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While other religious colleges have stopped negotiating with faculty unions since 2020, Herbert told NCR that what is unusual about the situation at Loyola Marymount is that the trustees there did not raise the issue until more than a year after the non-tenure track faculty voted in June 2024 to join SEIU Local 721.

“America has no kings and working Americans will not stand by as a wannabe dictator wages war on our rights and our democracy,” said David Green, president and executive director of SEIU Local 721, which represents more than 100,000 workers and is one of the organizers of the event.

The event featured a 20-foot-tall balloon of President Donald Trump wearing a diaper, a 20-foot-wide by 3-foot-tall banner that read “No Kings for U.S.,” and thousands of handmade signs by participants as they marched along a nearly two-mile stretch down Spring Street.

Signs, flags, and people in costume filled the park, hoping to make their opposition to President Trump’s policies known.

The L.A. protest is being organized by 50501 SoCal and Service Employees International Union Local 721, in partnership with Black Lives Matter Grassroots – Los Angeles, the Removal Coalition, Working Families Party, Black Women for Wellness, Clergy Laity United for Economic Justice, the TransLatin@ Coalition, Democracy Action Network, and the Human Liberation Coalition, among others.

“The gig economy isn’t going away, but worker exploitation doesn’t have to be part of it,” said David Green, SEIU 721 president and executive Director.

Untenured faculty at LMU began building their unit, SEIU Local 721, in 2023. After the NLRB certified it, the bargaining team presented the university with nearly 40 proposals, spanning a range of labor issues.

The contract applies to about 200 non-tenure-track faculty in the university’s College of Arts and Sciences. It includes wage increases, back pay and job security based on seniority, according to Service Employees International Union Local 721.

Untenured faculty at Loyola Marymount University launched an unfair labor practice strike authorization vote this week following the school’s announcement that it will no longer recognize or bargain with the faculty union for a first contract. The union had been negotiating for a contract with LMU’s administration for about 10 months.

“Our collaboration landed this historic agreement, and it’s one that we’re extremely proud of,” said David Green, president and executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 721. “Together we’re saving critical frontline positions, boosting revenues through joint efforts with city leadership, and strengthening the vital services Angelenos depend on.”