SACRAMENTO - On February 21, 2018, representatives from the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) and California Organization of Licensing Registration Examiners (COLRE) met with Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) executives to discuss a host of issues which directly impact Licensing Registration Examiners (LREs).  Attending from COLRE were President Enrique Razo and Treasurer Karrie Kabat.  Attending from CSLEA were Senior Legal Counsels Ryan Navarre and Jim Vitko.  Those attending from DMV included executives from Field Operations Division (Babette Williams, Steve Westerman, and Justin Halverson) and the Human Resources Branch (David Keenan and Brian Lin Walsh).

The parties engaged in thorough discussion concerning a number of different topics, however, the overarching desire was to achieve consistency throughout all field offices.  CSLEA and COLRE are also looking forward to bargaining in the Spring of 2019 and are working to prime the discussion on a number of items to directly address through the collective bargaining process.  The various topics discussed were:

• LRE salary concerns (specifically as it relates to specialized training [SDPE and CDL] and in comparison to the SMVT classification).
• Request for training and guidance for hearing impaired CDL applicants.
• Request that DMV begin reducing Saturday CDL Hours/Location in preparation for total elimination of Saturday CDL appointments.
• Allowance of LREs to wear smart watches.
• Clarification and uniform guidance on vehicles with warning lights activated (i.e. SRS, air bag, check engine, ABS brakes).
• Update policy regarding travel time/reimbursement.
• A uniform process for requesting and ordering rain gear.
• Request more ability to accrue CTO instead of cash payout for overtime.
• Issues impacting micromanagement and inefficient use of LREs.
• Need for vehicle verification training and policy clarification.
• Request that DMV consider converting some permanent intermittent LRES to full time.
• Request that DMV make an effort to focus on LRE specific topics during yearly regional meetings.
• Request that DMV make it a priority to hold monthly LRE specific meeting to discuss LRE related matters.

"We are constantly striving for consistency and fair treatment for all LREs," said COLRE President Enrique Razo.  "I look forward to meeting again with DMV executives as we pursue improvements.”