Thousands of Los Angeles city personnel, such as sanitation employees, lifeguards and traffic officers, left their jobs for a 24-hour strike on Tuesday due to alleged unfair labor practices, according to The Associated Press.
Workers established picket lines before sunrise at Los Angeles International Airport and other sites, with a subsequent rally scheduled at City Hall later on Tuesday, according to the AP. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721 reported that the strike involves over 11,000 city employees, including airport custodians, heavy duty mechanics and engineers. (RELATED: Organized Labor Is Causing ‘Union Joe’ Biden A Lot Of Headaches President Joe Biden)
“We’re on the picket line at LAX to show LA City and all its visitors that we refuse to accept the City’s bad faith bargaining efforts and repeated labor law violations,” SEIU Local 721 tweeted on Tuesday.
📣 Happening now: LA City workers are congregating outside City Hall because we’re FED UP w/ the City’s blatant lack of respect.
We risked our health & safety to work the frontlines of the COVID crisis. We deserve respect — LA City, negotiate in good faith. #SolidaritySummer pic.twitter.com/DPoDlsrxKE
— SEIU 721 (@SEIU721) August 8, 2023
“The City of Los Angeles is not going to shut down,” Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a press release on Monday. “My office is implementing a plan ensuring no public safety or housing and homelessness emergency operations are impacted by this action. Like I said over the weekend, the City will always be available to make progress with SEIU 721 and we will continue bargaining in good faith.”
Bass previously urged the city to purchase a large luxury hotel to house the homeless, according to a city memo in May.
SEIU and SEIU Local 721 did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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