Union Cites Bad Faith Bargaining and Labor Law Violations by County Management in Lead-Up to Unfair Labor Practice Strike Vote; Ballot Box Results to Precede Intensive Negotiations Starting Next Week, Where Union Will Continue Demanding More Compensation to Fight Inflation and an End to Privatization of Good Union Jobs
LOS ANGELES – SEIU 721 will announce the results of the union’s Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike authorization vote by LA County members this Fri., May 6, 2022 at 10 AM in front of the union’s headquarters building in the MacArthur Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The vote results potentially affect 55,000 LA County frontline workers who have kept LA County alive and functioning during the pandemic – and who are employed in healthcare, mental health, social services, street services as well as public safety and the Department of Parks and Recreation, the County Coroner, the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, the Treasurer-Tax Collector and more.
- WHO: Members of SEIU 721’s Bargaining Policy Committee (BPC) who are also LA County employees – including SEIU 721 President David Green, BPC Chair Ileana Meza and other union members representing various LA County departments
- WHAT: SEIU 721 LA County ULP Strike Authorization Vote Results Announcement
- WHEN: Fri., May 6, 2022 at 10 AM
- WHERE: SEIU 721 Headquarters, 1545 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 900017
- Press conference will be directly outside HQ on Wilshire Blvd.
- TV trucks encouraged to park in the lot that is accessible by turning right on Shatto St. just half a block north of Wilshire Blvd. and Union Ave.
BACKGROUND: SEIU 721 members have kept public services throughout LA County’s 4,753-square-mile service area operational for decades but they were truly put to the test during the COVID-19 pandemic – as more than ten million people counted on frontline workers to keep vital public services functioning during one of the most frightening and uncertain chapters in our nation’s history.
LA County union workers did their duty. But now, in the rush to return to “normal,” LA County management is rewarding these same workers with bad faith bargaining and unfair labor practices that BPC Chair Ileana Meza has described as “a slap in the face.”
Negotiations with county management have stalled but Thursday’s ULP strike authorization vote result announcement is sure to rekindle the enthusiasm seen in the streets just weeks ago, when thousands of SEIU 721 members marched through downtown LA’s Civic Center to demand more compensation to fight inflation, full healthcare coverage, assistance with childcare and elder care costs as well as an end to further privatization of good union jobs.
“Across the nation, Interest in union activity is higher than it’s been in years and that includes right here in LA County,” said SEIU 721 President David Green. “Our members are fed up with the disrespect they’ve been getting by county management, especially during contract negotiations – and I anticipate the results of our strike authorization vote will reflect that sentiment. Our labor will not be taken for granted.”
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Contact: Roxane Marquez, roxane.marquez@seiu721.org, (213) 705-1078
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