“A lot of trash didn’t get picked up today,” Ramsden said. The city adjusted the trash pickup schedule in response to the strike by the 11,000-member Service Employees International Union Local 721, which accused city leaders of negotiating in bad faith.
Oscar Martinez, a worker in the fleet service department who repairs trash trucks, offered a reminder that city workers had worked throughout the pandemic with little to show for it beyond a $2,000 bonus.
“We’re essential. We keep the trucks running,” Martinez said. He said the objective of Tuesday’s action was “to show the city that we’re united.”
Mayor Karen Bass (D) issued a statement in late afternoon saying that although some activities had been impacted, the city had been able to function.
“City services were impacted but continued today,” she said. “The City will always be available to make progress with SEIU 721 and we will continue bargaining in good faith.”
Bass did caution ticket-holders to give themselves extra time if attending shows at the Hollywood Bowl and at the Greek Theatre, where Dominic Fike was slated to perform Tuesday night in a sold-out show. City workers direct traffic at both venues, but not at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, a separate city where Taylor Swift was wrapping up her L.A. stint with two final shows Tuesday and Wednesday.
The SEIU strike was the latest in an extraordinary cascade of labor actions this summer, including historic twin strikes by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The WGA strike will mark its 100th day this week after talks Friday with studio heads went nowhere. SAG-AFTRA joined the fight more recently, in mid-July.
City workers responsible for trash collection, directing traffic, staffing animal shelters, operating the city’s swimming pools and other day-to-day functions walked off the job, creating consequences large and small.
The workers responsible for testing ocean water quality did not perform their duties Tuesday, and while Griffith Observatory — a popular attraction — was open, many exhibits were closed to the public.
Picketers began marching before dawn at Los Angeles International Airport and at City Hall to broadcast their complaints, including alleging understaffing across key agencies.
In an earlier interview with The Washington Post, SEIU Local 721 President David Green said the city had failed to address critical issues such as mass vacancies in the sanitation department. As they exchange proposals ahead of a new contract in December, the two sides have begun to squabble over how to handle the talks, with the SEIU filing complaints with the city’s Employee Relations Board. City officials disputed the union complaints.
The labor actions come at a transformative moment for the U.S. economy following the pandemic, with the job market tight. Many middle class and poor workers are flexing their newfound power amid anger over increased automation and a sense that they are not reaping the benefits they see their bosses get.
The writers and actors are fighting the studios over everything from streaming residuals to artificial intelligence in an entertainment landscape that has changed dramatically since the last contracts were negotiated three years ago.
Hotel workers with Unite Here Local 11 have also been holding intermittent strikes in Los Angeles and nearby cities. They alleged in a labor complaint Monday that some hotel bosses had begun to intimidate them physically, which the hotels denied.
United Parcel Service narrowly avoided a strike earlier this summer while nurses, school workers, graduate students and others have all gone on strike.
