Working on this new server in php7...
imc indymedia

Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

white themeblack themered themetheme help
About Us Contact Us Calendar Publish RSS
Features
latest news
best of news
syndication
commentary


KILLRADIO

VozMob

ABCF LA

A-Infos Radio

Indymedia On Air

Dope-X-Resistance-LA List

LAAMN List




IMC Network:

Original Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: ambazonia canarias estrecho / madiaq kenya nigeria south africa canada: hamilton london, ontario maritimes montreal ontario ottawa quebec thunder bay vancouver victoria windsor winnipeg east asia: burma jakarta japan korea manila qc europe: abruzzo alacant andorra antwerpen armenia athens austria barcelona belarus belgium belgrade bristol brussels bulgaria calabria croatia cyprus emilia-romagna estrecho / madiaq euskal herria galiza germany grenoble hungary ireland istanbul italy la plana liege liguria lille linksunten lombardia london madrid malta marseille nantes napoli netherlands nice northern england norway oost-vlaanderen paris/Île-de-france patras piemonte poland portugal roma romania russia saint-petersburg scotland sverige switzerland thessaloniki torun toscana toulouse ukraine united kingdom valencia latin america: argentina bolivia chiapas chile chile sur cmi brasil colombia ecuador mexico peru puerto rico qollasuyu rosario santiago tijuana uruguay valparaiso venezuela venezuela oceania: adelaide aotearoa brisbane burma darwin jakarta manila melbourne perth qc sydney south asia: india mumbai united states: arizona arkansas asheville atlanta austin baltimore big muddy binghamton boston buffalo charlottesville chicago cleveland colorado columbus dc hawaii houston hudson mohawk kansas city la madison maine miami michigan milwaukee minneapolis/st. paul new hampshire new jersey new mexico new orleans north carolina north texas nyc oklahoma philadelphia pittsburgh portland richmond rochester rogue valley saint louis san diego san francisco san francisco bay area santa barbara santa cruz, ca sarasota seattle tampa bay tennessee urbana-champaign vermont western mass worcester west asia: armenia beirut israel palestine process: fbi/legal updates mailing lists process & imc docs tech volunteer projects: print radio satellite tv video regions: oceania united states topics: biotech

Surviving Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: canada: quebec east asia: japan europe: athens barcelona belgium bristol brussels cyprus germany grenoble ireland istanbul lille linksunten nantes netherlands norway portugal united kingdom latin america: argentina cmi brasil rosario oceania: aotearoa united states: austin big muddy binghamton boston chicago columbus la michigan nyc portland rochester saint louis san diego san francisco bay area santa cruz, ca tennessee urbana-champaign worcester west asia: palestine process: fbi/legal updates process & imc docs projects: radio satellite tv
printable version - js reader version - view hidden posts - tags and related articles

LA County Workers Talk Back to President Clinton

by Julia Stein, LA Free Press Sunday, Aug. 20, 2000 at 10:33 AM

Report on the march.

error A thousand workers for the County of Los Angeles in the Service Employees International Union (S.E.I.U.) Local 660 marched Tuesday, August 14, at 4:00 for a "Fair Share for Los Angeles County's Working Families" to Staples Center where they had a short rally. They had listened to President Clinton's speech the night before lauding the prosperity in this county, and the county workers answered President Clinton that most working families have not shared in the prosperity.They marched to ask political leaders for policies to address the growing economic hardships in America for LA County working families and for working families throughout America. At the rally they were joined by State Senator Richard Alarcon (D-Van Nuys), Miguel Contreras who is head of the LA County AFL-CIO; and SEIU Local 1887's Mike Garcia who led the victorious janitors' strike.

The march was organized by S.E.I.U. Local 660 which represents 45,000 county workers. They gathered at Grand and Hope Park at 3:30: librarians, eligibility workers, flood control workers, court employees, clerical employees, nurses, maintenance workers, health inspectors. Many were dressed in purple t-shirts, waved blue-green signs saying "Fair Share," had whistles which they blew, or pounded drums. A loudspeaker blared "The Heat is On," and many marchers danced to the disco beat. Penny Lagusoonthorn, who works for the LA County Fire Department Headquarters, explained that their contract is soon up at the end of September.

At 4:00 the march moved out down 9th Street which was deserted with just a few police around and turned left at Figueroa arriving at the Staples Center. As they marched they chanted, "What do you want?" Then the crowd chanted "Fair share." "When do you want it?" "Now." The S.E.I.U speaker at the rally said that in the midst of great prosperity and government surpluses county workers aren't better than they were four years ago. He added that later that evening they were taking a strike vote and they were putting the County of Los Angeles on notice that "we're strong, united and organized."

Alejandro Stephens, President of Local 660, said, "We want the County Board of Supervisors to recognize our members' sacrifices over the past ten years of tight budgets, hiring freezes, and cost-cutting." Stephens added, "L.A. County workers have lost ground over the last decade" as county workers salaries have not kept up with inflation. The county is offering a 9% raise spread over three years. S.E.I.U.'s Local 660's Mark Tarnawsky said that the county's offer of a 9% raise over the next three years wouldn't even keep up with the inflation rate so county employees would fall even furthur behind in their wages. The union is asking for 15% over three years which just barely keeps them ahead of inflation.

Darla Alexander, Intermediate Typist Clerk for the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services, is a single mother like many other county workers. She said on her clerk's wages she can't afford to buy a car and "there's no way that I can save up any money--for a car, a home, or a college for my little one ... If not having any money left over at the end of the month is being poor, then I'm poor."

SEIU Local 660 points out that many of its members are part of the disappearing middle class and "thousand of Local 660 members live from paycheck to paycheck--juggling rent with child care, food, and emergencies, such as unexpected car repairs." A union spokesperson said that although Los Angeles County board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance requiring County contractors to pay their employees a living wage of at least $9.46/hour, they don't pay their own employees a living wages. Many Library Aides and Library pages earn "less than $8 per hour with no health benefits of even sick leave."

The union is also asking to extend health care benefits and retirement to temporary and part-time workers and resist any cutbacks in health care for full time workers. Since 70% of Local 660 members are women and many single mothers with children who pay up to a third of their income in child care, Local 660 is asking for the county to provide more affordable child care. The union wants to county to invest in its own employees by expanding the $1 million Labor-Management Training Found to give career development for county employees.

After the spirited rally, the County workers marched another mile through downtown to the Grand Olympic Auditorium for their strike vote. There they overwhelmingly voted to authorize their bargaining committee to call a strike if negotiations over the next month don't give a satisfactory contract. According to SEIU Local 660;'s Mark Tarnawsky the members are ready for a strike.

Report this post as:
Share on: Twitter, Facebook, Google+

add your comments


© 2000-2018 Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Running sf-active v0.9.4 Disclaimer | Privacy