LOS ANGELES — Southern California's latest storm didn't dampen the spirits of over 300 workers who gathered in front of a school bus yard in Van Nuys before dawn on Tuesday, the first day of a planned three-day strike.
Standing at the edges of the picket line at 4:30 a.m., Max Arias beamed.
"I'm inspired by them," said Arias, the executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 99. He wore Adidas sneakers, blue jeans and a black hoodie jacket that kept his silver-framed glasses dry from the cold rain pounding down on the picketers. "Once you learn you have power, it's not easy to take it away. They've shut the district down!"
