Posts tagged California
Powerful union demands ‘New Deal’ for the 2028 LA Olympic Games, threatens to strike
August 25, 2025 // They're asking the International Olympic Committee and private Olympics organizer LA28 to give $5 billion to build housing in Los Angeles. They're also demanding a citywide moratorium on Airbnb, and want the International Olympic Committee to end its partnership with the short-term rental giant. Unite Here Local 11 announced the "New Deal for Our Future" campaign alongside other unions and community groups Thursday morning outside the Coliseum, which will co-host the Opening Ceremonies.
Newsom used telework as a bargaining chip. State worker unions see opportunity
August 22, 2025 // With this win over telework, an issue which unions previously had little leverage over, labor groups hope they can gain even more traction in future negotiations, to secure even stronger protections over when employees can work from home. On top of that, labor’s argument against requiring state employees to be in the office four days a week received a boost from the independent audit released last week. “Now we actually have an audit that backs up what we have been saying,” said Susan Rodriguez, the chief negotiator for SEIU Local 1000. Auditors surveyed departments, many of which reported their employees were just as or more productive working from home, which Rodriguez said the union has been touting all along. Telework “saves money for the state so they can use it towards more meaningful programs,” she said.
Most L.A. city employee layoffs averted by deals with unions
August 22, 2025 // The layoffs would have affected 222 civilian LAPD employees, such as clerks and administrative support workers. No sworn LAPD officers were slated to be laid off, but some would have had to do the work of the civilians who departed. "We are continuing to do everything we can to bring layoff numbers down and I want everyone to know that we are still working and anticipate this number to get even lower," Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. "These numbers are not final." Meanwhile, the Engineers and Architects Assn. authorized a deal for its 6,000 members to take as many as five unpaid vacation days — effectively furloughs — between Jan. 1 and June 30 next year, which could amount to about a 2% pay cut. The deal saved the jobs of 63 Engineers and Architects Assn. members who do not work for the LAPD, in roles such as city planner, analyst and civilian investigator.
SAG-AFTRA Confronts a Fran-less Future
August 21, 2025 // But now, with another tough contract negotiation on the horizon, SAG-AFTRA is going to have to push forward without its erstwhile leader from Queens. This time around, Drescher has decided against running for president. In her place, another celebrity, Lord of the Rings and Rudy star Sean Astin, and a rank-and-file performer, New England Local board member Chuck Slavin, are battling it out for the job. The stakes are high, given that the candidates face a darker and more foreboding landscape than the one that even Drescher confronted when she entered office in 2021 during the pandemic.
LA Times union to hold first-ever strike authorization vote as contract talks near 3rd year
August 18, 2025 // Last month, the L.A. Times Guild slammed management after the paper sent buyout offers to a small group of staffers, a move the union said “egregiously” violates employee contracts. And this all follows a brutal year for the storied paper, which has been beset by a series of layoffs and buyouts amid incremental ideological shifts mandated by billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong.
For first time in decades, Mountain Cement plant workers to vote for unionization
August 18, 2025 // This marks the first time since 1991 that a union election at the plant reached the threshold for a formal vote. Previous efforts failed to secure the 30% employee support required to trigger an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, which gives workers the chance to decide on union representation.
Commentary: To Harvard and Back with Julie Su
August 18, 2025 // This year, Julie Su, Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of labor, became a resident fellow with Harvard’s Kennedy School, Institute of Politics. The Century Foundation also brought Su on board as a full-time senior fellow. These prestigious institutions seem to have overlooked key events in Su’s long career. Harvard, where Su, a Stanford grad, earned her law degree, hails the Biden nominee as “a nationally recognized workers’ rights and civil rights expert.” As California’s labor commissioner, Su was “widely credited with a renaissance in enforcement and creative approaches to combating wage theft and protecting immigrant workers.” In reality, her experience was a bit more extensive.
California’s richest agricultural family is shuttering a farm the UFW sought to unionize
August 14, 2025 // The nursery has been operating at a significant loss for several years, Oster said, but he did not say for exactly how long or just how much it has lost. It was not immediately clear whether UC Daviswould recognize the farmworkers union once it takes control of the nursery. In a statement, UC Davis spokesperson Bill Kisliuk said the university is grateful for the gift, which includes the Wasco facility combined with a $5-million startup donation.
UPS Avoids Teamsters Strike at Largest Air Hub as Union Further Slams Buyouts
August 14, 2025 // The Teamsters alleged that the package delivery company had ignored or delayed answering complaints that they were regularly diverting airport distribution services to workers paid a lower rate. UPS agreed to a new settlement that solved a jurisdictional dispute between two Teamsters local branches at the maintenance center. In Chicago, the union secured a first contract for its administrative and specialist workers at Teamsters Local 705, with the new deal earning the employees the top wage rate for their respective job duties.
Op-ed: I had to leave California to save my business. Now there’s hope
August 12, 2025 // Running my truck as a small business allowed me to take long hauls across the country — sometimes bringing my children along — while keeping the flexibility and control that mattered most for my family’s well‑being. And I took pride in serving as a role model: showing that women can thrive behind the wheel, own their business and contribute to America’s supply chain. Thanks to leaders like Rep. Kiley, Washington is finally recognizing that independent contractors deserve the same respect and freedom as traditional employees. I hope the Senate moves quickly to pass this bill and send it to the president’s desk.