WHY DID THE LOCAL UNION OFFICE MOVE?
The idea of the local union office moving isn’t a new idea; it’s something I suggested when I was first elected as Secretary-Treasurer in 2018. There were several reasons as to why I thought the local should move office locations:
1. The office was in an unsafe area - We’ve had to deal with prostitutes, crackheads, and homeless people being on the property on several occasions. Insurance companies and the LAPD would call on a weekly basis to review camera footage for crime and accidents in the area.
2. The office had constant HVAC, plumbing, and cosmetic issues - Regarding cosmetic changes, the local would be financially responsible (i.e., carpeting, signage, etc.). I didn’t believe the local should spend its money to help upgrade a building that it didn’t own.
3. There wasn’t enough safe parking to host meetings - I negotiated a parking agreement with the church across the street to provide parking in their lot and a lot on 65th & Gage; unfortunately, that was terminated when the church no longer owned the lot on 65th & Gage nor could they host us in the church parking lot.
4. We had too much office space – our new constitution, which was adopted in November 2020, stipulates having three full-time officers instead of five. Additionally, we had auxiliary offices that weren’t being used frequently. The office was also being used as storage; prior administrations didn’t purge obsolete files as paperwork going back to the 1980s was found.
5. The owners told me that they weren’t making much money from us renting as we were paying far below market rent – I did market comp research for other buildings in the area and found that to be true. From that, I figured that they would either a) continue to raise the rent until they get us to market rent price; or b) sell the building, which would put us at the mercy of a new landlord that may decide not to renew our lease. Although we had first right of refusal to buy the building, the local wasn’t able to do so.
6. The owners wouldn’t agree to a long-term lease – the owners would only agree to one-year leases instead of the more common 3, 4, or 5-year leases. Additionally, they started making improvements to the building and told me they weren’t going to be there long. This concerned me because at any given time, they can either kick us out or force us to agree to unfavorable terms.
Since that conversation, I had a vision of the local owning a building one day. I looked for ways to aggressively save as our local dues are about $4 below the national average for a local our size and I couldn’t count on those being raised. This is what drove me to save the union over $65,000 and acquire a $10,000 grant during my first term.
I found an office in Inglewood in 2018 that the local could’ve moved to. It fit all the criteria (safe location, plenty of free parking, enough office space, easily accessible, and saved money. Unfortunately, the former president decided against the move.
A two-year lease (covering Jan 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020) with an option to renew for a 3rd year (until December 31, 2021). We were put under trusteeship from November 2019 – November 2020 by National due to several issues, and the former president was suspended from his duties and his position. The former president was brought back by Trustee Omar Gonzalez in September 2020 so that he can be supervised with the transition out of trusteeship. During this process, the former president was given the opportunity to deal with the expiring lease, but he declined to do so. As a result, Mr. Gonzalez signed to extend the lease for the 2021 year. Once 2021 elections occurred and Vicki Toliver was elected as President and I was elected as Executive Treasurer, I knew I would have the support needed to work on this goal.
Q. THE FORMER PRESIDENT MENTIONED THAT A MOTION WAS NEEDED TO BE PASSED BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD AND APPROVED BY THE MEMBERSHIP IN ORDER FOR THE LOCAL TO MOVE. IS THIS TRUE?
A. This is false. The new constitution, which the former president seconded for adoption and voted to approve, grants the exclusive responsibility for procuring rent/mortgage, among other things, to the Executive Treasurer. Secondly, I spoke with the Department of Labor and they said there wasn’t a constitutional violation with this move. Although I have that exclusive responsibility, I did seek counsel before doing so to see what was best for the membership and the local’s finances. My personal preference would’ve been to not renew lease, continue to telework while we ride out the coronavirus pandemic, and save even more money on rent to expedite the savings process for buying a building; however, I didn’t believe the local was ready for that.
Q. WHY DID THE LOCAL MOVE TO TORRANCE AND NOT STAY IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, ESPECIALLY WHEN OUR NAME IS GREATER LOS ANGELES? WHY NOT SOMETHING CLOSER TO THE FACILITIES?
A. As I mentioned before, I had 4 criteria for the new office; 1) it’ll save us money; 2) it’ll be in a safe area; 3) there will be free parking for meetings; and 4) enough space with a good layout that is easily accessible (elevators, etc.). I looked all over Los Angeles and only a few fit all criteria. President Vicki Toliver and I toured those office spaces, and Torrance was the best one by far. There is nothing in the constitution that stipulates our office being in a specific area. There are postal facilities in varying parts of LA County that fall under our jurisdiction, including Inglewood, Santa Monica, and North Hollywood. We also cover the VMF Garage in Torrance.
Q. WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF THE NEW LEASE? IS IT BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAD BEFORE?
A. Yes, it is better. Under the old lease, we would be paying $5,412.93 a month in addition to roughly $700/month in utilities for 2022. This was a 5% rent hike over 2021. Rent would’ve been $5,603.58 at a minimum in 2023, but I figured it would’ve been more.
Keep in mind, there isn’t any rent control for commercial real estate in California. Currently, they’re renting out the space at $1.25 sq/ft., which would’ve calculated our rent at being $6,875/month! With utilities and paying that rent, it would cost roughly $7,600 a month for the old office!
I was able to negotiate our rent to be $4,605/month, which is a little below market rent and cheaper than our old rent. Our lease commenced in March 2022, which is a much better time to move logistically vs. in December. It’s a five-year lease with locked in 4% annual increases; this proved to be a great move as real estate prices increased significantly. We don’t pay for any parking lot space, and we don’t pay any utilities for the first year. Years 2-5, we pay a shareable portion of the utilities that’s appropriate to our office space, and not the 2/3 for the entire building like we were before.
Q. HOW WILL THIS MOVE HELP THE LOCAL BUY A BUILDING?
A. The local will save roughly $120,000 over 5 years vs. staying at our current location. That’s money that can help towards a down payment of a building if the local chooses to buy a building. Regardless, the savings will bolster the union’s finances and put us in a better position to serve our members.
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Chiezika “Chez” Nwanyanwu, Creator & Chief Editor