"Blue flu" struck the police department Tuesday as officers dissatisfied with the city's zero-raise contract offer risked being fired and staged sick-out action.
It wasn't immediately known how many officers called in sick for Tuesday's early shift, which began at 11 p.m. Monday. But officers on the Monday evening shift were kept on the job to compensate for the absent workers, said officer Don Cox, a police spokesman.In an effort to block the planned two-day sickout, the city attorney's office said it will seek a court injunction.
The department has warned that officers participating in a sickout could be fired.
Most members of the 7,544-officer Police Protective League have expressed support for the sickout, planned for alternating shifts, said union president David Zeigler.
Officers have been working without a raise for more than two years and without a contract for 17 months. Additionally, budget cuts have forced officers to use dilapidated squad cars and work out of decaying stations.
"Our officers are fed up and they are frustrated. This is why we are doing what we're doing. We have been forced into it by the city," Zeigler said Monday. Negotiations broke down two weeks ago.
The Police Protective League wants a 9 percent raise over four years - nothing the first year and 3 percent hikes for each of the three remaining years.
The city maintains it doesn't have the money to give officers a raise. The 1993-94 city budget is $3.8 billion, and it was projected to show a $200 million deficit.
Beginning patrol officers in Los Angeles make $33,157 - more than officers in some of the nation's larger police departments.
But they have slipped to eighth in pay among the 10 largest police departments in California.