LA city workers call on Mayor Garcetti to get more involved in contract talks

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A coalition of Los Angeles labor unions swarmed City Hall, with hundreds of protesters calling to the mayor to "fix L.A."

Mayor Eric Garcetti, a potential presidential hopeful in the 2020 campaign, was on the road in Iowa over the weekend. The rank and file took notice of his many out of town trips to the Heartland and beyond. The workers say Garcetti needs to be closer to the bargaining table because nearly 20,000 city employees are working without a contract.

"It is dragging on, and the people at the table don't have authority to actually come to a deal," said Bob Schoonover, president of SEIU Local 721.

The mayor says the city's bargaining team is fully authorized to close a deal.

Union leaders say a date for the next bargaining session is up in the air.

Watch the video above for more from Eyewitness News reporter Miriam Hernandez.