When will the Daily News Learn?

LADWP is not a typical city-owned entity. They play in a high margin, regulated monopoly market. The wage parity is issue can never be resolved because of this and the other city units are simply using the meaningless fact that DWP is a city agency, like theirs, to create false legitimacy for their own wages to be raised.

The article is additionally innacurate because DWP has not hired significantly in almost 15 years, so of course their average salaries are going to be higher- the average employee has been there a much longer time than their city counterparts and their workforce is top-heavy. Just a few weeks ago in fact, the Daily News ran a story of DWP's aging workforce.

Even further, DWP must have competitive wages in certain high-demand classes, such as linemen, to retain skilled personnel.

And lastly, it's a joke that the City Council is worried about saving money after caving in to the fraudulent lawsuit brought by fireman Tennie Pierce with a $2+ Million dollar SETTLEMENT for being fed dogfood.

What should be done about it? The city council should stop awarding $2M to each firefighter who gets fed dogfood.

The DWP plays in a high-margin, regulated monopoly industry. It is not at all like other city departments.

Those city employees wants to use the irrelevant fact that DWP is also a city agency to create pressure to boost their own salaries.

And of course DWP is going to have higher salaries- they haven't hired in about 15 years. That makes for a company filled with high seniority people, and likely is top-heavy.

Lastly, they have to compete for in-demand jobs such as linemen and must pay relative to the electric utility industry scales, not city ones.

Maybe one decade soon, the Daily News will finally get this fact and put other articles on their front pages.

I think its horrible that you would invade people's privacy by publishing their names and salaries as part of your article. How dare you! Did each one of these employees sign off on this? I hardly think so. What right do you have to open up these people's lives to public examination. The workers can only accept the salary or quit and find work elsewhere. It's the union / bargaining unit and the city leadership that negotiate the salaries of all city employees. Now that you've invaded their privacy, I think that they are all underpaid for the type of harassment that they are going through. How much is privacy worth? Did any city worker agree to give up his/her privacy when they came to work? Hardly!

Excellent story, Daily News. This is one of the few newspapers in the entire country that still does objective investigative stories that attempt to keep the government honest.

Obviously, there's no justification for these grossly excessive salaries to DWP employees. And it's not just LADWP employees, surrounding public utilities are also vast wastelands of excess at the expense of ratepayers. From generous salaries and benefits, to helicopters, to new, fancy cowboy boots with steel toes for supervisors, to vast abuses of overtime charges, to garishsly expensive buildings and fountains, the list goes on as to how DWP wastes ratepayer dollars.

See, they know that they have no competition. We lowly ratepayers are their wage slaves. They know the boards and city council won't stop their demands for rate increases.

The problem, as usual, is with the bureaucrat labor unions. In the case of DWP, it's the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers -- which doesn't just cover electricians and linemen, but supervisors, clerks, engineers, accountants, mail boys, janitors, etc. This is a powerful, wealthy and active union which works hard and spends a lot of money to support the election of policians they're certain will approve the rate and tax increases that ensure these wage and benefit excesses with little or no oversight and interference. Until the public demands removal of these unions from jobs in the public sector, we will continue to see stories like these in the Daily News and only be able to shake our heads in disgust for decades to come ... as these overpaid and underworked bureaucrats laugh all the way to the bank and their early retirements.

And I'll address the two messages above. Firt Razor. You're right about "high margin" -- the IBEW has milked this industry for everything that it's worth. Don't forget to add that this is an industry that doesn't allow consumer choice ... we've been made to be completely dependent on the local utility. Electricity and water aren't cable television, we can't live without them. And we are not given the option to purchase them elsewhere. As for the old union propaganda of needing these grossly excessive wages and benefits to "retain the most skilled," hogwash. Most of these skilled laborers are trained by the utility at ratepayer expense even as they earn a decent wage for receiving the free training!!! Admit that you pay the cronies (usually kids of IBEW members) who receive lucrative DWP jobs and then actually pay them to receive free job training. Paying 10%-50% beyone comparable market salary rates isn't necesssary to retain people. DWP doesn't even lay people off or fire people other than in extremes. As you admit, these people don't go anywhere until their retirements kick in for life at the ripe old age of (what is it now, 50?).

To wee_jimmy whining about names being published. First, the pay scales of public employees are, rightfully, public information. Second, what are you so afraid of ... that the public will be disgusted? We can only hope that they finally are because we pay for this nonsense.

A huge part of the problem is the incestuous relationship between DWP and City management and staff. If you talk to City employees, including political staff in the council and mayor's offices, you know that they drool about going to work for DWP where they can do the same or less work for more money. The head of DWP was CAO in the City. At least one council member worked for the DWP during his hiatus from council deputy to elected councilman.

The DWP has large amounts of money available for council districts and pet projects. If you want to talk about lobbyists, the DWP is the most well-connected, deep-pocketed lobbyist in the City.

So our elected leaders have no inclination to fight against whatever the DWP wants.

A thorough investigation of the money flow and job flow might prove interesting.

And, by the way, wee_jimmy, yes you public employees do give up the right to pay privacy when you work for the City or the DWP. In return you have outlandish pay and benefits and unlimited job security. Too bad.

The truth is lmntary.

For those of you who've never been close enough to live wires to hear them hum, or worked 40 to 100 feet off the ground let me give you a few clues. Electricity over 6,000 volts can jump up to an inch per 1,000 volts in dry air. The little lines at the top of the pole can carry up to 120,000 volts, the ones that feed the transformers carry 12,000 and your street lights run on between 6,000 and 7,600 volts. It takes less power to light a 25 watt light bulb than it does to kill a healthy person. Lineman expose themselves to hazards daily that would make any of the whiners in here wet themselves. (greatly increasing their exposure to shock) They work higher and deeper than most folks would go and you almost never know they're there. Now I'm no fan of the top heavy politically driven management of the DWP that's been using utility rates to circumvent Prop 13 for a generation; but before you whine about the IBEW workers making $100,000 a year (with overtime), climb that pole in the rain to restore service while the power's still on after you've already put in 11 hours that day. Or visit a friend in the hospital as they recover from the internal burns caused by electrocution; then you can complain about what hard working service people earn. Until then; when you turn on that light, you might thank an electrician.

Before we go after the salaries of people who actually work for a living, let's stop Mayor Villaraigosa and the City Council from using the DWP to impose taxes on us without the required two-thirds vote.

City Hall operates the DWP at a "profit," and transfers the excess money -- hundreds of millions of dollars of YOUR money -- into the general fund, where they then squander it on subsidies for cronies.

That, to me, is a higher priority than going after a painter, chemist or locksmith who makes a few hundred dollars more per year than his counterpart in another City department.

Walter Moore
Candidate for Mayor
WalterMooreForMayor.com

Before we go after the salaries of people who actually work for a living, let's stop Mayor Villaraigosa and the City Council from using the DWP to impose taxes on us without the required two-thirds vote.

City Hall operates the DWP at a "profit," and transfers the excess money -- hundreds of millions of dollars of YOUR money -- into the general fund, where they then squander it on subsidies for cronies.

That, to me, is a higher priority than going after a painter, chemist or locksmith who makes a few hundred dollars more per month than his counterpart in another City department.

Walter Moore
Candidate for Mayor
WalterMooreForMayor.com

A word for "truth must be told". while you're advocating the publication of personal information long held as private in our society; you hide behind a pen-name.. Kinda calls to question everything else you have to say... Just for the record; "nuttincowboy" is Michael Snyder. It's easy to blast others in anonymity, it takes the courage of your convictions to stand and be recognized.

I happen to think like Walter Moore and suppor his mayoral candidacy. However, describing the overpaid bureaucrats at DWP as "people who actually work for a living" is a bit of a stretch. While these $70K per year painters and locksmiths make a "few hundred dollars per month more than his counterpart at city hall," they BOTH are earning MUCH more than their private sector counterparts. How many industrial painters and lockmiths do you know making this kind of money? This is practically unskilled work. And while I agree with Mr. Moore about the additional problem of excessive utility taxes and transfers to the general fund -- it's ALL our money, including this wasteful, unjustified coddling of utility employees, and it must all be brought under control.

To the fellow above waxing poetically about the extreme danger of electricity, they've got plenty of safeguards in place and the risk doesn't justify paying linemen so much more than cops and firefighters who face equal, if not more, risks and dangers.

First of all, how much are you willing to pay someone that risks their life working around energized high voltage equipment day in and day out. Being called at any time for equipment failure. The positions that are being scrutinized and attacked aren't even representative of the work primarily done by the workers. It's called Water and Power. These people work hard to maintain equipment that's aged and has been there since Mullholland was sucking his thumb. Why don't you do a documentary on the life of a dispatcher, or linemen, the people that comprise the higher paid bracket. These people aren't paid enough.

Actually, cop and firefighter don't even make the top ten of dangerous occupations. Lineman does.

A word for nuttincowboy: I don't work in the public sector nor for the DWP so my name is irrelevant. I'm not so foolish to expose myself to the real danger of union slob harassment. You're not risking anything by exposing yourself as a supporter of your union "brothers." Blogging in anonymity is not only sensible, it allows for the truth to be exposed. So stuff it.

Dear "Truth must be told, Clearly you've never engaged in a building project more complicated than hanging your Xmas lights. It's easy to look at a computer screen (powered by that electrical grid you so despise) and pontificate to the masses. Police and Firemen/women face hazards just as linemen do, and if you compare wages at different skill levels and overtime you will find a level of parody. The safeguards in place for linemen are no more effective than a bullet proof vest on a policeman. You have to sacrifice a level of protection in order to get the job done. If you want to take aim at the bureaucrats that infest every level of government, I'm right beside you. Take aim at the people who are actually "gettin' it done" and I'll be the first in your face.

I would like to thank the idiots at the Daily News and it's supporters (Truth Mustbetold) for exposing me to Identity theft and fraud. Yes, you do have the right to post the jobs and their salaries, but not our names. I am a lineman and I deserve every thing I have earned. What you at the Daily News earn is none of my business. But out of fairness you should post the names and salaries of all your employees so that the public can see where their hard earned subscription money is going.

Juanski

nuttincowboy: The only thing you've put in my face is union propaganda and nonsense. The only thing your union brothers are "gettin' it done" is a raping of ratepayers that's gone on far too long. While you union bureaucrats are socking it to the public and taking ridiculously early retirements -- the majority of the public can barely afford to keep the electricity on and put food on the table. The soldiers in the American military face FAR more danger and make FAR less than IBEW painters, customer service clerks, locksmiths, and yes, your beloved electricians (many of whom aren't touching lines but are working on control boards in power plants, repairing radios, etc). The time has come for ratepayer and taxpayer revolts.

Juanski: I know you're terrified of the public knowing how much you're overpaid at our expense ... but it's public information and deservedly so. Get used to it, this will continue until we get this waste under control. BTW, the Daily News is a private business; not a government entity. Big difference.

Is seams the Department of Water and Power demand huge rate increases so they can issue $300+ million annual bribes to the City Councilman who approved those same rate increases to fill their own pockets.

At the same time these same overpaid City Councilman after receiving the DWP bribe show their support by raising DWP workers pay above other workers.

It clearly shows it's easy to buy the LA City Council people and DWP has learned to do it with the taxpayer's money.

Stop the illegal tax now and ban payments from DWP of our money to the City Council.

Truth must be told, It must be lonely in your little Marxist corner of the world. Assume is spelled Ass-U-Me and it seems you do a lot of that. I'm not a union member, I'm a Contractor. An independent small business owner who lives day to day on his reputation and acumen. I fear no reprisals because I speak the truth. Now I'd bet if you ever had a job, much less one where you worked for a lifetime, you'd want to see a pension as well. Your final comment to the lineman who posted a genuine and fair response to the public's right to know shows you for who you really are...

nuttincowboy: Marxism falls in the realm of unionism ... another bit of education for you. I know socialists twists facts and language, but try to keep it straight. I'll guarantee you that as one who publicly supports this raping of the ratepayers by the corrupt politicians and the union bureaucrats -- you somehow profit it from it yourself, either through marriage, family, or through receiving jobs for your contracting business via your unions contacts. You fear no reprisal because you're union sychophant who profits from the cycle of corruption and back room glad handing. You're right I have exposed who I am -- a defender of public fairness from a culture or corruption and excess in the bureaucracy that has gone on far too long. I'm not ashamed of that at all. But you should be ashamed at your self-interested, greedy attempt to keep that sleezy culture thriving for your benefit at the expense of the majority of the hard working public.

If these bureaucrats insist on burdening the rate and tax payers with these excessive wages and ripoffs like abusing overtime, sick leave, and workers compensation, then the public must at least demand the highest quality employee. This should require that any strike clauses be eliminated and more leverage be given to the public to terminate and lay off poor performing bureaucrats. In addition, all those positions requiring advances skills and education should be verified to ensure that those qualifications are really held, and all personnel holding jobs that risk public and personal safety should receive regular, unannounced blood and urine tests to verify that they aren't under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Furthermore, more background checks are needed with ethics clauses that result in the termination of felony law offenders. Then, maybe the public will finally receive the "brightest and best" that we're already paying for.

Truth must be told, Please refer to my previous post... Again spelled Ass-U-Me...

Where to start? I have been an employee for the DWP for 20 years now, I remember in 1991 or 1992 bringing electrical lines across your building (Daily News in Woodland Hills) and having lightning strike a pole not 150 feet from me, while restoring power to your business. And what about last years heat storm working during the heat of the day when it was about 113 degrees, and helping the linemen to restore power where it is lost. Also did we hear anything about the patrolman who was killed in the line of duty or the 2 electrical craft helpers who where seriously burned and had to go the burn center...humm..nope. Lets talk about your way of REPORTING the news, your headlines on your paper on the 24th or 25th states "Firefighter gets 1.43 million", and two days later in the EDITORS COMMENTS in the back of the front part of the paper. It is stated $490,000 to Firefighter and $2 million to lawyers. So which is it? The Truth that is! Now if this sounds like whining perhaps it is but I have had enough of your ill advised comments over the years. Oh by the way genius its ratepayers NOT taxpayers. Overpaid I dont think so, maybe if the worst I received was a PAPER CUT doing my job.

We are always looking for a few good men and women that can perform up to the standard set by DWP and if you have the skills or training the file for that job and good luck. Thanks daily news for getting this information out so we can find a few more linemen. We just lost one of our brother to a fatal accident and we need some new brave hard working men to met the chalange

It's funny to see the DWP people's pathetic attempts to justify their exorbitant salaries which are WAY out of line with comparable jobs in the private sector. Did everybody know that in the age of pension debt, DWP employees retire with 90% of the average of their TOP 3 salary years? And why does the DWP need to spend $$ advertising? - YOU'RE A MONOPOLY!

How unsurprising that the union bullies are pulling out the guns to lob shots at the messenger who simply provided a fact filled story. See, this is the kind of information they and the politicians have been attempting to keep quiet for many years. At the same time they spend millions on media propaganda in which they combined efforts with other unions and put up crying cops and firemen sobbing and lying about how underpaid and overworked all our "public servants" are when the governor requested that the voters give him some authority to get this corrupted system under control. It's these unions and their political prostitutes that have turned this state and this city into the sad mess that it is.

If you are outraged about the salaries, then here's more.

Many, many of these employees make overtime which adds 10%, 20% 40% sometimes 50% to the base salary.

Hey Daily News: Now it is time to publish last year's W-2 gross income.

Oh my goodness, you mean they make more....the pay is 30 to 40% more with overtime, Wow i want one of these hard jog even if i have to work for a living i want one. Better than being a crying Daily New Reporter that only makes 45,000 per year and cant fix a burnout light bulb

I have a feeling that was a DWP or union stooge that wrote the blog "When will the Daily News Learn?" Because if you believe that I have swamp land in Florida that I would like to sell you.The blog was DWP management or union propaganda.
Anyways, DWP is extremely top heavy. However, there is a major shortage of people that actually do work. There are so many supervisors & managers and there is no clue as to what they do except constantly attend meetings or go on junkets to attend utility conferences at vacation resorts. They have no useful function whatsoever. If you go into their offices, they are like museums. (family pictures, souvenirs from utility junkets, etc.) There is no sign of any kind of work that would ruin the decor. These people are paid well over $100,000 and provide no service to the ratepayers. And with regard to the DWP city attorney, they seem to be for display only. They are always hiring outside counsel for the least little litigation. Their main function seems to be make sure their office are the sized correctly according to their rank (assistant city attorney's office are bigger then deputy city attorney's)

Good grief! In just one search of the database I found customer service reps earning from $50K to $85K per year and a GARDNER earning $51K per year! These outrageous salaries are earned along with generous vacation plans, guaranteed overtime, clothing allowances, free dry cleaning, gym memberships, free shoes, and other insane giveaways as well as one of the most generous retirement plans in the country. Absolutely disgusting. Their salaries and benefits could be frozen for over a decade and they'd still be far ahead of private sector counterpart jobs.

Truth must be told, when is your next unemployment check due?? It must be hard, drinking your latte and lambasting everybody who's achieved a level of professional success. You demand concessions you would never tolerate, and you cloak your self in the mantel of a public servant. Finally you lurk in your little corner, hiding behind your pen-name laying out grandiose plans for everyone else's life. If you used this forum to expose bureaucratic waste you might be worthy of some respect. As it is you take aim at the very people who make your cushy lifestyle possible. What you really need is a job.

As a new homeowner, this is my experience with DWP...I moved to Westchester(LAX)2 years ago. During that period, my DWP bill continues to rise, yet my water and electric usage has been consciously reduced(EnergyStar, low-flush, lowE, etc...). The last time my meter was read was about a year ago. I asked a few of my neighbors(elderly might I add) and they too mentioned that their meters have not been read in awhile nor even seen a DWP employee walking the neighborhood.
Thank you for bringing such waste and senselessness to light, and let's continue to shine the spotlight on this "business" of theirs.

How dare the Daily News to publicly give out salaries of employees of the DWP. My husband is amongst those listed and NEVER gave his permission to post his salary. Ever hear about confidentiality? This totally negates the whole article that was written. I think the article is completely biased. Because you have to pay high water rates, you expose the EMPLOYEES of the company???? This makes no sense! My husband has worked for the DWP for 26 years, he has no control over what he makes, he puts in his hours, gets his paycheck and we still BARELY get by, like most of us here in California!!! The issue is the REST of the companies in L.A. THEY should be paying their employees more money to stay in line with the cost of living in this god forsaken state!!! DWP is on the right track, just remember when we deregulated the water and power????? We had major issues! To be fair, what is your salary Mr. Author?????

The DWP employees and their supporters here show a typical lack of concern for rate payers in L.A. and even deny any responsibility for the excesses that have been happening there for too long. One clown, Nuttincowboy even takes credit for the "cushy" lives we Angelenos live and claims it's this price gouging by the DWP monopoly that allows us to have it so good. LOL! BTW, NothingCowboy, I am not a "public servant" making my living on the backs of taxpayers, I work in private industry and you haven't contributed a damn thing to what I've achieved through hard work. And shut your pie hole about exposing my identity so that you can send some union goons to do your dirty work, you crook. I'll check out the name you claim to be to determin if you're doing business with the city of Los Angeles. You need to be more closely looked at to determine how close you are to the decision makers and how you use or abuse those connections for your company, Michael Snyder. Others are terrified of having their salaries exposed even though it's public information because it's the public that pays them. They want to keep this a secret because they know of the public outrage that will be generated by exposing stuff like city gardeners making over $50k per year just in base salary. Another claims outrage because they "barely get by" on their outrageous DWP salary. I guess they can't afford to purchase a third home in Big Bear or some other luxury they think they deserve for all their "hard work" for us greedy rate payers tired of inflated utility bills. She even has the nerve to insult California as a "god forsaken" state for its generosity in employing her husband for 26 years. Pathetic.

I wonder how much money Ron Kay (editor), and Beth Barrett (staff writer) make. It's truly none of my business. But maybe it's my business how much people in those positions make. I don't need to know their names. My understanding is that the DWP jobs are stressful and difficult, and turnover rate is pretty high. Can you imagine putting up with every single person in Los Angeles, and their complaints? I sure wouldn't want their jobs. They deserve to be well paid so that good people can keep our utilities functioning.

Man, the union propagandists are out in force. Look at this bit of forced nonsense, "My understanding is that the DWP jobs are stressful and difficult, and turnover rate is pretty high. Can you imagine putting up with every single person in Los Angeles, and their complaints? I sure wouldn't want their jobs. They deserve to be well paid so that good people can keep our utilities functioning." LOL!! I couldn't stop lauging when I read that. Those poor DWP clerks have it so much harder than the rest of us working stiffs because they have to listen to the people who pay their salaries complain about their price gouging. Sob!! Whine!!

The Daily News is a private business and their salaries are none of your business. But from what little I know of journalist salaries, many are probably not even in the neighborhood of a DWP customer service clerk. DWP positions are paid by utility rates (a form of public tax) and must therefore answer to the public with full disclosure. Isn't it telling how panicked they are by their salaries being made public? Might that be because they know that they don't deserve what they're paid and because they know they've been milking the system? Are they afraid that the gravy train is going to make fewer stops? We can only hope ...

Truth must be told, Why are you so threatened by people standing up for their privacy? What about a workers right to fair compensation threatens you so that you need to publicly promise a campaign of personal harassment? Somehow you seem to forget most people actually work through their careers. Jobs are not a gift; you have to produce something for a pay-check. What is it about paying your bills that so outrages you? Why do you need to hide behind a cape shaped handle while attacking the character of hard working folks you don't know. You won't reveal your name, yet you not only condone gross invasions of privacy; you threaten such attacks upon people who have no connection to the public sector. I hope when the good people of the DWP hire a lawyer to seek recompense for the Daily News' outrageous invasion of privacy they include you in their action. As for me, your uneducated remarks boarder on slander & I'd caution you to beware of the accusations you cast about in such a public forum.

NothingCowboy: Take your silly threats and accusations and stuff them where the sun don't shine. I'm on to you.

Truth be told; Perhaps a little anger management therapy with your next bottle of chardonnay?

Truth be told: Perhaps a little anger management therapy with your next bottle of chardonnay?

Boy you've really done it now Daily News. Sure you have a right to post the worker's classes and salaries under Public Records act, but not their names. I hope the 8000+ employees who work at LADWP file a class action law suit and sue your pants off and put you out of business!

First, you choose to print hype and lies about how LADWP gouged the state during the CA energy crisis and rolling black outs in northern CA.

Truth is you failed to mention when LADWP supposedly richocheted power to get a higher price, that their transmission lines run from Sylmar, CA to Celilo, OR with no stopping points in between and BTW the CA ISO set the higher price and at that time LADWP was heralded as heroes by their quick action to keep the lights on in N. CA.

Then, you deliberately reported lies about the Voices for a Green LA concert VIP reception where a soda was priced at $18, but failed to mention the audit that you got that information from clearly stated the ENTIRE event was UNDERWRITTEN by Green LA sponsors, like Coca Cola, not ratepayers.

Now you are printing LADWP salaries without mentioning that LADWP has 30% lower rates than the rest of the investor-owned utilities in the state and its salaries are competitive with Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, SCE, PG&E, and SDG&E and other utilities across the nation. Not to mention, most of these utilities also raised rates a lot more than LADWP this past year.

Here's another fact, the average LADWP worker is over 40 and has had several promotions to earn the higher salaries you so boldly printed.

You could also print the Truth that LADWP hasn't had a rate increase in 15 years and has been trying since 1997 to gradually raise rates but the action continued to get voted down by the Mayor and City Council until now there is no choice but raise the rates.

Here's a fact, LADWP is down 100 lineman. It is a nationwide epidemic. Since voters no longer want to pay for vocational training in schools,high school graduates are not going into the trades and there is a huge lack of skilled workers coming into utilities to risk their lives to keep the lights on. So now, LADWP linemen get to work 16 hour shifts two weeks at a time and since 40% of linemen are eligible to retire in 5 years or less the problems is going to get worse.

Or the fact that the reason the blogger above's meter didn't get read, is because there is a huge shortage of skilled meter readers at LADWP so routes are skipped.

Yes, Daily News, you can encourage the citizens to put pressure on the politicians to vote down the rate increase, but the result will be 40% of LADWP workers will retire in the next 3-5 years, outages will be longer because of less people to respond, outages will be worse because of aging equipment, and some day LADWP will have to raise the rates and spend even more money fixing the infrastructure. The city has put if off for 15 years--how much longer can this aging system take???

Thank God, most intelligent, well-read, educated people and customers of LADWP recognize the Daily News is no more than a Tabloid paper meant to line litter boxes and realize that they'd rather raise rates and have reliable power and water with a fully-staffed work crew than outages, leaks, and injuries because the politicians put off another essential rate incresae.

Truth Mustbetold: IDIOT. Nice string of logical falacies. Yes, salary scales are public information. The Daily News could have published a story that said Mechanics make X and Clerks make Y and so forth. It's entirely another thing to say that John Galt, Engineer, makes Z. In the world of easy identity theft, this is inexcusable. It's because of idiots like the Daily News, and you, that it costs more for me to work in this city. Why? Thanks to you, the Daily News, and on-line databases, I have to purchase ID Theft Insurance. Where in any Civil Service Class description does it state that personal info may be published by a collectivist leaning news paper? Where does it state that one's personal life is subject to the whims of every rate payer? Where does it state that in order to be employed in public service I must be subject to harassment from the media and the public. It doesn't. Ease up on the envy. Try something constructive and stay out of private citizens' personal lives. The next time the power or the water goes out in your neighborhood, go out an thank the workers who come and fix the problem. Offer them a cup of coffee or a cold drink. Everyone's a critic ... until they need help.

I don't mind that my salary is available to the public. I want everyone to see what I have been paid for the past 6 months, to sit at home, watch tv, and enjoy my diet iced tea. I am a Black employee with 22 years of service, who was taken off of the job 6 months ago, because the DWP management does not want to discipline a White employee who called me racial names and physically assaulted me - in front of supervision! Then, paid all that money to force me to see 3 different shrinks, who found absolutely nothing wrong with me.

I am not the first ethnic employee to undergo such unethical and discriminatory actions, and will not be the last. Why am I still here? Because God knows that I have earned every benefit that will be mine when I retire.

Note to DWP Management: I am still here and am still strong!

Thanks for the article. I would point out that many of you who are disappointed when Union workers earn a higher wage will still go to the polls and vote for candidates who are being bought by these same unions! If you want to do something about unfair bargaining at tax payer expense, then for god sakes stop voting for candidates who feed off it. It is silly to complain about this when the majority of California voters are, in fact, at the heart of this problem.

I think this article failed to mention that these people don't pay Social Security taxes because they're in their own, publicly funded tax system. So you can add 7.65 percent take home pay for these folks. So, ffectively, the General Manager Ron Deaton, who is on medical leave, rakes in $370,988 rather than $344,624 a year reported. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Of course the salaries are public information. They're all PUBLIC employees who work for ME and YOU. It's YOUR money.

Truth MustBeTold, you are a troublemaker at best. You and the others who complain about DWP's exhorbitant wages DO NOT PRESENT ANY INFORMATION OF YOUR OWN.

You, your kind, and the "DailyScrews" are comparing utility industry worker wages to City Worker Wages- HARDLY SCIENTIFIC.

Any INTELLECTUALLY HONEST person would compare utility workers wages to utility workers wages.

You are obviously NOT intellectually honest, which makes you and your comments a WASTE OF TIME.

You are also UNINFORMED in that you would have known about the great demand the industry has for linemen. DWP has had a problem of the HIGHER PAYING public utilities, such as SCE, PAYING MORE and taking their TRAINED WORKERS.

So I suggest you go to some anger management seminars, math refresher classes and replace your emotion with ration.

I have my own gripes about pay scales. I worked for DWP as an electrical engineer for nine years and then left for another agency, so one could argue that my views are somewhat biased. Nevertheless, I would like to share them.

· Most police officers and fireman make well over $100,000/yr with a modest amount of overtime. I see plenty of BMWs and Mercedes with those stupid fire hat stickers.

· Someone I know has an auto body repair shop. He has to pay his body men over a $100,000/yr to take dents out of all those BMWs and Mercedes. You don’t have to go through four years of apprenticeship (utility lineman) or four years of intense schooling (engineers) to be a policeman, fireman or auto body worker.

· I understand that In-N-Out hamburger stand managers make $150,000/yr and up, a lot more than your average utility lineman, or most engineers, for that matter. This is a hamburger stand, for Christ’s sake. I don’t think you need much training for this, but I could be wrong. It may be much easier to go into a high-voltage manhole in the middle of the night and splice a cable inches away from energized power lines than it is to stand near that hot burger grill all day and reorder patties and buns. That potato chopper thing looks pretty intimidating, too.

· It costs a lot of money to live in Los Angeles. Does the Dailey News staff live in a commune, or what? Do they really think $100,000/yr is an outrageous sum for highly skilled utility workers and highly educated engineers?

· DWP’s rates are among the lowest in California. Ask someone who owns a house with an air conditioner in SCE’s service area what they pay per kilowatt-hour.

· The comparison of the salaries of City tree surgeons with DWP tree surgeons is laughable. One would think there is a difference between the job duties of someone who trims trees inches away from high-voltage power lines and someone who trims trees around swings sets and basketball courts in parks. The last time I checked, swing sets don’t kill you instantly if you touch them.

· Utilities all over the country are lamenting the shortage of engineers and skilled workers. The reason is that there are a lot of easier occupations for a reasonably intelligent person to get into that pay the same or more than utility engineering or line work.

I think the Daily News is whining because the Internet is taking away so much of their business and putting pressure on their salaries. Who better to lash out at than the ubiquitous DWP, the agency that has contributed more to the growth and economic stability of LA than any other organization in the city’s history.

1. If you are a public employee, your salary (name included) is public info. Posting this database will not open you up to identity theft. You can bet DWP only provided information that state law mandates they provide. Don't like it? Write to Arnold.

2. Right on Daily News. I've been waiting to see some of this information since the court ruled a month ago. Here are a few follow-up ideas: Is there really aging electrical equipment? I bet there is. How much hiring of linemen has the utility done in the past 20 years? In a few years when the boomers retire, they will be scrambling to fill positions. Is it hard to find qualified linemen?

3. If you really want to know what journalists make ... not much. We all work for companies that worry about the bottom line. Ads must be sold, costs must be cut. The fact that projects like this happen is a testament to the dedication of newsroom management, that they are willing to invest time to large complex issues. Trust me, we are not journalists for the wonderful pay.

4. I love the fact that there are so many complaints on this site about this story, yet you are all reading, posting, and driving up web traffic.

5. Who am I? I'm a California journalist in my hometown of L.A. for a vacation. I'm the daughter of man who spent MANY years as a lineman. I grew up hearing tales of linemen who were literally blown off power poles. I've seen my dad go to too many funerals. It's a scary, dangerous job.

Just remember, the union negotiators do what they do best, negotiate for the salaries for the workers they represent. The city backs the rate hikes to pay for ... ? Hmmm ... What are the rate hikes paying for? Salaries? Replacing old equipment? Or the continuous sprawl in this region? The newspaper just reports the facts and lets the public form their own opinions.

I’m sure the editors at the Daily News knew they would get critism for the database, I’m sure the phones have been ringing off the hook all day. But instead of criticizing the article and the database (and each other), keep debating the issue: Is DWP worth the money?

Trust me, editors, and DWP and city leaders are reading.

1. Social Security Taxes: March 1986 - DWP workers started paying Social Security taxes. (They are still ineligible to collect the social security that they paid into.)

2. To my knowledge, if taxpayers pay your salary then you are subject to have your information posted. DWP employees ARE NOT paid by taxpayers (they are paid by rate payers which is a big difference). This appears to have violated the right of the individual employees and something needs to be done.

3. Why are you attacking the individual workers? You post private info about them and you fail to mention the actual jobs these people do - the dangers they face daily (which includes death), the irregular workhours, and the fact that they don't get holidays or weekends off.

4. The reason why I got a job with DWP was because of articles like this one. I want to have a job that pays well. If you want - go the cityofla website and take a city test. Do well, pass the drug test (a good many people can't) and the physical, take an interview - and you'll get the same paycheck I do - but, you'll also have to work in the same conditions (not in an airconditioned, cushy ergonomically correct office atmosphere). Go close a breaker and have the DC arc on you - see if you think you are getting overpaid then.

5. To the public: Compare the rates of DWP, SCE, and PG&E. Then use your judgement on whether the DWP is actually trying overcharge you. Do your own research and please don't believe what the newspaper prints - they never tell the whole story as it really is.

6. Anybody interested in starting a class-action lawsuit: I'll sign, along with a list of people who'll join me.

1. Compare rates to SCE and PG&E? Why? Those aren't municipal utilities which have all the breaks a public utility does.

2. If you want to compare something, compare the salaries. The DWP worker bee gets twenty to forty percent more than SCE. And that is before benefits.

3. Why do I think you don't know that?

4. If the money paid by "ratepayers" stayed with DWP, and if DWP paid prevailing rates, nobody would be talking about increases, and rates would be even lower.

5. I hope -30- is right about who is reading this.

Educate me - what exactly are these break AND what do they have to do with personally attacking me?

Educate yourself. If you don't want to read the press version go to the Board of Water & Power Commissioners hearing tomorrow at DWP headquarters, 1:30 pm. You can find the agenda on the DWP web site.

Unfortunately, some people have to go to work tomorrow just to keep your lights on. But, I think I will educate myself about the matter - and I will also be educating myself on the laws and regulations about displaying people's personal and private information without their permission. And about what can be done about that.

By the way, DWP's rates are lower than any other utility rates - even with the rate increase. And if the rate increase does take effect - it will be the first time in over 15 years.

Again, I ask - what does anything you've said have ANYTHING to do with you people personally attacking me?

Maybe all of you crybabies that have a lousy-paying job should get off your collective dead asses and see DWP about a good-paying job instead of crying about the "exorbitant" salaries we at DWP make.
Daily News, get the facts straight before you jump in with both feet....we keep your lights on in all types of weather and risk our lives in doing so just so you can continue to exist, and do our best to supply you & everyone else in L.A. with clean tap water for your personal use. Go see SCE or MWD for your power or water needs and see how much more they charge.
The Daily News/Pravda should also be taken to task for publishing employees' names in their rag, preferably in court for big $$$.......if they spent as much time reporting real news as they do trying to vilify the DWP and doing their best to create bad press in the process, they might even be able to publish a readable news rag....get with the program and stop throwing stones in a glass house.
I wouldn't even let my cat defecate on this miserable excuse of a socialist newspaper.

---A DWP employee

DWP employee. Read the DWP website. 70% of DWP water comes from MWD. You pay MWD rates on that. It is just hidden.

And DWP rates are not the lowest among municipal utilities. You can find that on the DWP website too. Think about this, if everybody could get by with 50% dirty coal, they would have lower rates. Those days are ending. Now we can have high priced solar.

court reporter needs to find a new crack dealer.

Shame on the Daily News and it's apologists for more of their filth.

You have spent time and money to print yet another article bashing DWP employees.

Here's something you should be ashamed of:

Phillip J. Wickey, 54, a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) line patrol mechanic with 20 years of service, lost his life Sept. 9 following an Aug. 20th accident which also involved two other power system crew members.

Wickey and his two colleagues were critically injured by an electrical flash which occurred while installing new power equipment to serve a commercial customer located in the eastern area of the City.

“Every day LADWP crews face tremendous danger in the work they do serving the power and water needs for the 1.4 million customers we serve. This death serves as a tragic reminder of those dangers and the many unsung heroes who are on our frontlines each and every day, no matter the weather or the risk. Our condolence and heartfelt wishes go out to Philip’s family during this difficult time,” said Henry Martinez, chief operating officer – Power System and acting general manager.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ordered City flags lowered to half-staff to honor Wickey and his service to the people of Los Angeles.

Wickey joined the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power staff on Aug. 31, 1987 as an electrical craft helper. He entered the Electric Distribution Mechanic Training Program in April 1989. He completed the training program and was promoted to electric distribution mechanic in 1993. He was promoted to his final position, line patrol mechanic, in 1995.

He leaves his wife Liz, stepson Scott and daughter-in-law Brooke.

Do a search on his name on this website. Do Google. You wrote nothing about the bravery and sacrifice that he and many other men and women make every single day keeping the lights on and the water flowing in this city. Many employees put their lives on the line every single day. Many have died or been permanently injured serving this city.

What thanks do they and their loved ones get? No thanks by your trashy paper. No recognition of the heroism sense of duty they hold every day. They only get bashed by you.

At least the Mayor and Commisisoner Nahai get it. At least Mr. Martinez makes an effort to acknowledge the sacrifice of DWP employees.

By the way, Mr Wickey was not the only DWP employee to die in the line of duty this year.

Shame on you. I won't even insult my cats by lining their litter box with your paper.

I wouldn't even worry about what these people are writing and saying. I've been doing some research on the legality under California state law of the release of that information and in doing so have gotton some opinions on the rate increase matter. I've received nothing but support from DWP customers. People know that they are paying way less than their neighbors and they understand the necessity of the rate increase.

In response to a previous blog,
The problem is that DWP does not spend money to get the much needed TRAINED employees that maintain water and electric service (manual work), but instead waste money on
employees in managerial administrative positions
that have no job duties (except to spin talk in corporate jargon so they can sound important without really saying anything).
Their jobs are totally worthless to the ratepayer, and they earn, or should I say cost, over a $100,000 for each of these totally useless positions. I can't even say they are "bean counters" or "paper pushers" because it would be an insult to the "bean counters" and "paper pushers".

In response to a previous blog,
The problem is that DWP does not spend money to get the much needed TRAINED employees that maintain water and electric service (manual work), but instead waste money on
employees in managerial administrative positions
that have no job duties (except to spin talk in corporate jargon so they can sound important without really saying anything).
Their jobs are totally worthless to the ratepayer, and they earn, or should I say cost, over a $100,000 for each of these totally useless positions. I can't even say they are "bean counters" or "paper pushers" because it would be an insult to the "bean counters" and "paper pushers".

If you want to talk about privacy violations, DWP is a major violator of people's privacy. Another blog describes how they violated the privacy of their customers by illegally monitoring phone calls without informing the customer. This will probably end of costing in the millions because of a class action suit that has been filed (BC364522). This cost will be added to the ratepayers tab and no one in management will be held accountable. They act above the law because they know their is no consequence on any action that decide to pursue.
Here's the other blog I was referring to:

"James Hahn may not officially be the mayor, however, he still has strong connections to the city attorney's office because his law firm received over a million dollar contract to defend DWP in the Lucille Estes v. DWP lawsuit (BC364522). This will probably turn into a class action of the thousands of customer's phone calls being illegally monitored without the customer's knowledge. I'm sure Mr. Hahn's law firm will milk this for all its worth like the PR firm did because no one at DWP cares. DWP lawyers are too incapable & lazy to do any kind of professional legal work which is why so much is spend for outside attorneys.

How pathetic do the bureaucrats look ganging up here to threaten and insult the press, free speech and documented facts. With the news about Tennie Pierce and others, it almost appears that these people practically make a hobby out of filing nuisance and shakedown lawsuits. These are the kind of people who make a mockery out of our justice system. I guess their greed knows few limits.

No matter their threats, insults, diatribes, lies, rhetoric, distortions, and personal attacks, the fact remains that the evidence indicates that they are overpaid as compared to other city employees, surrounding city employees and compared to private sector comparable positions. Look at how they insult the very people who provide the revenue that pays for their excesses and big attitudes ... they call us losers for not earning as much as they do and they arrogantly claim that we are envious of them. They can't see that the public is standing up and demanding responsible government. They arrogantly and naively proclaim to hold more valuable jobs than we do. Their painters are special painters, their gardners have more dangerous jobs than other gardners, their customer service clerks have to listen to the us, the awful and unappreciative public "whine and complain" about rates and bad service. That all justifies paying unskilled, minimum wage jobs many multiples more than others earn for doing the same or nearly similar work. If they were all really so talented and irreplaceable, then why do they need union representation? Such talented wunderkinder would never lose their valuable jobs in the free market, right? Yeah, right, I suspect a lot of these people have never had to compete in private sector jobs.

No matter how they try to spin it, the DWP is a government entity in that it is owned by the citizens of L.A.; NOT the employee bureaucrats and their lapdog politicians. They are a monopoly that provides a necessary service and commodity. That's why the citizens saw fit to make that service and commodity public. However, the importance of the service is hardly indication of the importance of those who work in it. You're all replaceable. Unfortunately, it appears that this vital department has been commandeered by the employees of the department who refuse to improve and change. That being the case, then serious consideration should be given to privatization because we no longer own it anyway.

Stop threatening the Daily News for exposing facts, stop insulting citizens who are outraged by those facts, try to behave like adults and public employees who appreciate the generosity you've enjoyed for too long. Doing otherwise makes you look worse than you already do. We can only pray that not all city employees are as resentful and greed driven as the ones posting messages here.

To the fellow/woman who claimed that CA state and local employees pay Social Security taxes, go back and re-do that research. SOME pay the Medicare tax but none, as I understand it, pay any Social Security because you have your own retirement system, a retirement system healthier than social security and primarily paid for by the public rather than from your own paychecks. I guess this person hasn't paid social security taxes in such a long time that they aren't even familiar with the rules.

Last, I leave you DWP whiners and bullies with a quote from the great American, Benjamin Franklin, "The sting in the rebuke is the truth." Deal with it.

I'm a "proud DWP employee". and I'm blessed!!! Get a JOB !!!!! ps, daily news- Your employees seem to be pretty bitter. I think your people need a raise...

"Social Security payroll taxes are collected under authority of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). The payroll taxes are sometimes even called "FICA taxes."" from www.ssa.gov/mystatement/fica.htm.

I did. I looked at my paycheck. I do pay "FICA taxes" that I will not be collecting in the future.

I'm proud to say that I work for LADWP, and I'm also proud to say that I believe I earn every penny on my paycheck. Yes, there are many who abuse the civil service system and manipulate it to their personal benefit, but it's the real workers who carry them and do the bulk of the work at the same time. Problem is that it is the same civil service policies that create an environment for someone to screw the system if they choose to do so. The majority of us take pride in what we do. Yes, I make more than an LA City worker, but dammit, I earn it.

Try working in an environment where the bloated management would rather reach for the discipline manual than deal with pressing problems because they are so out of touch with what their subordinated do, the only thing they understand is the rule book.

Try working in an environment where upper managers feel that following 100 antiquated DWP policy to the letter all in the name of the “charter” is more important then the health and safety of the public they serve.

Try working in an environment where you get in trouble for having a safety hazard fixed, and you did so because two different business units had been arguing for months over who was going to “pay for it” and someone was finally injured.

Try taking months to obtain common material only to have it cost more and not be what was ordered because there are so many levels of bureaucracy that makes it easy for an unqualified small local “business” that works out of their garage to manipulate the purchasing system to their advantage.

Try having to scramble for the most basic of safety equipment like leather gloves because the company that was awarded the order missed a small detail on DWP’s complicated insurance forms causing the process to have to start all over again.

Because the General Manager, Board of Supervisors, high level managers, and the City Controller have made it so difficult to do the simplest jobs without a mountain of paperwork and forms, as well as policies that literally change on a daily basis… it’s a wonder anything gets done at all.

The Daily News article will at least accomplish one thing. We’re preparing for some new “shoot-from-the-hip” policies that will make no sense at all.

Until the next power outage or boil water order comes out because the paperwork to fix the problem is sitting on some manager's desk… all I can say is that the problem is a lot deeper than just salaries and I truly believe that I earn every bit of mine.

Hey Truth Mustbetold,
Get your facts straight.

"a retirement system healthier than social security and primarily paid for by the public rather than from your own paychecks."

Your statement is completely wrong. I am a DWP worker and I pay 6.4% of my check towards my pension.

For those that think these jobs are so easy and receive too much pay, here's a link to the website. Take a test and get a job.

http://www.ci.la.ca.us/PER/

Fair pay for a civil service job is something around what the private market pays. That goes for benefits too. No way to justify the pay raise DWP workers got today. I'd feel blessed too. Kinda like winning the scratcher every week. Don't worry boys. The Commish will hand you the increase tomorrow. The system is wired. At least let the public groan for the billions being sucked out and siphoned off. It'll all be over in a few weeks for another year. S.O.S. you know the drill.

Thanks for the salary information! All I know is that I'll be applying for every position that I qualify for with DWP! They are making bank!!! And to all of you HATERS, you should do the same....starting with staff writter, Beth Barrett.

Truth must be told and the "gutsy" journalist hiding behind the handle -30-: You two should get together for a latte while you're waiting for your next welfare check. Neither of you has ever stood on a ladder higher than your head much risked your life at anything other than juvenile stupidity. If you'd ever held a job long enough to "vest" your benefits (typically 10 years) or actually stood in the rain for longer than it took you to run into the mall; you might have a clue why some folks earn more than you and why they expect the pension they've contributed to for all those years. There are a lot of whiners and I'm afraid the job doesn't pay well. Trained linemen are hard to come by. That's why crews from all over the nation respond to disasters. There are more police, firemen, nurses and septic tank technicians than there are linemen. As I said I'm not a fan of the top heavy management at the DWP, but you cowards attack the very people who keep you hooked up to the internet, light your home, and provide the means to power the modern conveniences you feel entitled to. Karl Marx wanted everybody to have the same wealth. We all know how well that worked out. But if you think that's really where it's at; there's a small island about 90 miles south of Florida you may want to move to. (That would be Cuba, in case you were educated in California schools.) I understand the power is on there about 5 days a week and there's no internet. You both claim to be "defenders of the public interest" yet your actions define you as passive aggressive, and uninformed. You're both more than willing to expose hard working folks fraud yet you're both unwilling to say who you are. I'm a contractor and the one of the first things I disclose to my clients is what I cost; right after I tell them who I am & provide them a government agency (CSLB) they can use to check my track record. (A far cry from an anonymous handle,) I don't have a problem with publicly disclosing what "linemen" earn. I have a real problem when there's a name attached to that disclosure. "Truth must be told" has gone so far as to threaten the hard working folks at the DWP (and me) with personally directed invasions of our privacy. He's going to be real upset when he discovers the "power of subpoena". Our infrastructure is falling apart. A typical home in 1970 was wired with a 100 amp service. Now 200 amps is typical and 400 amps is not uncommon. Add in expediential growth and for those of you capable of simple math, the conundrum should be obvious. You can feel entitled all you want, but the cost of copper (thats the stuff inside the wire, and the transformers) has tripled in the last three years. Even you two blockheads must have noticed the cost of gas. That's made out of oil, which is a prime ingredient in insulation (thats the outside of the wire). If you really think working with wires energized in excess of 6,000 volts is a casual affair, stick your finger into a lamp socket. After you pick yourself off the floor, remind yourself that's1% to 2% of the minimum voltage a DWP lineman handle every day. And NO they don't just turn it off because that would inconvenience you. The folks in the service trucks are not the problem yet you socialist cowards take aim at them. I'd tell you to pick on someone your own size, but I don't want to read about assaults in a preschool. As to our crumbling infrastructure; well you're in the dark anyway...

Daily News--

I know you had the right to print LADWP employees full legal names through the Public Information Act, but it doesn't mean it is the right thing to do ethically or morally.

Did you consider that you could be setting up some poor call center rep who goes by only their last name for security reasons, to be attacked at their home by an irate customer?

How about the fact by printing full legal names you just caused someone with an unlisted phone number to be able to be found on not so legal internet people searches.

What are you going to do when an employee gets atta