April Blitz of Actions and Protests Brings Negotiators Back to the Table

After nearly a year of actions, protests and marches that have drawn tens of thousands of Angelenos to the streets, there is some indication that Mayor Eric Garcetti may finally heed calls to “Fix L.A.”

Last year, SEIU 721 joined with nearly three-dozen community and faith groups to form Fix LA and expose how bad deals with big Wall Street banks were siphoning off millions from the City of LA, crippling the city’s ability to restore service cuts and hurting neighborhoods and public workers.

SEIU 721 members finally drew the line on April 10th and voted by an 86 percent margin to authorize a strike. To put things in context, LA City employees have not gone out on strike for nearly 30 years.

Fix LA followed up with a three-day blitz: marchers calling for a $15 an hour minimum wage for all Angelenos shut down city streets; protestors disrupted Mayor Garcetti’s State of the City address at the Valley Performing Arts Center at CSUN; and a group of women activists from all over LA launched a 15-day fast at Mayor’s doorstep. When the dust settled, city negotiators had called SEIU 721 and its Fix LA allies back to the bargaining table.

While things appear to be moving in the right direction, we’re still far from a deal on a new contract and other Fix LA demands, so we must keep the pressure on.

Stacee Karnya, a member of the bargaining team from the Environmental Monitoring Division, put it best: “Nine months ago we began a journey, determined to fix LA by protecting and growing the good jobs that keep our city running…but workers have been left with little choice because we do not have a firm commitment from City Hall on our proposals that would generate revenue to fix our streets, trim our trees, clean our beaches, help children get to schools safely, and ensure our own kids have a secure future… We are now ready to strike if that is what it takes for Mayor Garcetti and the City Council to finally address what ails LA.”

Bob Schoonover, President