Posts tagged Los Angeles
CALIFORNIA: Unions opposing Trump agenda pouring money into Proposition 50 campaign
October 27, 2025 // Besides opposing pleas from former President Obama and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state’s powerful, left-leaning labor unions are another factor that may influence the outcome of the Nov. 4 special election. Unions representing California school teachers, carpenters, state workers and nurses have plowed more than $23 million into efforts to pass Proposition 50, according to an analysis of campaign finance disclosure reports about donations exceeding $100,000. That’s nearly one-third of the six-figure donations reported through Thursday. Not only do these groups have major interests in the state capitol, including charter school reform, minimum wage hikes and preserving government healthcare programs, they also are deeply aligned with efforts by Gov. Gavin Newsom and his fellow Democrats to put their party in control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 election.
Turbulence at LAX: Union Revolt Against Airport Police Chief Cecil Rhambo Exposes Leadership Crisis Ahead of World Cup and Olympics
October 20, 2025 // Union leaders argue that while executive pay has ballooned, front-line officers are left to shoulder the burden with minimal resources. LAAPOA noted that morale and recruitment are at all-time lows even as top administrators enjoy salary hikes. Meanwhile, passenger satisfaction scores have dropped, and incidents requiring police response are rising. “Rhambo’s leadership is not only ineffective—it’s dangerous,” said one veteran officer. “When the Olympics arrive, the global spotlight will expose just how broken things are behind the scenes.”
Los Angeles Times Journalists Authorize a Strike
October 14, 2025 // Eighty-five percent of members who belong to the newsroom’s union and participated in the vote opted to allow the labor group to call a strike. The union, a Local of the Media Guild of the West, represents more than 200 reporters, editors, photographers, designers and others at L.A.’s hometown paper. Around 98 percent of those participated in the vote.
Mayor Bass signs agreement to avert layoffs of LA municipal employees
September 25, 2025 // In April, the mayor had proposed more than 1,600 layoffs as part of an effort to eliminate a nearly $1 billion budget deficit caused by overspending, skyrocketing liability payouts, lower-than-expected tax revenues, and a weakening economy, among other challenges. The number of layoffs was later reduced to 600 after budget maneuvering by the City Council. The heads of city departments were able to fill vacancies with current employees. The city got creative in shuffling city employees around .
California Uber and Lyft drivers closer to being able to unionize after crucial vote
September 12, 2025 // Uber called the deal a “compromise,” but a spokesperson would not answer CalMatters’ question about whether the company commits to bargaining in good faith if the drivers vote to form a union. Lyft also expressed support for the deal, but a spokesperson for the company would not comment on the unionization bill. There’s even more political intrigue surrounding the unionization bill: A new lawsuit filed by Rivas’s former press secretary, Cynthia Moreno, alleges Rivas made a deal with the Service Employees International Union over the unionization bill in exchange for its support for the state Democrats’ redistricting effort that will go before voters in November.
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.
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.
Labor Day 2025: More protests than parades and picnics
August 20, 2025 // But the biggest blowout, organizers hope, is going to be on Labor Day itself. Local events can be found at MayDayStrong.org. There is also a toolkit for event hosts and organizers to coordinate their actions. The organizers hope to exceed the estimated five million people who hit the streets on No Kings Day back in April. The key demands at all the protests will be: “stop the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration, protect and defend Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs for working people,” plus “fully funded schools, and healthcare and housing for all.” Marchers will also demand the Trump regime “stop the attacks on immigrants, Black, indigenous, trans people, and all our communities and invest in people, not wars.”
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.
Op-ed: Is anyone in charge of Los Angeles?
August 12, 2025 // LWithin days, the LA Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress — whose $3 million budget comes primarily from Delta Airlines, United Airlines and the American Hotel & Lodging Association — filed paperwork to put a citizen’s-veto referendum before voters in 2026. (Plummer is among the small businesspeople listed as the measure’s official proponents.) It would take 92,000 signatures to reach the ballot, but just filing the referendum had an immediate impact: delaying implementation of the law’s first planned pay increase on July 1, to $22.50 per hour. Frustrated by the possibility that years of lobbying could be wiped away with a corporate-backed campaign, organized labor launched a counteroffensive. In June, Unite Here Local 11 — which represents 32,000 workers across Southern California hotels, airports and sports arenas — filed a package of four ballot initiatives.