Los Angeles County

There is no doubt 721 members at LA County DHS are making tremendous strides in eradicating the bullying at DHS facilities and moving the Department to finally recognize they have a serious bullying problem on their hands. In just the last two weeks both LAC+USC CEO Dan Castillo and Harbor-UCLA CEO Kim McKenzie came forward in condemning the bullying behavior in their respective facilities. Their public acknowledgement of a crisis that must be immediately address comes on the heels of the May 2nd department wide memo by Dr. Mitch Katz condemning bullying behavior and the unrelenting push by SEIU 721 members determined to eradicate bullying at DHS.

On the heels of holding Solidarity Actions at DHS Facilities stretching from the Antelope Valley to the Los Angeles Harbor area, 721’s LA County Health Professionals came out in full force on April 27th for a critical follow-up meeting with DHS Chief Mitch Katz to move the County a step closer to ending the bullying crisis.  The passionate group of over 150 people in attendance and Dr. Mitch Katz reached a consensus on forming an emergency labor-management task force ready to push for immediate action and find comprehensive long-term solutions to end the crisis once and for all. 

Now the date has finally arrived to get an update from Dr. Katz himself on his investigation into the bullying situation at DHS, and the corrective actions he’s taken so far, along with the long-term solutions to end the issue once and for all.

We’re not just stopping there. During the next 10 days, Social Workers throughout LA County will be mobilizing with a series of actions to take a stand against the criminalization of Social Workers and let County leaders know that scapegoating our hard work will not make children any safer.

Just last week 721 members turned out for Unity Breaks at Men’s Central Jail and Olive View-UCLA Medical Center to take a stand against bullying. Members at Olive View filled up not two, but three large “I Am The Voice For” poster boards that will be given to Dr. Mitch Katz at the April 27th meeting on behalf of all the DHS employees that have spoken out.