Although more than 55,000 union workers in Los Angeles County will strike Monday night, county officials said there is no money to meet the requirements of employees.

Members of the Service Employees International Union, local 721, including public works staff, library staff and mental health professionals, will start working 48 hours at 7 p.m. Monday, accusing the county of failing to negotiate a new labor contract fairly.

“We are facing disrespectful performance on the negotiations,” a union leader said at a rally, claiming that the county’s proposed cost of living increased by 0%.

Although Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Kathryn Barger, acknowledged financial difficulties amid inflation, she said the county could not afford the increase in living costs for workers due to huge budget loopholes.

In addition to the unexpected costs associated with the Eaton and Palisades fires, the country has to pay $4 billion to resolve decades of claims for youth sexual abuse, a regulation that state laws restarted such claims restrictions.

“Even the union knows that $4 billion is hurting our ability to negotiate,” Bagh said. “We need to be able to make sure when to write a check and you can cash it.”

The Los Angeles County CEO’s office responded to the message in a statement and accused “unprecedented pressure” that also included “possible catastrophic losses of hundreds of millions or more federal funds” from the Trump administration.

“Despite the severity of our fiscal outlook, the county has made a fair, responsible counterattack proposal and we hope the coalition can seriously consider it,” the statement said.

The county CEO also recently released a budget proposal for the coming year, which included cuts in some departments and canceled more than 200 vacancies.

Strikes may affect critical services such as emergency health care and fire protection.

County library officials also said the strike will affect services and could force temporary closures of certain libraries.

During the two-day strike, some non-emergency county clinics will be closed, some beach restrooms may be closed, and services provided by medical examiners may be delayed.

For more information on possible shutdowns or service delays caused by strikes, see here.