Cerritos Union President Follows Grandfather's Footsteps in City Service

Since Cerritos incorporated in 1956, a Melendrez has had a position with the city government.

Today, Cerritos water maintenance worker Nick Melendrez is the third-generation family member who proudly carries on this lineage of service in the city. He said his grandfather, an immigrant from Mexico, was one of the original ten employees who worked for Cerritos --then called Dairy Valley.

“[My grandfather] used to work where Cerritos Regional Park is today, when it was originally a dump” he said. “We’ve had a history here since the city was born.”

Melendrez, who grew up in Cerritos and attended local public schools, started out in 2002 as a park maintenance worker. Since then, he has moved up the ranks and has been responsible for keeping the city’s water infrastructure sound, including repairing fire hydrants, main breaks and residential water systems, for five years now.

He said he loves the atmosphere of working with his fellow employees, saying that it is like a family to him. He understands that his job is important to residents as they need water and that employees like him work in a professional manner to ensure that Cerritos is running smoothly.

“My job is important to the infrastructure because I’m the one who is needed on the weekend [by the City],” he said.

Ever since Melendrez started working for the city, he felt that it was a good choice to be involved with the AFSCME Local 619 public employees union and joined one year after he was hired.

“My understanding of the union was that it was a group of people sticking up to management and talking to them,” he said. "They’re the voice of the people too scared to speak on certain issues.”

Melendrez took over as president of Local 619 in March, and since then, he has been working with his team to ensure that a contract is reached between the union and the city before the beginning of the fiscal year.

He said talks between the union and the city has been “graceful” so far compared to the previous contract negotiations, largely because of the absence of the city’s hired attorney in the negotiations, Charles Goldstein.

“They’ve had a better tone to them [than the previous round of negotiations],” he said. “Our main focus is job security without layoffs. We have gone three years without cost of living [adjustments] and we want to maintain the benefits we do have.”

Melendrez said the union is not looking for pay increases this time around. He understands that Cerritos has financial difficulties, but hopes that city management can “open its eyes” on other avenues of cost savings for the city that does not impact its employees.

“I want to create dialogue with management, especially because as one of the younger employees, I consider the future of my fellow employees,” he said. “I understand with my role, it shouldn’t be with one department or group, but [representing] the majority.”

Melendrez said that while the negotiations can be contentious, he is determined to make it work with city management since he is serving the city he grew up in, that he treats like a family. He considers public employees like himself “the basic support system of the city.”

“A lot of us [in the union] are happy to have a job,” he said. “When I get out to these calls, I treat my customers, especially older people, as if they were my grandparents. I try to go out of my way and to me, we provide a higher level of service.”