More than 100 SEIU 721 members marched to Mayor Garcetti’s office on Sept. 25 to let him know that things aren’t working in LADOT. They sat down with a senior staff member and asked to meet with the mayor face to face soon. It was a powerful action. Members got to voice their concerns.
What’s Wrong?
For decades, LADOT has been an efficient, high-functioning department. SEIU 721 members there keep LA moving by maintaining essential services, providing new commuter options and regulating traffic across the city. Angelenos rely on the work members do. But the current General Manager has promoted policies that have hurt LADOT, such as:
-Reconfiguring the entire department, rotating associates, and then rotating the senior Engineers–all in a span of 18 months. This has doubled our work.
-Pushing through projects with unrealistic deadlines that end up punishing employees and wasting taxpayer money.
-Failing to backfill key positions vacated by transfers and terminated employees. Signing contracts with 40 private contractors to outsource bargaining unit work.
“These changes have been frustrating. We’ve been clear with LADOT management about these errors and offered solutions to fix them–but we’ve been ignored. That’s why we took action. And we were heard. The mayor’s staffer who talked with us promised to take our concerns directly to the mayor.”
-Michael Hunt, LA City Transportation Engineer
But It’s Not Over.
SEIU 721 members at LADOT promised to stay engaged on this issue. As one Transportation Engineer said, “If we need to take action again, we will.”
For more information or to get involved, contact Worksite Organizer Paul Kim: (213) 271-3150 or paul.kim@seiu721.org.