In L.A., Striking Similarities on Picket Lines

Is half the world on strike, about to strike or coming off a strike? In Los Angeles, where janitors, librarians, teachers, bus drivers and actors have appeared downright eager to carry picket signs, it sure feels that way.

Labor strife is becoming the great unifier, cutting across lines of class, race and ethnicity, drawing equal passions from workers in the public and private sectors, from professionals and unskilled laborers alike. That trend was underscored at a downtown rally Thursday, where county doctors stood shoulder-to-shoulder with telephone operators who earn one-fifth their salaries, all cheering for striking bus drivers and strike-ready teachers.

“We see our struggles as very similar,” said Joe Bader of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, which represents about 800 county doctors who are planning job actions next week. “There’s plenty of money out there to give people a fair contract. These are not outrageous demands.”

Not for at least a generation have so many strikes and potential strikes converged in Los Angeles in one season. Part of the reason is pure coincidence: Labor contracts covering a quarter-million union members just happened to come up for negotiation within a six-month period.

But the intense activity also reflects an increasingly powerful labor movement in Los Angeles, which is leading the nation in membership growth and political activism. With so many contracts coming up simultaneously, that movement is flexing its muscles and demanding a bigger piece of the prosperous economy.

Mirroring a national trend, local labor also has gotten smarter about using its ultimate weapon. Labor leaders have built alliances with religious and community groups, called in political debts and made sure that all unions cooperate by honoring each others’ picket lines and turning out for rallies.

“We’ve been planning for this summer for two years,” said Jon Barton, organizing director for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, which represents 800,000 union members. “There’s been a strategic plan around building unity among the unions and working together. That sends a message to employers that when labor is at your door, you’re not just dealing with one lonely union, you’re dealing with the power of a movement.”

A generation ago, in 1981, then-President Ronald Reagan replaced striking air traffic controllers and set in motion a sea change in employer-worker relationships that led to predictions of the death of the strike.

It may be too soon to declare the strike is back. Although activity has significantly increased across the nation in the last several years, the number of workers on strike is still nowhere near the levels of the 1940s and ‘50s. What’s more interesting, said Ron Blackwell, director of corporate affairs for the national AFL-CIO, is that recent strikes have been more successful than they have been in decades.

“Unions are certainly striking smarter and being more effective,” Blackwell said, mentioning a range of recent large strikes--at Verizon Communications, Earthgrains Co. and Boeing Co.--that ended successfully for workers.

“In the past, we had a lot of losing strikes,” he said. “These are winning strikes.”

Although it’s unclear how several of the strikes in Los Angeles will be resolved, the wave of unrest has brought with it a new sense of unity and common purpose. Teamsters have refused to cover for striking Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus drivers, and union electricians walked off a job on the MTA’s Blue Line. African American ministers are pressing for a meeting with Mayor Richard Riordan on the MTA strike, a dispute that disproportionately hits African American workers and bus riders.

That sort of cooperation has given credibility and weight to much of the summer’s unrest, which began in April with a high-profile and ultimately successful janitors’ strike. The strike put thousands of low-wage immigrants in the streets for three weeks and helped raise awareness of growing income inequalities in the region.

Labor leaders note with irony that Mayor Riordan and county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky--painted as villains in the public-sector strikes--were among the janitors’ most vocal champions. Thousands of public-sector workers who are on strike, or preparing to walk out Monday, have taken inspiration from those same janitors.

“What we’re saying is the status quo is no longer acceptable,” said Darla Alexander, a clerk in the Department of Children and Family Services, who earns about $2,000 a month. “In the recession, we took a lot of hits. Now we want to have a piece of these good times everybody is talking about.”

Business leaders said labor unrest often accompanies a period of strong economic growth. “In a reasonably good economy, you’re going to have this,” said Ezunial Burts, president of the Greater Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

Union members want to lock in good long-term contracts before the economy dips again, Burts said, adding that many business owners find that prospect frightening. “You are seeing some anxiety on the part of workers,” he said, “but also on the part of employers. And they are willing to be tough about it.”

Thus, the showdown between the county’s offer of a 9% raise over three years, and the union’s demand for a 15% raise over the same period.

Rather than reflecting a stronger labor movement, the current spate of disputes is simply a predictable response to an improved economy, said Marta Fernandez, an attorney who represents employers in labor disputes. “I don’t think unions are getting smarter,” Fernandez said. “I think that they’re riding the tide of good times.”

Whether this renewed strike activity, with Los Angeles at its epicenter, is the start of a new dynamic between workers and employers, or a summer season fluke, remains to be seen. “This is one of the great dramas, and one of the great unknowns, of our time,” Blackwell said.

For those in Los Angeles who are on strike or about to strike, there is only one acceptable answer. “What this boils down to is a big power play,” said Ralph Miller, president of the probation officers union, which is preparing for a strike next week. “We stuck with the county through the bad times. Now we want to get our fair share.”

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Recent and Anticipated Strikes in Los Angeles County

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Employer Union Number affected Strike dates Janitorial contractors SEIU 1877 8,500 janitors 4/2 to 4/25 National Ad Agencies SAG/AFTRA 60,000 actors 5/1 to present MTA various 8,000 bus drivers 9/16 to present and mechanics LA County SEIU 660 47,000 county workers 10/2 (anticipated) LA County various 43,000 more county 10/2 workers (anticipated) LAUSD UTLA 40,000 teachers Strike authorized (date not set)

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* PATT MORRISON

From bus drivers to bureaucrats, L.A. County is starting to look like Striketown USA. B1