer Financial Secretary Assistant Financial Secretary Association Attorney ADVISORY BOARD OF DIRECTORS Hugh McGuire Arthur Eldredge E. J. Delorey John A. Griffin Jess E. Stephens BOARD OF DIRECTORS C. D. Ray, Chairman Charles S. Lamb . . R. W. Stewart . . . C. V. Welch .... Roy Balaam .... C. P. Cooke . . . • L. W. Bramson • • • E. E. Foster . . . C. F. Connon • . . W. G. Steele . . . W. G. Schrieber . . H. S. Payne .... J. J. Hassett . . . F. G. Marshall . . Everett R. Perry R. H. Manahan . . . G. Gordon Whitnall Pat Doyle ........ S. Oliver ........ C. D. Mansfield . . J. H. Cruger . . . James V. Ainsworth Grant Gooddale . . H. Y. Gibson . . . W. M. Moselle . . . Health Department Playground Department Engineering Department Building Department Building Department Field Department Engineering Park Department Harbor Department Engineering Department Sanitary Department Assessment Department Public Utilities Park Department Audit Department Library Electrical Department Planning Department Sewer Maintenance City Labor Association San Pedro Engineering San Pedro Branch Machine Shops Harbor Department Attorney for Association Insurance Advisor 130 1925 OFFICERS C. R. Lewis . . ............ {Engineering Department) J. Matt Quint ................ (Engineering Department) Fred G. Walsh • .............. (Fire Alarm Department) Frank H. Jones .......... .. (Board of Public Utilities) Sheridan Ingmire ............ (Sewer Maintenance Department) President Vice President Recording Secretary Financial Secretary Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pat Doyle, Chairman . , F. A. Batty, Secretary J. E. Dorsey . . . . , R. W. Stewart • . * . , S. Oliver........... Theo. L. Fichtel . . , J. V. Ainsworth * . . , E. G. MoFadden . * . , Martin T. Brown .. . C. D. R a y ........... J. E. Eley ...... Sewer Maintenance Department Engineering Department Engineering Department City Labor Association McPherson Street Yard Machine Shops Engineering Department Health Department 131 1926 OFFICERS C. D. R a y .................... President (Health Department) H. S. Pasme ....... Vice President (Public Utilities) F. C. Walsh.................. Recording Secretary (Fire Alarm Department) Theo. L. Fichtel ............ Financial Secretary (McPherson Street Yard) Sheridan Ingmire ............ Treasurer (Sewer Maintenance Department) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pat Doyle, Chairman .......... Engineering Department W. O. Schreiber .......... Assessment Department C. V. Welsh.................. Building Department C. 0. Brittain .............. Construction Department W. F. Harrington ............ Engineering Department E. McFadden ............ Engineering Department J* M. Quint .......... .. Engineering Department L. Mather.................. .. Engineering Department F. A. Batty .................. Engineering Department J. G. Starr................ .. Harbor Department James V. Ainsworth.......... Machine Shops Warren S. Baird .......... Water, Power and Light 132 1927 OFFICERS G. D. R a y .................... President (Health Department) Karl Schweitzer . . . . . Vice President (Mechanical Division) F. C. Walsh .................. Recording Secretary (Fire Alarm Department) Theo. Fichtel . .............. Financial Secretary (McPherson Street Yard) Sheridan Ingmire ............ Treasurer (Sewer Maintenance Department) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pat Doyle, Chairman.......... Yale Street Yard Col. W. G. Schreiber ..... Assessment Department Jess E. Stephens ............ Attorney C. V. Welsh................ .. Building Department 0. 0. Brittain . . . . . . Construction Department W. F. Harrington............ Engineering Department E. McFadden .......... Engineering Department J. M. Quint.................. Engineering Department L. Mather .......... .. Refuse Collection F. A. Batty ............ Sewer Maintenance Department J. G. Starr .................. Harbor Department H. Frazier ................ Library James V. Ainsworth.......... Machine Shops J. McGillivrey.............. Parks Department Charles Lamb .. ... .. Playground Department H. S. Payne.................. Public Utilities W. Pv Foster................ Water and Power 133 1928 OFFICERS C. D. Ray .............. President (Health Department) L. Mather.............. .. Vice President (Superintendent Garbage Collection) F. C. Walsh ...... .... Recording Secretary (Police and Fire Alarm) Theo. Fichtel ......... Financial Secretary (McPherson Street Yard) Sheridan Ingmire ....... Treasurer (Sewer Maintenance Department) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pat Doyle, Chairman ...... ^Engineering Department Col. W. G. Schreiber ..... Assessment Bureau F. A. Batty ........... Sewer Maintenance Department E* G. McFadden ........ Engineering Department C. 0. Brittain ........ Construction Department J. M. Quint .......... Engineering Department J. J. McGillivrey ....... Parks Department W. P. Foster . . . . .. Water and Power Department James V. Ainsworth ...... Machine Shops H. S. Payne . . . . . . . Public Utilities George Gallaway......... Health Department George Dimitry......... Engineering Department 0* K. James.................. Electrical Department 134 1929 OFFICERS George J. Gallaway............ President (Health Department) I. G. Mather . . . . . . Vice President (Superintendent Garbage Collection) Fred C. Walsh .......... Recording Secretary (Police and Fire Alarm) Theo. Fichtel ......... Financial Secretary (McPherson Street Yard) Sheridan Ingmire . .......... Treasurer (Sewer Maintenance Department) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pat Doyle, Chairman .......... Engineering Department C. D. Ray . . . . . . . . . Health Department Ralph Dorsey .................. Traffic Signals George Dimitry .......... .. Engineering Department F. A. Batty ............... Sewer Maintenance Department James McGinley ......... Police and Fire Alarm Edward G. McFadden ....... Engineering Department 0. K. Jones ................ Electrical Department J. M. Quint .......... Engineering Department J. G. McGillivrey........... Parks Department Roy Jarman........... Engineering Department H. s. Payne . . . . . . . . Board of Public Utilities W. F. Harrington . . . . . . Engineering Department Arthur Hall . . ...... Humane Animal Department H. Frazier . ................ Library Department Charles Lamb.................. Playground and Recreation J. V. Ainsworth.............. Municipal Machine Shops 135 1930 OFFICERS Oliver K. Jones President (Maintenance Division) Herbert S# Payne ...... Vice President (Board of Public Utilities) Fred C. Walsh . . . . . . . . . . Recording Secretary (Police and Fire Alarm) Captain Theo. Fichtel . ........ Financial Secretary (Engineering Department) Sheridan Ingmire ........ Treasurer (Superintendent Sewer Division) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pat Doyle, Chairman ....... Engineering Department Ralph T. Dorsay ......... Chief, Traffic Signals F. A. Batty ........... Engineering Department Alexander Chisholm ....... Controller’s Office Arthur Hall.................. .. Humane Department James Long .......... Electrical Department J. J. MacGillivrey ....... Park Department Edward G. McFadden ....... Engineering Department James McGinley ......... Chief, Police and Fire Alarms Walter Sears .......... Health Department Stephen J. Smoot ........ Plumbers* Division 136 1931 OFFICERS Herbert S. Payne ............ President (Board of Public Utilities) G. 8. Steele.................. Vice President (Bureau of Assessments) Fred C. W a l s h ................ Recording Secretary (Police and Fire Alarm) Joseph Merritt........ . . . Financial Secretary (Sewer Maintenance Department) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pat Doyle, Chairman.......... Engineering Department George Galloway.............. Health Department Charles Gartman .............. Building and Safety Arthur H a l l ............ .. Humane Department J. J. McGillivrey ....... Park Department Elmer Wheeler................ Treasury Department Ralph T. Dorsay ........ Street Signals James McGinley................ Fire Alarm E. G. McFadden . .......... .. Engineering Department Charles Whitehead............ Receiving Hospital Paul Webb .......... ..... Controller’s Office 137 1933 OFFICERS Herbert S. Payne ....... President (Board of Public Utilities) G. K. Steele .......... Vice President (Bureau of Assessments) Alexander Chisholm ....... Recording Secretary (Controller’s Office) Joseph T. Merritt.............. Financial Secretary (Sewer Maintenance Department) Sheridan Ingmire .............. Treasurer (Engineering Department) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pat Doyle, Chairman.......... Engineering Department George C. Galloway............ Health Department Paul J. Webb........... Controller’s Office Elmer C. Wheeler.......... Treasury Department Charles Whitehead . ........ Receiving Hospital James J. McGillivrey.......... Park Department Edward G. McFadden ....... Engineering Department F. W. Roewekamp.............. Park Department Arthur T. Hall................ Humane Department H. 0. Whittington . ........ Engineering Department H. B. Frazier .......... Library Department Oscar Held.................... Engineering Department 138 1933 OFFICERS C. K. Steele.................. President (Bureau of Assessments) Paul J. Webb . . ............ First Vice President (Controller's Department) Arthur T* Hall.......... . • • Second Vice President ( Humane Dep ar tment ) Sheridan Ingmire . .......... Treasurer (Bureau of Engineering) Alexander Chisholm . ........ Secretary (0 ontroiler♦s Department BOARD OF DIRECTORS George J. Galloway, Chairman • • Health Department Elmer C* Wheeler.............. Treasury Department E. G. McFadden................ Engineering Department 0. H. Held . • Engineering Department George Dee ................ Engineering Department Charles H, Whitehead.......... Receiving Hospital F. W. Roewekamp.............. Park Department H. S. P a y n e .................. Public Utilities Glen 0* G r a n t ................ Playground Department Paul A. Hastings.............. Building and Safety 139 1934 OFFICERS Paul J. Webb,.................. President (Controller*8 Office) Arthur T* Hall................ First Vice President (Huiaane Department) Ruben F* Brown . . .... Second Vice President (Bureau of Engineering) Sheridan Ingmire ........ Treasurer (Bureau of Engineering) Alexander Chisholm ....... Secretary (Controller’s Office) BOARD OF DIRECTORS C. K. Steele, Chairman........ Bureau of Assessments C. H. Whitehead.............. Receiving Hospital J. B. Cavanaugh ........ Park Department Paul A. Hastings.............. Building and Safety Department E. C. McFadden................ Street Replacing Department C. F. LaGrange .......... Park Department 0. H. Field .......... Refuse Collection Department Elmer C. Wheeler.............. Treasury Department Maurice S. Hayes ........ Park Department Ben Paris ......... ...... Street Maintenance Department F. J. McLear .......... Sewer Design Division 140 1935 OFFICERS Paul A. Hastings.............. President Truman E. Perrin . . . . . . . . Vice President Alexander Chisholm............ Recording Secretary W. Ii. Nunes .......... Financial Secretary L. H. Peterson................ Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS LeRoy Brittingham, Chairman . . Woodruff De S i l v a .......... • Airports Burtis C. Graves .............. Assessments Arthur C. Davis ............ Attorney Charles E. Gartman ....... Building and Safety Corydon T. Hill .............. Budget and Efficiency Henry V. W a l l ........ .. City Planning Charles S. Walbridge .......... Civil Service If. H. F r i c k ............ .. Construction John Budrovic .. Controller Ralph Hoffman................ Custodian Engineering Department W. S. S p a c e .................. Accounting Division A. 0. Berquist................ Administration Division Leon Blog •«..• .......... Bridge Division Alfred C. Greenberg .......... Construction Inspection Charles L. Bell .............. Federal Coordinating George A. Terhune . ......... Maps and Standards Francis J. McLear............ Sewer Design Reuben F. B r o w n .............. Sewer Maintenance Charles W. H i e s ......... . .. Storm Drain Design L. A. Par del.................. Street Design Ben H. Paris .................. Street Maintenance LeRoy Brittingham............ Fire (Civilian Employees) Health L. L. Cohn .................. Food Inspection Division W. L. Nunes ..... .......... Housing and Sanitation Ben Gnagy ..... Laboratory Division Gladys Cosgrove .............. Nursing Division Edward Yeager .............. . Rodent Control George A. Rice.......... .. Humane Department Edna B. Salazar............ .. Library Department J. W. Graves « ................ Mechanical Engineers Maurice S. Hayes . ........... Park Department 141 1935 (Continued) Lawrence W. Helgesen LeRoy Wolfe. . . . Albert Jones . . . Charles L. Buckler Madeline K. Hannah Joe S. Farmer • • W. T. Olney . . . Arthur C. Barow Rhoda W. Cross . . Bryan R. Beck . . John F. Schwartzlose W. H. Chapman . . C. H. Whitehead • E. F. King .... A. T. Nadeau . . . C. Dunham .... William H. Ormerod L. Plitt Smeltzer Playground and Recreation Office Division Recreation Division Maintenance Division Police (Civilian Employees) Communications Division Detective Division Jail Division Miscellaneous Division Police Commission Record and Identification Public Utilities Board of Public Works, Office Purchasing Department Receiving Hospital Right of Way and Land Street Lighting Department Office Field Treasury Department Water and Power 142 1936 OFFICERS Charles A. Terhune Burt G. Graves Alexander Chisholm John Budrovic • . Walter P. McNamara President and Chairman, Board of Directors Vice President Recording Secretary Treasurer and Financial Secretary Field Secretary BOARD OF DIRECTORS Woodruff De Silva ♦ L. J. Thompson . . . Arthur C. Davis . . Richard L. Bonner Charles E. Gartman • Paul A. Hastings . • Henry V. Wall . . . Charles 8. Walbridge L. H. Frick • . . . Arnold Mihan • • • • Ralph Hoffman . • • A. D. McMurray . . . Florence A. Fallon . Ralph L. Schirra . . W. L. Dixon .... Van W. Bishop . . . Carl F. Pahl .... Alfred Greenberg . . Charles L. Bell . . S. S. Boal ........ J. D. Barney . . . . Oscar H. Held . . . Francis J. McLear . Reuben F. Brown . . F. J. Doran .... E. S. Eeames . . . . E. A. Snelson . . . Victor S. Matson . . L. E. West ........ Airports Assessments Attorney Budget and Efficiency Building and Safety Accounting and Administration Building Divisions City Planning and Pension Civil Service Construction Controller Custodian Miscellaneous Divisions Janitor Divisions Telephone Exchange Watchmen Division Engineering Department Accounting Division Administration Division Blue Print and Personnel Construction Inspection Federal Coordinating Division Hollywood Office Maps and Research Division Refuse Collection Sewer Design Division Sewer Maintenance Division Storm Drain Design Division Street Design Division Street Opening and Mapping Structural Design Division Survey Division 143 1936 (Continued) LeRoy Brittingham........ .. L. L. Cohn ................ W. L* Nunes ................ Ben Gnagy . . . . . . . . . . Gladys Cosgrove ............ Harold L. Treat George A* Bice ............ Edna B. Salazar ...... Frank Folsom............ .. Alex. B. Laster ............ Charles Bradley ........ . . Charles S. McCormick, Jr. . . Albert Jones ........ Leroy Wolfe .... ........ B. E. Woolman............ • Caroline Converse ........ .. Edmund V. Faherty ...... Earl W. A l e y ............ .. Arthur G. Baraw ....... Rhoda W. Cross ............ Avery W. Phillips ...... Bryan R. Beck............ . John F. Schwartzlose . . . . W. H. Chapman ... ... . G. H. Whitehead ...... E. C. Wagner . . . . . . . . J. R. Appleton ............ A. T. Nadeau ........ C. Dunham.............. . . Harry Fay .................. S. S. Ball ........ .. A. J. Bernal ........ J. P. Hayes .... ........ Fire (Civilian Employees) Health Department Food Inspection Division Housing and Sanitation Laboratory Division Nursing Division Rodent Control Division Humane Department Library Department Mechanical Bureau Mechanical Engineers Park Department Playground and Recreation Office Division Maintenance Division Recreation Division Police (Civilian Employees) Communication Division Detective Division Jail Division Miscellaneous Division Police Commission Office Record and Identification Print Bureau Public», Utilities Board of Public Works, Office Purchasing Department Receiving Hospital Right of Way and Land Standards, Bureau of Street Lighting Office Field Treasury Department Van Nuys City Hall Venice City Hall West Los Angeles City Hall 144 1937 OFFICmS Charles L. Bell Charles S. McCormick, Jr Alexander Chisholm . . Byran H. Beck . . • • . John Budrovic • • • • • Walter P. McNamara • • President and Chairman, Board of Directors Vice President Recording Secretary Financial Secretary Treasurer Field Secretary BOARD OF DIRECTORS Woodruff De Silva • W. L. O’Brien . . . Arthur C. Davis . . Richard L. Bonner . Paul A, Hastings Henry V. Wall . . . Charles S. Walbridge L. H. Frick .... Arnold Mihan . . . R. L. Schirra . . . A. D. McMurray . • Marian V. Quinn • • Paul R. Clark . . . C. R. Taylor . . . R. Wé Lantz .... Ben Gnagy ........ Gladys Cosgrove . . Harold L. Treat • • George Poindexter . W. G. Dixon .... Mildred Fleming . « Carl F. Pahl . . . Alfred Greenberg H. T. McCafferty . Chester A. Ball . . J. D. Barney . . . William P. Hart . . John W. Snead . . . Temple Thornton . • Assessments Attorney Budget and Efficiency Building and Safety City Planning and Pension Civil Service Construction Controller Custodian Miscellaneous Division and Watchmen Janitor Divisions Telephone Exchange Fire (Civilian Employees) Health Department Food Inspection Division Housing and Sanitation Laboratory Division Nursing Division Rodent Control Division* Humane Department Engineering Department Accounting Division Administration Division Blue Print and Personnel Construction Inspection Federal Coordinating Division Hollywood Office Maps and Research Division Refuse Collection Division Refuse Collection Division Refuse Collection Division 145 1937 (Continued) Francis J. McLear........ .. Reuben F. Brown ........ .. F* J. Doran................ P. S. Hagerman........... E* A. Snelson.............. Victor S. Matson.......... L* E. West ................ Anne F. Leidendecker • • • • D. L. Gardner . . Josephine B. Hollingsworth . Eleanors 0. Crowder ........ George R. Wolf ....... Grant V. Jenkins........ .. A1 F. Jones . .............. Thomas J. Harrison ........ Frank Folsom.............. J. W. Graves .............. C. W. Bradley .............. S. E. Woolman............ . Caroline Converse ...... William A. West.......... .. Carl Herzinger .......... Arthur G. Baraw . .......... Max Rudin.................. Ralph T. Dorsey ............ Harry H. Stafford .......... George L. Metcalf........ .. John D. Barrett ............ W. H. Chapman ............ G.E. Whitehead.......... .. J. B. Bailey .............. F. R. Galloway ............ Truman E. Perrin ...... C. Dimham.................. Harry Fay .................. Bert B. Krell............ . Purl Fuller............ . . P. H. Halleck............ . Engineering Department Sewer Design Division Sewer Maintenance Division Storm Drain Design Division Street Design Division Street Opening and Mapping Structural Design Division Survey Division Library Department n » ♦ ft tt Playground and Recreation Aquatic Division Office Division Maintenance Division Recreation Division Mechanical Bureau Mechanical Engineers Park Department Police (Civilian Employees) Communication Division Detective Division Jail Division Miscellaneous Division Police Commission Office Record and Identification Street Traffic Division Printing Bureau Public Utilities Board of Public Works^ Office Purchasing Department Receiving Hospital Right of Way and Land Standards, Bureau of Street Lighting Office Field Treasury Department Van Nuys City Hall Venice City Hall West Los Angeles City Hall 146 1938 OFFICERS Laurence J. Thompson Anne F. Leldendeker Alexander Chisholm • Byran R. Beck ♦ • • John Z. Budrovic . . Walter P. McNamara • President and Chairman, Board of Directors Vice President Recording Secretary Financial Secretary Treasurer Field Secretary BOARD OF DIRECTORS Woodruff De Silva ........ George A. Terhune ........ Charles L. Bell .......... W. W. McKinley............ To be selected ............ Robert B. Jones •••••• Fred Krause .............. Thomas D. W o l f e .......... Henry V. Wall ............ Charles S. Walbridge . • . • L. H. Frick . . . ........ Arnold Mihan .............. To be elected ............ A. D. McMurray . ........ Mrs. Florence A. Fallon . . Gorda P. Ball ............ Frank Folsom............. Howard W. Green .......... Floyd S. Jimison ...... Ben Gnagy,r . . ...... Gladys Cosgrove .......... Harold L. Treat .......... John H. Chamberlin........ John Howland.............. Mildred Fleming .......... Charles L* White . ........ Airports At Large Assessments Attorney Budget and Efficiency Building and Safety Building Division Plumbing Division City Planning and Pension Civil Service Construction Controller Custodian Elevator, Miscellaneous, and Watchmen Janitors Telephone Exchange Fire (Civilian Employees) Mechanical Division Health Department Food Inspection Housing and Sanitation Laboratory Nursing Division Rodent Control Humane Department Engineering Department Accounting Division Administration Division Blue Print and Personnel 147 1938 (Continued) A. E. Ryan.............. . Eugene D. G i b b s .......... Chester A. Ball .......... John D. Barney ............ E. A. Snelson ............ William P. H a r t .......... John W. Sneed . . • • . . « T * Thornton • .......... Clarence B. Morrison • • • • Reuben F. Brown •••••* F. E. Clove ....... P. S. Hagerman ...... Victor S. Matson . ........ L. E. West . . .......... Bert B. Krell . . . . .... Purl Fuller .............. Gladys Caldvmll ...... Homer Weeks ........ Eleanora Crowder ........ . Margaret Hickman .......... Frank Hollis .............. J. W. Graves . ............ Clifford Miller .......... R i chard Bullard.......... Homer O’Brien ....... Ray Bittmore.............. A1 F. Jones ........ Grant V. Jenkins........ .. Thomas J. Harrison . . « . • Ralph Froelich . • • • . . Eileen Shoop ........ Caroline Converse . . . . . William A. W e s t .......... George Killin ............ Donald G. Elliot .......... Lena Detrik .............. James P. Mackle.......... Charles H. Soothill . . . . Marguerite Toison ........ Harry T. Elliot ...... C. H. Whitehead ...... Engineering Department Construction and Inspection Federal Coordination Hollywood Office Maps and Research Opening and Widening Refuse Collection Refuse Collection Refuse Collection Sewer Design Sewer Maintenance Storm Drain Street Design Structural Design Survey Van Nuys Office Venice Office Library Department « tf f t ♦ t t # Mechanical Engineers Park Department Playground Department Maintenance and Construction Office Recreation Police (Civilian Employees) Administration Division Communications Division Detective Division Jail Division Miscellaneous Division Printing Bureau Record and Identification Street Traffic Public Utilities Public Works, Board of Purchasing Department Receiving Hospital 148 1938 (Oontinued) W. G. Stimtz.............. Right of Way and Land F. R. Galloway . . . . • . • Bureau of Standards Street Lighting G. 0. Dunham • . $ • . . . Field Truman E. Perrin.......... Office Waldo D. R i o s ............ ' Treasury Department 149 1939 OFFICERS LeRoy Brittingham , Clifford C. Miller Alexander Chisholm Bryan R. Beck . . , Jolin Z. Budrovic President and Chairman, Board of Directors Vice President Recording Secretary Financial Secretary Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Harley F. Brown . . L. J. Thompson • • Charles Bell • • • C. H. Skinner . . . Francis M. Cummings Thomas Byron • • . S . I. Smoot . • . • Henry V. Wall . • • Charles L. Eckel Arnold Mihan • . . Ralph Hoffman • , • A. D. McMurray • • Florence A. Fallon. Gorda P. Ball . • . Forest M. Palmer Walter T. Larter * Frank E. De Groff . M. Y. Longa ore . . Gladys Cosgrove . . L. W. Burrell . . . L. R. Pilkington . H. C. Whittington . Edna Carter .... George M. Dwight Eugene D. Gibbs . . C. W. Weller . . . A. V. Rowland . . John D. Barney . . Airports At Large I f Assessments Budget and Efficiency Building and Safety Building Division Plumbing Division City Planning and Pension Construction Controller Custodian Miscellaneous J anitors Telephone Exchange Fire (Civilian Employees) f t ft Mechanical Division Health Department Food Inspection Housing and Sanitation Laboratory Nursing Division Rodent Control Humane Department Engineering Department Accounting Division Administration Blue Print and Personnel Federal Coordination Hollywood Office Inspection Maps and Research 150 1939 (Continued) E. A. Snelson.......... William P. Hart ........ Joel Henry ............ T. Thornton ............ F. J. McLear.......... Reuben F. Brown ........ F. E. Clove.......... . D. L. Culvert .......... Joseph Blou ............ Victor S. Matson . . . . John F. Roberts ........ Donald E. Miller . . . . Purl Fuller ............ E. K. Miller.......... Anne F. Leidendeker . . . Homer Weeks . I ........ Eleanora Hickman . . . Josephine Hollingsworth • J. W. Graves .......... Henry Maokay .......... Harold D. Carey ........ R. 0. Christiansen • . . Ross Mclntire .......... William Radoff ........ A1 F. Jones ............ Charles S. McCormick, Jr. Thomas J. Harrison . . . Nathan E. Edelstein . . . G. L. Buckler........ .. Herman Rozzen.......... Etta L. Larson ........ Alexander Krohn ........ Melba Neve ............ Helen Towns James P. Mackle . . . . George L. Metcalf . . . . John D. Barrett ........ Harry T. Elliott . . . . Dr. Charles F. Sebastian R. G. Benneeke ........ Gerald L. Jones . . . . C. W. Beardsley........ Engineering Department Opening and Widening Refuse Collection t f t f Sewer Design Sewer Maintenance Storm Drain Street Design Street Maintenance Structural Design Survey Van Nuys City Hall Venice City Hall West Los Angeles City Hall Library Department f f f t f t t f f t Mechanical Engineers Park Department Playground Department Aquatics Maintenance and Construction Office ,Recreation Police (Civilian Employees) Administration Division Communications Division Detective Division Jail Division Miscellaneous Division Printing Bureau Record and Identification Street Traffic Division Public Utilities Public Works, Office Purchasing Department Receiving Hospital Retirement Right of Way and Land Bureau of Standards 151 1939 (Continued) Street Lighting C. 0. Dunham.............. Field W. S. Chapman............ Office Jewett T. Voorhies Treasury Department 152 1940 OFFICERS Charles S. McCormick, Jr. Frank E. Clove ..... Alexander Chisholm . . • W. E. Chapman .......... John Z. Budrovic . • . . President and Chairman, Board of Directors Vice President Recording Secretary Financial Secretary Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Harley F. Brovm . « LeRoy Brittingham . L. J. Thompson . . A. J. Bauer .... Francis M. Cummings Thomas J. Byron . . Stephen I. Smoot . Henry V. Wall . . . Lyman H. Cozad . . Charles L. Eckel Joseph K. Barrera • Hugh M. Bolton . . A. D. McMurray . . Florence A. Fallon Gorda P. Ball . . . Forest M. Palmer Edward B. Gray . . Frank E. De Groff . M. Y. Longacre . . Gladys Cosgrove . • L. W. Burrell . . . B. Morse ........ J. .A. Lee ..... Robert E. Lucatorta Erminia P. Barsugli Charles L. Bell . . G. V. Weller . . . A. V. Rowland • . • Airports At Large t f Assessments Budget and Efficiency Building and Safety Building Division Plumbing Division City Planning and Pension Civil Service Construction Controller Custodian Miscellaneous Division Janitors Telephone Exchange Fire (Civilian Employees) Mechanical Division Health Department Food Inspection Housing and Sanitation Laboratory Nursing Division Rodent Control Humane Department Engineering Department Accounting Division Administration Division Blue Print and Personnel Federal Coordination Hollywood Office Inspection 153 1940 (Continued) Philip Johnston . . . E. A. Snelson ••••., William P. Hart . . . . . John W. Snead ...... Joel Henry........... P. J. McLear......... Reuben F. Brown . . . Albert A. Weston • • • . D. L ' . : . Calvert......... Joe B l o u ............. Victor S. Matson . . . Herbert D. M. Miller • , James F. Dixon • • • • . Purl Fuller Maurice R. Leech • • • . Homer Ifeeks ...... Helen M. Alexander . . , Elza Blanchard . .. . Thelma Jackman . . . . Mildred Sowers . . . . J. W. Graves ...... Clifford G. Miller . . , Ed. M. Davis ...... Ralph Maxheimer . . . . Ernest Smith ...... Allen Golding ...... William Radoff . . . . A1 F. Jones ....... Ruth Gibbs ....... L. H. Moffat......... C. L. Buckler ...... Alice V. Bump ...... Joe Farmer ....... Frederick Sauer . . . . Harry H. Stafford . . . . Rubye Anderson . . . . James P. Mackle . . . . Bryan R. Beck......... John D. Barrett . . . . . Harry T. Elliott . . . Dr. Charles E. Sebastian H. J. Enser ...... Engineering Department Maps and Research Opening and Widening Refuse Collection Sewer Design Sewer Maintenance Storn Drain Street Design Street Maintenance Structural Design Survey Van Nuys City Hall Venice City Hall West Los Angeles City Hall Library Department Mechanical Engineers Park Department Administration and Forestry Park Department Playground Department Aquatics Maintenance and Construction Office Police (Civilian Employees) Administration Division Communications Division Detective Division Jail Division Miscellaneous Division Printing Bureau Record and Identification Street Traffic Public Utilities Public Works, Office Purchasing Department Receiving Hospital Retirement Division 154 1940 (Continued) Gerald L. J o n e s ............ Right of Way and Land J. J. Kirkendall............ Bureau of Standards Street Lighting C. 0. Dunham .............. Field Leonard P. Cleary ........ . Office Jewett T. Voorhies Treasury Department

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Creator Pritchard, Lawrence De Witt (author)

Core Title The history, activities, and organization of the All City Employees' Association of Los Angeles

Degree Master of Science

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,Social Sciences

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c39-79860

Unique identifier UC11312247

Identifier EP64436.pdf (filename),usctheses-c39-79860 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier EP64436.pdf

Dmrecord 79860

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Pritchard, Lawrence De Witt

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA