While more than 55,000 unionized workers for Los Angeles County are set to strike Monday evening, county officials said there is simply no money to meet the employees’ demands.
The members of Service Employees International Union Local 721, including public works employees, library workers and mental health professionals, were expected to walk off the job for 48 hours, starting at 7 p.m. Monday, accusing the county of failing to negotiate a new labor contract fairly.
“We faced nothing less than disrespect at the bargaining table,” a union leader said during a rally, claiming the county’s proposal was a 0% increase for cost of living.
Although Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, acknowledged the financial hardships amid inflation, she said the county cannot afford cost-of-living increases to workers amid a massive budget hole.
In addition to the unexpected costs related to the Eaton and Palisades Fires, the country had to pay $4 billion to settle decades-old youth sexual abuse claims as the result of state law that reopened the statute of limitation of such claims.
“Even the union knows that $4 billion has compromised our ability to negotiate,” Barger said. “We need to be able to make sure when we write a check, you can cash it.”
LA County’s Chief Executive Office echoed the message in a statement, blaming “unprecedented stresses,” which also include “the potentially catastrophic loss of hundreds of millions or more in federal funding” from the Trump administration.
“Despite the severity of our fiscal outlook, the County has made fair and responsible counter proposals that we hope the union will seriously consider,” the statement said.
The county CEO also recently released the budget proposal for the coming year, including 3% cuts to some departments and the elimination of more than 200 vacant positions.
The strike is likely to affect critical services such as emergency health care and firefighting.
County Library officials also said the strike will impact services and possibly force temporary closures of some library locations.
Some non-urgent county clinics will be closed during the two-day strike, some beach restrooms may be closed, and there may be some delays in services provided by the medical examiner.
See here for details on possible closures or service delays caused by the strike.
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