More Than 50,000 La County Workers Strike Over Contract Dispute

Thousands of Los Angeles County workers are connected strike. They are citing alleged bad-faith negotiations by nan region successful their efforts to unafraid a caller contract, which is causing disruptions to nationalist services.

Roughly 55,000 LA County workers pinch nan Service Employees International Union 721 walked disconnected nan occupation Monday nighttime to return portion successful nan LA County Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike.

Workers crossed departments subordinate nan picket line

Workers from each departments — including wellness attraction workers, societal workers, parks and recreation staff, clerical workers, custodians and much — deed nan picket line, citing an “end to nan county’s lawbreaking and disrespect.”

The national says its workers are demanding that nan region bargain pinch them successful bully faith.

“The 55,000 national beardown LA County workforce has serviced astir 10 cardinal residents successful a 4,084 square-mile work area done nan COVID pandemic; done nan caller wintertime wildfires; and done non-stop emergency situations successful healthcare, foster care, societal welfare, postulation enforcement, thoroughfare repair and overmuch much for galore years,” a property merchandise states.

Union alleges retaliation, surveillance and deficiency of region offer

The national claims region leaders did not coming workers pinch a beardown contract, surveilled and retaliated against national members engaged successful national activity, restricted national organizers’ entree to worksites, and contracted retired union-represented positions.

They opportunity nan region did not connection workers a connection pinch a cost-of-living increase. The national besides pointed to caller spending by nan Board of Supervisors.

“Somehow recovered a spare $205 cardinal precocious to bargain a skyscraper successful downtown LA that will service arsenic caller agency abstraction for themselves and LA County management. These are nan very aforesaid group telling nan workforce — and taxpayers — that location is nary money for much services aliases frontline staff,” nan national said.

County points to fund deficit, rising costs

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, chair of nan Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, told NBC Los Angeles that nan region cannot spend cost-of-living increases for workers arsenic it is dealing pinch a monolithic deficit.

Earlier this month, Straight Arrow News reported that region leaders agreed to a $4 cardinal settlement for kid activity maltreatment victims who claimed they were abused successful nan county’s juvenile and foster attraction systems.

The region besides accrued astir $1 cardinal successful costs associated pinch January’s deadly Eaton and Palisades wildfires.

County proposes fund cuts and warns of backing loss

Los Angeles County leaders released their projected budget for nan adjacent twelvemonth and said nan region is facing “unprecedented challenges.” The connection includes region departments making 3% cuts to their budgets and eliminating 310 vacant positions.

County leaders besides definitive interest that they whitethorn suffer COVID-19 pandemic funding, which was initially intended to travel into 2026. However, nan Trump management rescinded nan funding. That move is being challenged successful court.

According to a region news release, nan fund cuts do not see layoffs, for now.

The workers’ onslaught is expected to past 48 hours and extremity Wednesday evening.