The city of Los Angeles is set to shut down on Tuesday as thousands of city employees plan to strike for the day. According to the Washington Post, the more than 11,000 city employees will include sanitation workers, Los Angeles International Airport employees and street service workers.
David Green of SEIU Local 721 said of the strike that it will “shut down the city of Los Angeles.” Green explained that the union is sending the message that their workers are “just fed up” and have “reached a breaking point.” The strike of this size is the first for the union in more than 40 years.
Green shared that the strike comes after city officials failed to address issues including workers’ resources and major vacancies in crucial roles. During negotiations, Green said the city sent administrators who do not have the authority to approve decisions. Despite Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ (D) assertion that they have been “bargaining in good faith with SEIU 721 since January,” and the city wants to make progress, Green disagreed saying that city officials have been engaging in “bad faith bargaining” with “out-of-touch administrators.”
Hundreds of thousands of workers across various industries have recently organized strikes for better and more fair working conditions. Among those are the Writer’s Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild who have effectively brought Hollywood to a halt as well as hotel housekeepers and receptionists who have been striking on and off in Los Angeles. Beyond Los Angeles, the United Parcel Service (UPS) just avoided a highly threatening strike when a deal was finally reached. Autoworkers and baristas have also threatened to strike. The Washington Post reports that as many as 322,000 U.S. workers have gone on strike just this year.