Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is seeking to freeze health care subsidies for retired police and firefighters and raise the retirement age for new city employees to 65. The Mayor also said that he would look to reduce the pensions of new hires. Los Angeles is facing a $54 million budget shortfall this year, and is expecting a $350 million shortfall next year. The unions have not said that they are against the changes the Mayor is proposing, but the Coalition of L.A. City Unions, which represents civil employees, called on the Mayor to negotiate changes with the unions rather than imposing them, as the city asserts it is able to do.
See "Villaraigosa calls for curbs in city workers' benefits", David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2011