LA County workers vote to authorize strike amid contract talks

Thousands of union employees for Los Angeles County have voted to authorize a strike in the event that negotiations over a new contract stall.

Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents about 55,000 county employees, announced Friday that its members had given the union’s leadership permission to authorize a strike. The vote does not mean a strike will automatically occur, but authorizes the union to call one if contract negotiations fail.

The union represents workers in health care, social services, mental health services, public works, parks and public safety.

The union is in the midst of contract talks with the county, saying it is pushing for higher wages, protection against privatization of jobs and improved health benefits. The union’s contract with the county expired at the end of March.

Union President David Green told reporters more talks are scheduled “bright and early Monday morning.”

The union has held a series of large-scale rallies in downtown Los Angeles in recent weeks.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved a motion this week aimed at ensuring services are not disrupted at county hospitals or care facilities if workers do walk off the job. The motion authorized the director of the L.A. County Department of Health Services to take steps needed to prevent any interruption in “essential services to some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.”