Posts tagged Oakland
5 largest healthcare strikes in 2026, involving 76,000 workers
August 7, 2026 // Healthcare strikes in 2026 have drawn in tens of thousands of workers across hospitals, health systems and home care settings, with disputes centering on wages, staffing and contract terms. Becker’s has tracked 17 strikes so far this year.
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.”
Workers at Berkeley’s Graduate by Hilton hotel push to unionize
July 22, 2026 // “UC Berkeley makes up a huge amount of its business, whether directly or indirectly,” she said. “The trends here really are very different than the rest of the industry.” Trevor Jackson, co-chair of the UC Berkeley Faculty Association, said he was invited to join the protest. He said he knows the university does a lot of business with the hotel and he wanted to support its workers. “I’m a professor of history and I will tell you history is on your side,” Jackson told picketers. “We got your back.” Maricela Castro told the group through a Spanish translator she has worked at the hotel for 30 years. She said she’s a room attendant who makes $23 an hour and feels like she does the work of two people.
Commentary: California Unions Prioritize Left-Wing Ideology Over Workers
April 16, 2026 // Undeterred, SEIU 1021 gave the former mayor $50,000 to fight the recall—despite the FBI’s having already raided her home. Rank-and-file members were likely stunned by the union’s support for a mayor widely rejected by the very communities whom they claim to represent. In November, Thao was recalled, with some 60 percent of voters supporting her ouster. Thao is just one of the hard-left politicians that SEIU 1021 has supported. The union also backed Oakland councilmember Carroll Fife, who ran for city council in 2020 with hopes of “eliminat[ing] racial disparities” and defunding the police. Per my earlier reporting, SEIU 1021 contributed $235,000 to her city council campaign.
Twin Rivers, Natomas strike plans are tied to a larger statewide push
March 8, 2026 // The collaboration is part of a campaign known as “We Can’t Wait,” in which 32 union districts are working together to negotiate with their respective districts, with some coordinating contracts to expire at the same time. Teacher labor tensions have been building across California in recent months. According to Goldberg, teachers in Los Angeles, Oakland, and West Sacramento voted overwhelmingly to authorize strikes.
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.”
Oakland Schools, Teachers Union Reach Deal, Avert Strike
March 1, 2026 // Last summer, it just regained local control after 20 years in state receivership. Without factoring in the price of the new deal, OUSD is eyeing $102 million in cuts by June. Interim Superintendent Denise Saddler told the school board this week that without those reductions, “we won’t be able to pay all the people on our payroll in the fall. We don’t have the money in the budget for next year.” On Wednesday, OUSD approved cutting nearly 400 staff positions, including 180 filled by OEA members, through early retirement buyouts, elimination of vacant positions, and layoffs. Altogether, that is estimated to save about $11 million annually
Unhappy deal: McDonald’s workers strike after Oakland restaurant announces closure
December 1, 2025 // Throughout the afternoon, chants in Spanish echoed across the corner of Jackson and 14th Street. Daisy Gomez, one of the union's organizers, led call-and-response chants into a megaphone while fellow strikers held up their colorful protest signs in the iconic red and yellow colors of the restaurant. "Trabajadores unidos, jamas sera vencido! McDonald's, escucha, estamos en la lucha!" said Gomez passionately.
The 15 Most Unionized Places in America
October 16, 2025 // To determine the most unionized locations in the U.S., researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed data from UnionStats.com and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The researchers ranked metropolitan statistical areas according to total union members as a percentage of total employment. In addition to union membership, the researchers also included statistics on union representation, which is the share of workers whose terms of work are collectively negotiated (whether or not they are union members). Only metropolitan statistical areas with available data were included in the analysis.
PENNSYLVANIA: Nurses last week voted 402-305 to join the union.
August 28, 2025 // Nurses, elected officials and more will rally at 1pm today at Zulema Parklet, across from Magee, urging the health care giant to begin contract talks without further delays. Roughly 60 advanced practitioners at the hospital, from nurse practitioners to midwives, will hold their own union vote on Sept. 6 and 9.