LOS ANGELES, June 18, 2026 – After more than a year of successor contract negotiations, the Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA) has filed an Unfair Labor Practice Charge (UFC) with the Los Angeles County Employee Relations Commission (ERCOM) against both the County of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, alleging repeated violations of the parties’ legal obligation to bargain in good faith.

This filing reflects ongoing challenges faced at the negotiating table, and the dispute isn’t even about economic issues. It’s about process and accountability.

At the center of the dispute is ADDA’s proposal that mutual agreements reached through Joint Labor Management Committee meetings be reduced to writing. ADDA argues that documenting agreements reached by both parties is essential to transparency, accountability, and continuity across changing administrations. Despite extensive negotiations and multiple revisions to ADDA’s proposal, the County and District Attorney representatives repeatedly rejected it. What’s more, County representatives also rejected proposals that referenced the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, which governs labor negotiations.

“Filing a UFC is a last resort,” said ADDA Executive Director Melanie Bartlett. “Our goal throughout this process has always been to negotiate a fair agreement for the prosecutors who serve Los Angeles County. After more than a year of negotiations and repeated efforts to find common ground, we concluded that outside intervention has become necessary to restore a lawful bargaining process.”

According to ADDA, the Association repeatedly narrowed proposals, accepted compromise positions, and adjusted its priorities in an effort to reach agreement. The filing alleges that those efforts were met with a pattern of bad-faith bargaining tactics that prevented meaningful resolution of the parties’ remaining issues.

“Our members were hopeful that a change in leadership would bring a renewed commitment to collaboration and transparency,” said ADDA President Ryan Erlich. “Instead, we have spent more than a year making concession after concession while watching reasonable proposals be rejected without compromise. Trust is earned through actions, and the bargaining process has not reflected the principles that were promised to the employees of the District Attorney’s Office.”

Erlich continued: “District Attorney Nathan Hochman campaigned on restoring trust and integrity within this Office. That commitment should begin with honoring the law at the bargaining table. ADDA has made every effort to resolve these issues collaboratively and outside the public spotlight. Unfortunately, those efforts have not been reciprocated. Having exhausted those options, we are prepared to pursue every remedy available under the law to protect our members and the integrity of the bargaining process.”

ADDA emphasized that resolution remains possible. That process, however, requires the County and the District Attorney to honor the fundamental principles of transparency, accountability, and honoring California collective bargaining law.

For more than a year, ADDA has attempted to resolve these issues collaboratively and outside the public eye. The filing of this Unfair Labor Practice Charge reflects ADDA’s conclusion that those efforts have been exhausted.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman campaigned on restoring trust and integrity within the Office. ADDA believes those principles must extend beyond public messaging and into the bargaining room. Los Angeles County prosecutors deserve leadership that values accountability over ambiguity and respect for the collective bargaining process over unlawful unilateral decision-making.

About the ADDA
The Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA) is the collective bargaining agent representing over 800 Deputy District Attorneys working for the County of Los Angeles