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Union coalition warns layoffs will cut essential services; urges workforce restoration and transfer portal
Summary
Union leaders told the City Council that eliminating vacancies in the coming fiscal year will reduce essential city services and increase liability; they urged immediate workforce planning, targeted local hiring and a transfer portal to preserve jobs and services. The council voted 14-0 on item 27 after the presentations.
Union leaders told the Los Angeles City Council that recent budget choices and proposed eliminations of vacant civilian positions risk significant cuts to essential services and increased long‑term costs.
Speakers from SEIU Local 721 and AFSCME 3090 urged the council to restore workforce investment, to avoid contracting out services that civil servants currently provide, and to convene a strategic workforce development effort immediately. After the presentations the council adopted item 27, the required labor hearing on vacancies, by voice vote (recorded 14 ayes).
Why it matters: Council staff, unions and the personnel committee said chronic understaffing has degraded some services and that cutting filled or vacant positions without a clear workforce plan will exacerbate service gaps. Unions warned that privatization and contractor reliance can be costlier and reduce accountability.
What the unions said: Charles Leon, regional coordinator for SEIU Local 721, representing the LA OC Cities region, told the council the LA Coalition of city unions represents about 25,000 workers across city departments and that elimination of vacancies will "mean critical staffing cuts and essential service reductions in the coming fiscal year." Leon urged renewed investment in recruitment and workforce development efforts, including targeted local hiring.
Larry Gates, president of AFSCME 3090, urged elected officials to develop a plan to evaluate and reorganize city operations with labor at the table. "This is the job we were elected to do," he said, calling for an early draft procedure to begin strategic workforce planning immediately.
Council response and next steps: Council members thanked the union representatives and said personnel and budget chairs are working on a transfer portal and other steps to reduce the impact of layoffs. Council member McOsker (personnel committee chair) described a transfer portal system intended to allow employees at risk of layoff to move into equivalent vacant positions and said the personnel committee will meet frequently to implement the process.
The unions asked that the council convene the strategic workforce development task force and combine it with the existing joint labor‑management vacancy working group to produce hiring and retention metrics. Council members suggested tracking metrics such as length of service, internal promotions and retention rates to guide future decisions.
Vote: item 27 — 14 ayes. The council indicated it will continue committee work on recruitment, retention, the transfer portal and related workforce metrics.
