Massive ULP Practice Pickets Dominate the Scene at Key LA County Worksites

As contract bargaining continues, SEIU 721 LA County members held massive Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) Pickets directly outside several critical worksites, sending a clear message to management that our union solidarity is strong – and that we will do whatever it takes to win the respect we deserve.

Since contract negotiations began, we’ve filed more than 25 ULPs, including charges for bad faith bargaining, retaliation against union members and contracting our union work.

The reality is we’re fed up with the county’s unlawful behavior and that’s why we hit the streets yesterday.

Union members march on Marengo St. outside the LA General Medical Center in Boyle Heights.

We focused our early morning ULP Practice Pickets at three key LA County hospitals: LA General Medical Center in Boyle Heights, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, and Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar. Starting at 6 AM, LA County members were out in full force to make our presence known.

Union members with picket signs march outside the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance.

At LA General, medical professionals joined hospital staff directly on the Marengo St. steps to express our anger at LA County’s intent to increase the contracting out our jobs. LA County ALREADY operates a taxpayer-to-private-sector pipeline – shelling out more than $6.2 billion to private firms in just one fiscal year – as detailed in our union’s landmark study, “Shining a Light on Contracting Out in Los Angeles County.”

Nurses and other medical staff march outside the LA General Medical Center in Boyle Heights.

The scene was similar at Olive View just outside the First Floor Lobby, where members lambasted LA County for a series of disrespectful contract offers that fail to address the more than 12,000 job vacancies that could – and should – be filled by us.

David Green, Executive Director and President of SEIU 721, joined the Olive View ULP Practice Picket at sunrise.

Union workers and SEIU 721 President David Green march outside the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar.

“This contract fight is about getting the contract we deserve from LA County,” Green said. “We’ve had enough of their insulting offers at the bargaining table. We’ve had enough of their contracting out our jobs. We’re fed up with the ULPs and we’ve had enough of their disrespect.”

A smiling union member wearing dark sunglasses marches with his fellow union members holding picket signs outside the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar.

At Harbor-UCLA in front of the ER, members expressed incredulity with management’s inability to come to the bargaining table with a contract offer that reflects respect for the work we do – and to express disgust with LA County’s continued reliance on contracting out our work.

Nurses in blue smocks march outside the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance.

All three hospitals held another round of massive ULP Practice Pickets starting at 11 AM as lunch hours commenced.

Also at that same time outside of two additional LA County facilities – the Telstar/Aerojet building in El Monte and the Metro North DCFS building in downtown LA – we held Practice Pickets that were both huge and energetic.

The scene was spirited at Telstar/Aerojet, where participants came mostly, but not exclusively, from the DCFS and DPSS ranks.

A smiling woman in aviator shades holding a picket sign marches with her fellow union members outside the Telstar/Aerojet building in El Monte.

Members were well aware that during our last round of contract bargaining, management proposed to further cut our union’s rights on workplace access – and we were none too pleased.

Two union members wearing yellow vests and holding picket signs march outside the Telstar/Aerojet building in El Monte.

At Metro North DCFS, members expressed outrage that LA County management still has yet to explain when our union would get responses on our economic proposals despite being six weeks away from our March 31 contract expiration date.

SEIU 721 President David Green speaks from a bullhorn while in a picket line outside the Metro North DCFS building in downtown LA.

These ULP Practice Pickets are just one strategy we are using to achieve our goal. Each Thursday, our union’s Bargaining Policy Committee meets with management to bargain for our contract – and each Thursday, we will Purple Up at our worksites to show our support for the BPC and to demonstrate our union pride.

Union members holding picket signs march outside the Metro North DCFS building in downtown LA.

Clearly, our LA County workforce is fed up with the disrespect shown by management and will not take it sitting down. Indeed, we are rising up and fighting with everything we’ve got – from now until victory.

Together, we win!

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To view more image from our ULP Practice Pickets, check out our Flickr page here. You can also view social media content about SEIU 721 – and get updates in real time on all the work our union is doing throughout Southern California, including photos and videos from today’s ULP Practice Pickets – by following us on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Flickr. You can also get more information about SEIU 721 on our website at www.seiu721.org.

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