More than 1,000 LA City workers filled the streets in front of City Hall and packed Council chambers on May 18 to call for a “Better Way for LA” based on retirements and prudent restructuring rather than devastating service cuts through layoffs and furloughs.
See more photos from the Better Way for LA rally on May 18.
Workers from SEIU, the Coalition of LA City Unions, and United Firefighters of Los Angeles challenged the Mayor and City Council to show real leadership:
“There are many good ideas out there. Furloughs and layoffs are not good ideas. Let’s get back to the table.”
> Animal Control Officer Stacey Dancy
“Demand efficiency. Improve quality. To lay us off is the easy choice. Take the hard choice: work with the unions to improve services.”
> Traffic Officer Gordon McCullough
Trucks and Firefighters Parade for “A Better Way for LA”
All through the morning while workers testified in Council their co-workers paraded in city trucks around the building, honking their horns and waving signs that said, “A Better Way for LA” and “Better for LA Business, LA Families, LA Public Safety and LA City Services.”
At the rally after the Council session Coalition workers addressed the crowd. Reverend Lewis Logan of Ruach Christian Community Fellowship lent his support. Maria Elena Durazo, leader of the County Federation of Labor, told the assembled workers that all of Los Angeles was watching.