Posts tagged Los Angeles
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass sends letter to USC president urging administration to drop appeal and allow faculty to unionize
September 7, 2026 // Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told USC President Beong-Soo Kim she was “concerned” by their move to ask the National Labor Relations Board to evaluate whether university faculty had a right to form a union in a letter Sept. 1.
NBA Docks Clippers’ Draft Picks, Suspends Ballmer in Cap Caper
September 3, 2026 // Article XIII of the CBA prohibits salary-cap circumvention, meaning arrangements by teams to compensate players outside their employment contracts. If teams find ways to compensate players outside the cap, they have engaged in cheating—not only because they have violated rules they agreed to follow, but also because such conduct undermines fair play and gives those teams an unfair advantage over their competitors. This isn’t the first time the NBA has imposed a five-draft-pick penalty for salary-cap circumvention. In 1999, then-NBA commissioner David Stern ordered the forfeiture of five first-round picks from the Minnesota Timberwolves and imposed a $3.5 million fine for a salary-cap scheme (the NBA later restored two of the forfeited picks, so the ultimate penalty was loss of first-round picks in 2001, 2002 and 2004).
Uber drivers say Waymo robotaxis are driving down their pay
August 31, 2026 // The Atlanta Rideshare Drivers Union is claiming that drivers have reported lower pay, longer waits between rides, and fewer fares since Waymo began offering its service in the city last June, Axios reports. As such, the union is calling on city and state leaders to curb Waymo’s expansion — and to consider some measures to easen its disruptive effects on their livelihoods.
Uber drivers won a 12-year fight to unionize. Robots have already taken the wheel
August 19, 2026 // It’s a real victory for their cause, but in the years since drivers began organizing, the ride-hail industry has entered a new era. Robotaxis, once a bug-faced curiosity(opens in new tab), are shaping up to be an existential threat to human rideshare drivers. Experts disagree on the pace and scale of the labor transition, and policymakers are crafting regulations that may bear down on the autonomous vehicle industry. However, there are some warning signs in early-adopter cities. In San Francisco, Uber saw utilization and hourly earnings decline in 2025, it says.
Opinion: George F. Will: Chicagoans are getting fed up with the city’s teachers union
August 14, 2026 // At more than 50 Chicago schools, the percent of students achieving math proficiency is 0.
Thousands of LAUSD workers face layoffs that didn’t have to happen
August 12, 2026 // In a seven-page July letter, the Los Angeles County Office of Education appointed a fiscal expert to work with the district and scolded officials for signing $1.2 billion in collective bargaining agreements earlier this year and drawing down from a fund for retiree health benefits, against the advice of its own fiscal advisor. “The Board’s decision to override its own staff’s fiscal advice raises serious concern about the District’s willingness and ability to execute its financial stabilization plan with fidelity,” the county wrote.
Op-ed: Los Angeles Schools Run Out of Other People’s Money
August 11, 2026 // Covid dollars from Washington turbocharged hiring at public schools and papered over their structural budget problems. But now that the federal money is drying up, the red ink is starting to gush. According to the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report on Friday, local government education shed 49,600 jobs in July—the leading contributor to the nation’s 23,000 employment decline. Ground zero is the Los Angeles Unified School District, the country’s second largest. Its overseers at the Los Angeles County Office of Education last month warned that the district meets the criteria for a “Lack of Going Concern” designation. In the business world, the terminology means a company is at risk of going bankrupt.
Op-ed:Will Swaim: California schools turn to child sacrifice
August 7, 2026 // This was no accident. Sacrificing their younger union members in order to boost the pay of the older members is a key part of the union playbook – and the predictable outcome of state law commonly known as “LIFO,” or “last in, first out.” It’s buried in California Education Code section 44955, a single phrase that lays out the order of layoffs in any financial crisis: “employees shall be terminated in the inverse of the order in which they were employed.” Many younger teachers say they did not know about LIFO. “We’re pretty shocked,” said a two-year Los Angeles teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity. She said the general feeling among young teachers is “betrayal.” “We supported the bargaining team throughout this process – stood out in the rain to protest and rallied online support for the new contract,” she said. “No one, not even once, told me this could happen.”
LAUSD deadline looms to make painful cuts after county says board actions ‘erode confidence’
July 20, 2026 // The county rejected the plan, saying it lacked specificity and necessitates “an elevated level of fiscal oversight.” Among a list of eight acute budget issues, the July 2 letter faulted the L.A. Unified Board of Education for: Approving costly labor contracts exemplifying “mismanagement of the collective bargaining process.” A failure to carry out earlier approved budget cuts that “erodes confidence.” Raiding funds from a health benefits trust against “its own staff’s fiscal advice.” As a result of these and other district actions, Duardo said, L.A. Unified faces a cash shortfall of $231 million by November 2027, increasing to a $3.5-billion deficit by June 30, 2029.
Alameda Belt Line informs workers of plans to take over rail service at LA, Long Beach ports
July 16, 2026 // ABL says it anticipates offering employment to all active PHL employees who are members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. It will honor the remainder of the current agreement between Pacific Harbor Line and the BLET, provided that the employees select the BLET as their representative under the new operator. The company says it also anticipates offering approximately 41 non-BLET management and administrative positions, with current PHL management employees eligible to apply.