3-Day ULP Strike Ends with Renewed Momentum at the Bargaining Table After More Than 55,000 Los Angeles County Employees Walked Off the Job Citing Unprecedented 44 Alleged Labor Law Violations by Management
LOS ANGELES – As their three-day Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) Strike came to a close today, SEIU 721 union members from Los Angeles County celebrated their historic victory, with tens of thousands of employees having joined the ULP Strike by walking off the job and participating in picket actions at various worksites.
“Morale is high among our LA County membership, and we have renewed momentum at the bargaining table,” said David Green, the SEIU 721 Executive Director and President who also has worked for the LA County Department of Children and Family Services as a Children’s Social Worker for more than two decades. “Our solidarity is strong, and our resolve to protect the vital safety net services our communities rely on has never been more rock solid. LA County should take note: our members will never back down.”
ULP Strike actions began at on Mon., Apr. 28 at 7 PM sharp with walk-outs and picket lines at four key LA County worksites:
- Los Angeles General Medical Center in Boyle Heights
- Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar
- Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance
- Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles
ULP Strike activity continued into the next day, when more than 10,000 striking union members held a raucous rally directly outside the LA County Hall of Administration followed by a massive march through the Civic Center into downtown LA’s financial district. The march began at Temple St. and Grand Ave. It ended at Figueroa St. and Fifth St., culminating in the arrest of 14 people in an act of non-violent civil disobedience meant to shine a light on LA County management’s rampant law-breaking throughout contract negotiations.
Though plans were put place to ensure that emergency health services continued unimpeded, SEIU 721’s LA County workforce affected by the ULP Strike nonetheless included health, public health and mental health care professionals; social workers; parks & recreation staff; eligibility workers; public works personnel; clerical workers; custodians; coroner personnel; beaches & harbors staff, traffic & lighting personnel; librarians; and more.
ULP Strike activity then entered its third and final day with picketing by union members directly outside of worksites across Los Angeles County. At the Los Angeles General Medical Center in Boyle Heights and the Department of Children and Family Services office in Commerce, spirits were especially high as union members participated in picket lines to call attention to LA County management’s repeated labor law violations and to demand that good faith bargaining start immediately.
“It’s long past time for the LA County CEO to come to the bargaining table in good faith,” said Gilda Valdez, SEIU 721’s Chief of Staff. “Our union could have gone on strike after just one ULP violation. We have been bargaining this contract since the Fall. We were very patient. Now we have 44 alleged labor law violations and no contract. That’s unacceptable – and our union’s LA County members came out in historic, unprecedented numbers to say so. No more law-breaking by management. Let’s get this done.”
The more than 55,000 union strong LA County workforce has serviced nearly 10 million residents in a 4,084 square-mile service area through the COVID pandemic, through the recent Winter wildfires and through non-stop emergency situations in healthcare, foster care, social welfare, traffic enforcement, street repair and much more for many years. Instead of being thanked by LA County management with good faith bargaining resulting in a strong contract, they have been on the receiving end of management’s repeated law-breaking, bearing the brunt of at least 44 alleged ULP violations during this contract bargaining cycle. These include:
- Refusal to bargain with union members in good faith
- Surveillance and retaliation against SEIU 721 members engaged in union activity
- Restricting union organizers’ access to worksites
- Contracting out of SEIU 721-represented positions
To add insult to injury, for years, LA County management simultaneously has been operating a taxpayer-to-private sector pipeline – funneling $7.7 billion in FY 2024-2025 to private firms while not requiring them to pay a living wage. Instead of privatizing good union jobs, those dollars should be staying in-house. And while claiming money is a problem, the Board of Supervisors somehow found a spare $205 million recently to buy a skyscraper in downtown LA that will serve as new office space for themselves and LA County management. These are the very same people telling the workforce – and taxpayers – that there is no money for more services or frontline staff.
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Contact: Roxane Marquez, (213) 705-1078, Roxane.Marquez@seiu721.org
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