One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
In Nearly Unanimous Vote, LA County’s 55,000 Workers Authorize Union To Call A Strike
Ileana Meza, SEIU 721's bargaining policy committee chair, speaks at a press conference in Los Angeles on May 6, 2022.
(
Phoenix Tso
/
LAist
)
Los Angeles County workers in SEIU 721 have voted to approve the union to call a strike.
The union said in a press conference Friday that the vote passed with an overwhelming support of 98%.
“This behavior has been a slap in the face of frontline workers,” said Ileana Meza, who chairs the bargaining committee. “Our members are fed up and they’re frustrated.
LA County frontline workers vote to authorize strike. Says after working during pandemic, county has negotiated in bad faith - pay doesn’t match cost of living increases and jobs are being privatized. @kpcc @LAist pic.twitter.com/riV8eskX06
— Phoenix Tso (@tso_phoenix) May 6, 2022
Meza said it “pains us because we love the community that we serve.” But if the County returns to the table next week with “bad faith negotiations,” she said the union “will call a strike.”
The decision comes at a time when thousands of workers have tried to demand better wages and working conditions.
Sponsored message
The union represents roughly 55,000 L.A. County employees who work in a variety of fields, including healthcare, social services and public works.
In a statement to LAist, the County said “negotiations are ongoing."
"The County remains hopeful of reaching a fair and fiscally responsible contract with our labor partners," the statement read. "Today’s authorization vote by SEIU is not a strike and services to the public are continuing without interruption."
Updated May 6, 2022 at 2:02 PM PDT
This story was updated to include a statement from the County.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
