US city workers staging 24-hour strike

Thousands of Los Angeles municipal workers planned a 24-hour strike on Tuesday to protest what their union calls bad-faith bargaining by government officials over a new contract, in the latest in a series of job actions affecting the sprawling city.

Some 11,000 city workers, including mechanics, lifeguards, traffic officers and airport personnel, represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 721 were expected to walk picket lines, demanding that city management stop unfair labour practices, the union said online.

"We are striking for respect, plain and simple - and if we don't get it we'll shut it down," SEIU said on social media.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that some city services will be unavailable during the one-day strike.

Some of the city's 55 swimming pools will shut down, trash pickups will be pushed back by a day and the city's 311 information call centre may experience delays. Passengers departing from Los Angeles International Airport should also allow for an extra hour of delays, Bass said.

"The City of Los Angeles is not going to shut down," the mayor said. "The city will always be available to make progress with SEIU 721 and we will continue bargaining in good faith."

The union said workers were striking after the city engaged in unfair labor practices during negotiations over recruitment, retention and hiring issues.

Los Angeles officials have refused to honor previous agreements, sent negotiators to the bargaining table without the authority to bargain and have restricted union access to work sites, it said.

The walkout is the latest in series of organised labour job actions in the nation's second largest city this summer.

Hollywood writers have been on strike for three months, and actors went on strike three weeks ago. In July, thousands of hotel workers in Los Angeles staged a three-day strike over wages, benefits and working conditions.