Los Angeles County and SEIU 721 officials announced Tuesday that they had averted a looming strike that could have affected county services.
SEIU 721, which represents more than 55,000 people employed by Los Angeles County, said it was putting a strike previously scheduled for Oct. 10 on hold after a “productive meeting” with county leaders.
Union president David Green said in a statement that the county “has come back to the bargaining table to officially resume contract negotiations with our union.”
“This is exactly what we hoped to achieve when more than 1,200 of our LA County members rallied directly outside the Hall of Administration” last week, Green said.
The Tuesday announcement followed a meeting between Green, L.A. County Chief Executive Fesia Davenport and Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, currently the chair of the Board of Supervisors.
Horvath said in a statement that she had convened the meeting in her office and that Green and Davenport had signed a “negotiation framework” that lays the groundwork to address outstanding issues. Green, the union president, said the agreement “gets us back to the bargaining table earlier than expected.”
SEIU 721 announced last week that its members had voted to give the green light for a possible strike. The union represents more than half the county workforce, including nurses, social workers, librarians, clerks and a range of other county employees.
Union leaders said last week that if their concerns were not addressed, a strike could begin Oct. 10. SEIU 721 officials accused the county of failing to follow the labor agreement they had reached two years ago, which expires in March 2025. In a lengthy complaint, the union alleged that the county had posted inaccurate versions of their labor agreements online, which did not reflect things they had agreed at the bargaining table.
The union said it had filed more than 20 “unfair labor practice” charges over that and other alleged violations, including improperly using contractors to do the jobs of union members.
County management said in an August letter that there was no known loss of pay or benefits from any errors it had confirmed in the publicly posted versions of the labor agreements. Earlier this week, the county said it had filed an unfair labor charge against SEIU 721 over its threat to conduct what it described as an illegal strike, declaring that it needed to protect vulnerable residents who rely on county services.
L.A. County said in a statement Tuesday that it was pleased to reach an agreement to avert the planned strike. In addition to agreeing to schedule negotiations starting Nov. 7, it said, the county had agreed to meet with the union to “demonstrate our good faith commitment” to correcting any errors in the labor agreements.
Horvath said that “[b]y returning to the table, Los Angeles County avoids an October strike and reaffirms our commitment to honoring the dignity of the workers who provide the county’s vital social safety net services.”
