Across the country, and across California, state and local governments are grappling with budget deficits and ballooning pension costs. You’ve seen the headlines – walk outs in Wisconsin. Stalemate in Sacramento. Collective bargaining doesn’t work, they say. You can’t negotiate with employees, they say. But not here. Not in Los Angeles. We have been honest about our financial problems and what we need to solve them. We asked our employees to make great sacrifices, to step up and stand up for their fellow employees and the critical services they provide every day. Today, I am proud to announce that the vast majority of our employee bargaining units have ratified an agreement to preserve healthcare benefits and generate hundreds of millions in savings to the city. These savings will allow workers to avoid as many as 42 furloughs, which would have had a devastating impact on city services. As I have said, I believe that the only way we are going to turn the corner is by doing so together. And today, we turned the corner. I want to personally thank our librarians, our recreation and parks employees, our mechanics, sanitation workers, custodians, blue collar supervisors, and all others who did the right thing. These employees personify public service. In many cases, employees who were not subject to furloughs put the interests of the city and their fellow workers ahead of their own. I know how difficult this decision was for everyone who made it. Each employee who voted for the agreement performed a true public service, and on behalf of all Angelenos, I’d like to thank them for working with us to help stabilize our city’s finances and prove that collective bargaining works.