Union members who work in the city's dog pounds and at the county's register-recorder's offices won't be reporting to work today, an official from the local Service Employees International Union says. Thousands more who work in the giant departments of Social Services, Children and Family Services and Public Works will hit the bricks on Tuesday, the union says.

Another half-dozen unionized agencies—-including the Sheriff's department, district attorneys, libraries and tax assessor—-will strike on Wednesday. They'll be followed on Thursday by health-care workers who staff the region's massive network of county hospitals and clinics.

Though each strike will last only one day, a general strike will be called for Oct. 11 if the union cannot forge a new contract with city and county negotiators. The two sides remain far apart, with the union sticking to its demand that workers get a 15.5% raise over three years.

The one-day strikes will exacerbate the effects of a strike by about 7,000 bus drivers, rail operators and mechanics that began Sept. 15. That strike has left 450,000 transit riders struggling for ways to get to their jobs and has forced hundreds of local businesses, many of them in transit-dependent Downtown, to close their doors or cut back their hours.