More than 11,000 Los Angeles city workers are staging a one-day walkout Tuesday to protest what their union calls “bad faith” in contract talks.
Residents will face an array of service disruptions, from trash-pickup delays to swimming-pool closures, though Mayor Karen Bass stressed “the city of Los Angeles is not going to shut down.”
“My office is implementing a plan ensuring no public safety or housing and homelessness emergency operations are impacted by this action,” Bass said in a statement Monday.
“Like I said over the weekend, the city will always be available to make progress with SEIU 721 and we will continue bargaining in good faith.”
Picketers arrived at LAX Tuesday morning, disrupting traffic into the terminals and clogging the entrances into the airport. More picketers are expected to arrive at City Hall later in the day.
Earlier Monday, City Council President Paul Krekorian issued a statement saying, “We regret this inconvenience, but we can assure you that the city is continuing to negotiate with its unions.”
Krekorian said city-operated preschools and daycare centers will be open as usual Tuesday, but trash pickup will be delayed by one day, while some municipal pools may be closed. He urged residents to call in advance.
He also recommended that airline passengers departing from Los Angeles International Airport plan to arrive an hour earlier than normal due to possible picketing at the airport.
The walkout marks the first such strike action in more than 40 years.
The employees, including sanitation workers, heavy duty mechanics, traffic officers and engineers represented by SEIU Local 721, voted overwhelmingly in May — with 98% approval — to authorize an unfair labor practice strike if negotiations stalled.
The action comes amid ongoing strikes by Hollywood writers and actors as well as thousands of cooks, maids, dishwashers, servers, bellmen and front-desk agents at 46 Los Angeles area hotels represented by Unite HERE Local 11.
“It feels like it’s `Strike Summer’ because it is,” SEIU 721 officials tweeted in late July. “But make no mistake — our fight for respect does not end with the summer. It ends with contracts that adequately protect and pay us.”
SEIU Local 721 represents more than 95,000 public sector workers in Southern California.
