Posts tagged Los Angeles
Commentary: For Teachers’ Unions, Strikes Are the New Normal
February 19, 2024 // Meanwhile, students trapped in blue states – or blue cities – effectively run by teachers’ union political power, remained hostages to the demands of even more funding, hazard pay, increased “teacher work periods,” etc. In many cases, the demands even included political concessions like guaranteed housing and expanding Medicare for All. Don’t forget: Some teachers’ unions had to issue reminders for teachers not to post vacation pictures while the schools were closed. Because let’s call a spade a spade: The teachers’ unions used the COVID pandemic as history’s largest and longest strike, during which they tried to exact concessions they would have never achieved at a normal negotiating table.
Journalists turn to picket lines as the news business ails
February 16, 2024 // At the L.A. Times, where Schleuss got his start as a labor activist, owner Soon-Shiong made deep cuts last June and again last month, saying he is losing tens of millions of dollars a year on the paper. He says the union's refusal to give him greater leeway in making job cuts in January forced him to lay off more journalists. He had offered buyouts in exchange for relaxing protections by seniority. The union instead went out on strike.
Striking Workers Battle Hotel Owned By Union Pension Fund
February 16, 2024 // Unite Here had strategically lined up its hotel contracts to expire at the same time to increase its leverage with the industry. The unusually tight labor market has also buoyed unions more generally in their recent contract fights, with low unemployment making it harder for employers to replace workers on the cheap.
The Restaurant Group Behind a Popular Downtown Hotel Closes Five Restaurants, Lays Off 100 Unionizing Employees
February 14, 2024 // Through Unite Here Local 11, the hotel’s restaurant and bar workers filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in January 2024 that accused Noble 33 of suppressing labor organizing among its staff. According to the report, “Noble 33 contends that its contract with Hotel Figueroa stipulates that the unionization of food and beverage employees would trigger a kill clause between both parties.” However, Hotel Figueroa and Unite Here Local 11 deny this claim.
OPINION: The SEIU’s fake fast food union
February 12, 2024 // Struggling at the national level, the union turned to its legislative allies in California. It worked for several years to enact the so-called “Fast Recovery Act,” a scheme to create a new council that would regulate wages and working conditions for fast-food workers. The idea: Save the union the unproductive hassle of signing up new workers, and instead make all of them subject to a union-controlled government board. Though it took the union two legislative sessions to pass it, over fierce resistance from restaurants, it eventually got to the Governor’s desk in 2022. He signed it on Labor Day that year.
Restaurant workers wanted to unionize at this L.A. hotel. Now the restaurants are closing
February 5, 2024 // The case is playing out at the Hotel Figueroa in downtown, home of Sparrow Italia, Cafe Fig, Bar Magnolia, the Cafeteria and La Casita at Driftwood. The historic building has for the last two decades built a following for its Mediterranean-inspired space and stylish dining rooms, but behind closed doors, tension has loomed between the third-party management company behind the restaurants, called Noble 33, and the estimated 100 food and beverage workers who run them. Discontent between Noble 33 and its employees at Hotel Figueroa started soon after the hospitality group took over food and beverage operations for the hotel in 2021, according to workers and union organizers who spoke with The Times.
The Onion Union Gets Strike Authorization, Accuses G/O Media Of Bad Faith Bargaining Through “Threatening And Intimidating Behavior”
February 5, 2024 // In addition to pay increases, the Onion Union is seeking contractual protections in the event that the company is sold. This comes after the union hit back at G/O Media management after the closure of Jezebel in November, writing in a statement at the time, “our hostile and incompetent management made no effort to work with the union to find a less cruel alternative arrangement…” The union is also seeking improved severance given the ongoing layoffs, as well as basic protections against AI — another area in which employees throughout the company are speaking from experience, given G/O Media previously published AI-generated articles on several of its sites, much to the ire of the staff.
Commentary: How The Teachers Unions Embed Socialism Into Their Contracts
January 28, 2024 // This new, covert strategy, hidden in plain sight, allows state and municipal officials to create sweeping policy changes that evade the scrutiny typically associated with customary legislative procedures, which include publicly available draft legislation, committee hearings, amendments and comprehensive floor debates. In Boston, teachers’ union president Jessica Tang announced they secured “an unprecedented $50 million to commence bolstering the affordable housing that Boston students and families require.” Similarly, Los Angeles teachers incorporated “housing justice provisions” into their contracts.
Strikes Drop LA Film/TV Production to Near Record Lows
January 22, 2024 // Feature film production also dropped steeply last quarter, with a 57.5% decrease to 323 SD. Most Feature projects in production this summer were smaller, independent productions, among a few moving forward under SAG-AFTRA interim agreements. Three independent Features in production last quarter were associated with the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program; the films Hurricana, Shell and Starstruck together generated a total of 28 SD. Unaffected by the strikes but trending lower due to runway production, filming for web and television Commercials slipped last quarter with a 9.9% YoY drop to 746 SD. Commercials made in LA included automobile ads for BMW, Chevy, Honda, Lincoln, Nissan and Toyota. Retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart and Walgreens also shot spots locally.
A Seat at the Table: Physicians Have Been Unionizing in Droves
January 3, 2024 // Mugdha Mokashi, MD, a second-year ob/gyn resident, emphasized that residents and fellows often take care of patients with the greatest needs and the fewest resources. "This is about having a seat at the table" to help make decisions that affect working conditions for residents and fellows, as well as others, including nurses and midwives, Mokashi told MedPage Today, adding that the people "directly responsible for making patient care better" should hold power within an institution.