About 55,000 Los Angeles County workers, including certain healthcare employees, began a two-day strike April 28, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Five things to know:
1. The strike affects workers represented by Service Employees International Union 721. This includes health, public health and mental healthcare professionals; social workers; parks and recreation staff; social services eligibility workers; public works personnel; clerical workers; custodians; coroner personnel; beaches and harbors staff; traffic and lighting personnel; and others, according to a union news release. While the strike is expected to affect almost all county departments, hospitals will remain open, according to the Times.
2. Union representatives contend that the county has failed to bargain in good faith and allege labor law violations, including contracting out SEIU 721-represented positions.
3. “This is the workforce that got L.A. County through emergency after emergency: the January wildfires, public health emergencies, mental health emergencies, social service emergencies and more,” said David Green, SEIU 721’s executive director and president, in the April 18 news release. “From the San Fernando Valley to the San Gabriel Valley, from the foothills to the beaches, all across L.A. County, we get the job done. That’s why we have had it with the labor law violations and demand respect for our workers.”
4. Pay has also been a key issue, according to the Times. The county initially claimed raises were unaffordable because of wildfire costs, a $4 billion sex abuse settlement and the loss of federal grants. It has, however, recently “moved off” that approach while remaining cautious, L.A. County Chief Executive Fesia Davenport told the newspaper, adding that the county doesn’t want to “negotiate ourselves into a structural deficit.”
5. The strike comes as the union’s contract expired at the end of March. The walkout is slated to end at 7 p.m. April 30.
