Posts tagged cost of living
For Portland Community College students, the fallout from ongoing strike is ‘visible everywhere’
March 16, 2026 // Al-Amreeki and others described mounting fear for some students over financial pressures, given uncertainty over when and how student aid packages will be processed or when they can return to campus jobs, given the college shutdown. Portland Community College says it is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon, with more than 50,000 full-time and part-time students, including thousands who take non-credit courses. Nearly half of its students are non-white, and about 40% are over the age of 25; most work and support their families while attending the school.
Portland Community College faculty and staff commence historic strike over wages
March 12, 2026 // PCC and its two unions have been negotiating over compensation and other benefits for nearly a year. But all sides have been stuck for months on salary increases and how much the college has to spare for such increases. Neither union has gone on strike before. This is the first strike to occur among any of the state’s 17 community colleges.
Willamette Week: Impending PCC strikes might be testing ground for new benefits law
March 10, 2026 // Last year Oregon became the first state in the nation to pass controversial legislation allowing workers on strike to collect unemployment benefits. The law went into effect Jan. 1. Two unions of employees working at Portland Community College could go on strike next week.
Wave of California teacher strikes ‘is no coincidence’
March 4, 2026 // Thousands of California K-12 teachers have walked off their jobs or voted to strike in the past few months, as part of a strategic, statewide effort by the California Teachers Association to boost salaries and benefits — and get the public’s attention. “All these districts going out on strike — it’s not a coincidence at all,” said David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union. “Everywhere in the state there are people with unmet needs. The conditions have been ripe for a long time.”
Wage Disagreements: Workers at homeless services nonprofit join DTLA-based union
February 24, 2026 // The union is one of the largest in Southern California, with more than 100,000 members. It represents employees in sectors such as foster care, mental health and law enforcement, including workers with Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and Step Up on Second.
No love lost at JBS: Greeley meatpackers spend Valentine’s Day preparing to strike
February 17, 2026 // Workers vote 99% to authorize a walkout, saying what they want most is safety and respect as talks resume Friday, Feb. 20
SF Ghirardelli workers hold Valentine’s Day strike outside iconic chocolate and ice cream shop
February 17, 2026 // Employees picketed all day Saturday at Ghirardelli's longtime ice cream and chocolate shop at Ghirardelli Square. Union workers want a new contract with better wages and the ability to keep their current union health plan. The one-day picket line got lots of attention outside Ghirardelli's famous chocolate and ice cream shop. It's no coincidence this labor action is happening on one of the busiest days for chocolate.
Teachers strike ends after union, district reach tentative deal
February 16, 2026 // • An 8.5% raise over two years for classified employees such as paraeducators, and a 5% raise over two years for teachers and certificated employees. • Local property-tax revenue will fund health care at Kaiser Permanente rates for union members’ families starting July 1, and health care for unionized employees starting Jan. 1, 2027. • Relief for special educators that include raising overage pay and reduced caseloads for certain programs.
Academic showdown: NYU professors launch strike authorization vote
February 4, 2026 // Contract Faculty United-UAW (CFU-UAW) said it would open the strike voting on Feb. 9, with balloting continuing through Feb. 20. The union represents close to 950 full-time non-tenure track professors and librarians across 12 New York University (NYU) schools, accounting for roughly half of the higher-education facility’s full-time faculty.
Why SAG-AFTRA’s 2026 Contract Talks Matter for Los Angeles and the Business of Hollywood
January 29, 2026 // Artificial intelligence looms as perhaps the most complex issue on the table. Advances in voice replication, digital doubles and performance synthesis have raised concerns that actors’ likenesses could be reused without meaningful consent or compensation. Astin characterized AI as an immediate labor issue rather than a speculative one, particularly in a market like Los Angeles, where background performers, day players and voice actors form a large part of the workforce.