Southern California’s “summer of strikes” grew to include Los Angeles city workers Aug. 8 as thousands of union members walked off their jobs for a one-day strike.
Sanitation workers, fire department mechanics, traffic officers, and port workers were among the 11,000 Southern California Public Service Workers (SEIU) Local 721 to participate in demonstrations across the city.
For city workers, it boils down to dignity and respect, union President David Green told the boisterous crowd rallying outside Los Angeles City Hall Tuesday afternoon.
“Whether you work in sanitation, whether you work in street services – we’ve been slammed in the face with a lack of dignity and respect,” Mr. Green said. “We’re here today to send a message that this is what happens when you disrespect public sector employees. I know that when we fight, something happens.”
In May, city workers voted overwhelmingly, with a 98-percent approval, to authorize the first strike of city workers in more than 40 years.
Picket lines were set up beginning at 4 a.m. Tuesday at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and at City Hall.
“This is the right thing to do,” central service yard worker Dorian Iaconias told The Epoch Times. “We just want more respect and better pay.”
A man by the name of Ralphie, who asked not to include his last name, said city workers gave up two raises at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and had to take 26 furlough days, which are days off without pay.
“Today is a day we’re sending a message,” he told The Epoch Times. “All we are asking for is a fair contract. They took pay away from us.”
Other union leaders from the schools, county, and the entertainment industry joined the rally at City Hall in solidarity with the city workers.
“Welcome to a hot labor summer,” Yvonne Wheeler, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, told the crowd. “The labor movement will bring the heat today, tomorrow, and every day in between.”
City Stays Open
For her part, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a social media post Aug. 7 the city would remain open and available during the strike.According to the mayor, emergency services at the city’s police and fire departments, and city-run homeless and housing services were not impacted. Trash collection was delayed one day, however.
Other services impacted were parking enforcement, traffic operations, parks programming, event permitting, and library services.
The city was working with staff at LAX to mitigate impacts, according to Ms. Bass. General services at the city’s animal shelters were also closed.
“The City of Los Angeles is not going to shut down,” Ms. Bass posted on X, the app formerly known as Twitter.
The Port of Los Angeles, the west coast’s business container port, remained open but some functions were delayed as workers joined the strike, according to a port spokesman.
“On Tuesday, some Harbor Department employees are participating in a job action,” Port spokesman Phillip Sanfield told The Epoch Times. “Port terminals remain open and operational. Cargo vessels scheduled for entry or departure on Tuesday are being delayed one day due to the job action.”
The port is expected to open with a full workforce Wednesday, he added.
