Five months ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass revealed that she may have to be fired to fill a $1 billion budget shortfall.
On Tuesday, after months of negotiations, Bass stood at city hall with union leaders and announced that her administration had avoided all layoffs.
“Some people said they couldn’t do that, but I’m very happy to stand here today and say we’ve proven the deniers wrong,” Bass said.
The announcement comes shortly after an agreement with a coalition of the Los Angeles City Union, collectively representing gardeners, mechanics and store clerks who take up to five unpaid holidays in 2026.
Ever since the mayor announced the proposed budget in late April, she and the city council have been working to reduce layoffs through a variety of cost-cutting measures. The council has expanded employment at the Los Angeles Police Department and reduced the number of new hires at the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The Los Angeles Police Protection League, representing LAPD officers who were sworn in last month, and the Assn, an engineer and architect representing city planners and some LAPD civilians.
The Police Protection League has agreed to a voluntary program in exchange for engineers and architect ASSN, where officers can take several days off in exchange for overtime hours. Members will take up to five unpaid holidays.
While the union was negotiating, the city began firing workers, with many members of the engineers and architect Assn. He was sent home, said Marlene Fonseca, the union’s executive director.
On Monday, Fonseca spoke to members who were hospitalized over the weekend and provided the good news that he had regained his job.
“If we hadn’t had this agreement, he would face a medical crisis without health insurance,” she said. “This is the real human difference that solidarity brings.”
The city also moved employees eligible for layoffs to open jobs in other departments. The city council worked to find those openings during the course of the 10 committee meetings, councillor Tim Makosker said.
“This is great news for this fiscal year, but we need to stay awake. Our city’s budgetary challenges need to continue, focus on long-term solutions and protect the city’s workforce and services,” says McOsker.
