Members of the largest union of state workers have voted to authorize their first-ever strike if the union is unable to agree on a new contract with the government, according to results of balloting released Monday. SEIU Local 1000, which represents 87,000 of the 173,000 rank-and-file state workers, could formally declare a strike as early as Thursday if they don't have a new deal.
See "Strike OKd by Union of State Workers", Joe Mathews and Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times, June 12, 2006