Los Angeles city workers walk out for one-day strike

(Reuters) -Los Angeles municipal employees went on a 24-hour strike on Tuesday to protest what their union calls bad-faith bargaining by government officials over a new contract, the latest in a series of job actions affecting the city.

Hundreds of city workers, including mechanics, lifeguards and traffic officers marched in picket lines at city hall and the Los Angeles International Airport, saying city management has engaged in unfair labor practices during negotiations over recruitment, retention and hiring issues.

“We are here demanding respect,” Raymond Mesa, a member of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 721, told KTLA 5 outside of city hall. “We are going back to the bargaining table on Monday and we are sending them a message that they need to take this seriously.”

The union represents about 11,000 city workers.

Los Angeles officials have refused to honor previous agreements, sent negotiators to the bargaining table without the authority to bargain and have restricted union access to work sites, it said.

Some city services will be unavailable during the one-day strike, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.

A number of the city’s 55 swimming pools will shut down, trash pickups will be pushed back by a day and the city’s 311 information call center may experience delays. Passengers departing from Los Angeles Airport should arrive an hour earlier than usual in case of delays, Bass said.

“The City of Los Angeles is not going to shut down,” the mayor said.

The walkout is the latest in series of organized labor job actions in Los Angeles. Hollywood writers have been on strike for three months, and actors went on strike three weeks ago. In July, thousands of hotel workers in Los Angeles staged a three-day strike over wages, benefits and working conditions.

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