More than 11,000 Los Angeles city workers are preparing to initiate a one-day walkout throughout the city to protest contract negotiations between union officials and city leaders.
The workers plan to picket for 24 hours Tuesday outside City Hall, Los Angeles International Airport and other locations to protest “a refusal to bargain in good faith” — which would mark the first such strike action in more than 40 years.
The employees, including sanitation workers, heavy duty mechanics, traffic officers and engineers represented by SEIU Local 721, voted overwhelmingly in May — with 98% approval — to authorize an Unfair Labor Practice strike if negotiations stalled.
Union officials said the workers will meet at 11 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall for a march and rally, though picket lines will begin as early as 4 a.m. at sites throughout the city.
“Despite repeated attempts by city workers to engage management in a fair bargaining process, the City has flat-out refused to honor previous agreements at the bargaining table, prompting workers to file charges alleging unfair labor practices with the city of Los Angeles Employee Relations Board,” SEIU 721 officials said in a statement last week.
Mayor Karen Bass, who is in Washington, D.C. this weekend meeting with federal officials, said Saturday that Los Angeles officials are available around the clock “to make progress” on the contract negotiations.
“City workers are vital to the function of services for millions of Angelenos every day and to our local economy,” Bass said in a statement. “They deserve fair contracts and we have been bargaining in good faith with SEIU 721 since January. The City will always be available to make progress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
The planned labor action comes amid ongoing strikes by Hollywood writers and actors as well as thousands of cooks, maids, dishwashers, servers, bellmen and front-desk agents at 46 Los Angeles area hotels represented by Unite HERE…
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