www.cityemployeesclub.com City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! I September 2004 3

WRITE TO US TODAY! Send your letters by email to [email protected] or conventionally: The Club, World Center, 350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 700, LETTERSto the Editor Los Angeles, CA 90071 AMP Story Proves to Him That Alive! Knows What Technology Sometimes Readers Want Comes At the Cost of I wanted to thank Alive! for the magnificent Y story about the Port of LA and the AMP pro- O gram. I can see the time and effort spent in putting the story together. I especially liked the UR Loss of Your Privacy side column with Port of LA’s Executive I am going to touch on several top- Director Larry Keller. I saw the story from the ics but they are inter-related. ACEBSA paper, but I was disappointed in its I am among the people who believe content because it didn’t talk about how Larry that technology advancements are a Keller led a team comprised of City employees LET - double-edged sword. Technological from the Harbor Department, Department of advancements have sped up the deliv- Water and Power, and the Department of Hold On Just a Few More ery of information and I think the Building and Safety. I was amazed how much human race has been experiencing the information Alive! published about the AMP Weeks, Nancy; ClubFest Is biggest information age in history. It project, and it shows how much the Club Nearly Here will continue to be before enough understands what we want to read. progress is made for mankind to delve — George Terber, Club Member I am getting very excited for this year’s into a genuine space age. ClubFest. It was so much fun last year, that my However, I am experiencing some kids have been asking me about the next all snags in the area of office technology. Affordable Ticket Prices year long. As a consumer, call centers are often a The price can’t be beat for $5 for Club mem- trek into a downward spiral of frustra- Keep Him Coming Back to bers and kids and $10 for adults. I think it tion and impatience. If anyone is like the Club for More might cost a little more than last year’s ticket me, how many times have you heard prices, but I understand that the Club has “please hold, please hold, please hold I was just checking ticket prices and it is def- reserved more space for us as well as more … all customer account representa- initely true … the Club is the cheapest in town. things to do, so it is worth every penny. And the tives are busy at the moment … for No one organization in the City of LA does it food! English, press one … your business is important to us … please enter your social security any better than the Club. If I went to any other I can’t wait. number followed by the pound sign”? City group or association to get tickets, I would — Nancy Thomas, DOT There are countless others. But this is not the worst of it. Call centers are now being have paid at least $50 more for the 6 adults and shipped overseas to India where the people of India are trained to handle customer service 12 children Sea World tickets I purchased. calls. U.S. companies are savings millions of dollars in employee pay by outsourcing over- I don’t know how the Club is doing it, but He Notices and Likes the seas. This sounds wonderful to CEOs and CFOs until you understand that these overseas you have one loyal Club member who will keep employees, working at a fraction of what a U.S. employee would make, have access to very coming back to the Club. New Look And City personal information such as credit card numbers, addresses, social security numbers, dates — M. Smith, Club Member of birth, etc. The Federal Trade Commission got over six million identity theft complaints Coverage of This last year, and other government agencies have thrown up their arms in dismay in how to Newspaper derail this crime. Let me clue them in: Place strict and enforceable fraud and security regulations on cor- Proposed Newspaper Box porations that allow personal/consumer information to be accessed by customer service rep- Law: Should It Be the resentatives 8,800 miles away. If this is an impossibility, then let’s stop the overseas activity altogether. Highest Priority? — David Jiles, Rec and Parks So what is the deal with the City of LA try- ing to pass an ordinance that requires all news- paper bins on sides of City streets to be one would give you a clue to continue with the sus- color? I don’t really oppose the idea, but let’s He Agrees: What Were pense and more surprises regarding the char- start with paving and painting the streets. Dodgers Thinking With the acters. I know the movie will do very well. Better yet, let’s just go with a complete street Recent Trades? Thank again. overhaul with the help of Street Maintenance — Irma Muñoz, DWP and Street Lighting. I am responding to the letter left by Rick — TJ Jones, DWP Myers in the August issue of Alive! [Editor’s note: Irma was referring to seeing Like Myers, I have been a longtime Dodger The Manchurian Candidate as part of the fan. I’m also not pleased with the Dodger own- Club’s My Cinema Access benefit. Interested? Story on LAFD’s Jaime ership by Frank McCourt. Myers speaks of the Call the Ticket Guy: (800) 464-0452.] Dodgers trading key players and it happened. Foster Should Have Been What were the Dodgers thinking when they Bigger in Times traded Guillermo Mota, the with the After First Office Depot lowest ERA in the National League and was I live in the Valley and I am very sorry to hear I noticed that Alive! had some improvements the most sought-after pitcher in the Major Discount, He Really about the death of LAFD Firefighter Jaime that makes it an even more exciting paper to Leagues because of his fantastic pitching as a Recommends the Club Foster. I hope the best for the firefighter’s fam- read. It’s definitely the only real newspaper for leading up to Eric Gagne to the I just wanted to let everyone who reads the ily. City employees. My co-workers all agree. It has games? What was the Dodger front office ALIVE! and whose thinking about becoming a Shame on the Los Angeles Times for their a lot of pages, the headlines for the stories are thinking when they traded , a member of the Club that there is no reason to infinitesimal article the day after it happened. attention-grabbing with all the different sized two-time all star catcher with a .300 plus bat- think about it. Just do it! It was such a small article that I don’t believe it lettering, and there’s more color to the pages ting average and was one of the captains of the I will tell you why. You get the best Citywide did anything to celebrate or honor the life of which makes it fun to look at. Dodger ball club? newspaper that keeps in touch with all your this fallen City employee. How do you get to all these City locations? You must have about a dozen reporters. Also, I just hope that whatever they were thinking colleagues. Not only that but you get some Rachel Lopez, Public Works that it puts the Dodgers deep into the post-sea- great discounts that no other association or my co-worker made me aware about the fact son at the very least. City group could provide. I just linked my cred- that you are now recognizing the contributors Last thing: Don’t fire , whatever it card to the special Club Office Depot dis- to the articles. I thought you had always done you do, General Manager Paul DePodesta! count, and I saved more than I could have ever Greuel in Gear With Her that, but it’s a nice touch. It feels like a nation- al publication. — Roger Leonard, DWP imagined. I would have paid $224 for office Support Of City’s Stolen and school supplies, but when the Office — Turner Johnson, DWP Depot clerk swiped my card, it went down to Vehicle Program $157! Holy savings, Batman! I am glad that Councilmember Wendy She Enjoyed My Cinema The City Employees Club is the best thing Greuel supported the first-ever program that that could have ever happened to City employ- Access, Club’s Movie would task Traffic Officers with the first ees. Correction Screening Benefit response to stolen vehicles. This is a great pro- — Raymond Lewis, Club Member gram thought up by Traffic Officers to protect — On page 6 of the July issue, Hi Ticket Guy, thank you very much. My sis- the vehicle owners. we misspelled the name of ter and I enjoyed the tickets at the Arclight [Editor’s note: Glad you’re enjoying the bene- The program will definitely help the Los Dolly Malva. Sorry about that, theaters. What an experience! We had never fit, Raymond! If readers haven’t joined the Angeles communities as well save taxpayer dol- attended an advanced screening, so this was a Club’s free Office Depot discount program, lars. Dolly. We regret our . what are you waiting for? Look for the specific fun thing to do when you have the time. — Joe Ventura, City Clerk’s Office The movie was fantastic. It kept you in sus- instructions in the story elsewhere in this issue of pense up to a certain point and then, they Alive!—Ed.]