Jacob Niles Creer, a worker at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and a member of the bargaining team and executive board for AFSCME Local 3299, said it was important for him to picket because both unions have faced similar challenges in fighting increases to their health care and insurance rates. Creer said the energy from both unions at the picket line has been positive and energetic.

“It’s electric,” Creer said. “We always talk about a blue-green wave, and that’s what we’re feeling here today. It’s like being back in Hawaii, because it’s just a sea of blue and green, and it’s really pretty to see.”