Posts tagged Rob Bonta
Will San Francisco Unions Go on Strike? Labor Fight Could Upend Mayor’s Race
January 16, 2024 // State Attorney General Rob Bonta, a likely candidate for California governor in 2026, mingled with guests who included top union reps for city firefighters, janitors and carpenters, along with District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and San Francisco Supervisors Shamann Walton and Ahsha Safaí. Former Mayor Willie Brown delivered remarks in his official role as San Francisco’s roastmaster general, and Daniel Lurie, a wealthy nonprofit founder who is running for mayor, also showed up to glad-hand. But one person was conspicuously absent: Mayor London Breed. While she was invited, the mayor’s appearance could have made for some awkward conversations—contracts for nearly three dozen public employee unions, not including police and firefighters, will expire this summer. Multiple labor leaders at the party said a nasty fight is brewing in San Francisco. The city is staring down a projected $800 million deficit over the next two years, meaning vacant jobs will be eliminated, contracts could be cut and services will likely diminish. Adding to the degree of difficulty in negotiations, a court ruling in 2023 has potentially opened the door for city workers to strike for the first time in more than four decades.
Opinion: Corruption thrives in a one-party state
February 16, 2023 // The 2021 annual report of the California Partners Project describes the organization as “partnered with” The Representation Project. The report notes that “partner is a power position” and vows “even closer collaboration with the Office of the First Partner” to “leverage all the resources we can muster….” There was a lot of harnessing and leveraging of the governor’s power to raise money through “behested payments,” a uniquely California form of legalized extortion. Elected officials are allowed to ask individuals, companies, unions or other entities to make a donation for a particular “charitable” or “governmental” purpose. “Behested payments” that total more than $5,000 in a year must be reported, but there is no ceiling on how much an official may request. Reports show that in 2021 and 2022, Gov. Newsom “behested” $1,671,680 for his wife’s California Partners Project.
LA County Sheriff’s employee sues union over inability to opt out of membership
June 1, 2022 // "The point here is that the union could have done the right thing at any time," Snowball added. "When he originally requested to get out, the union simply could have effectuated the card that he signed with them in the 1990s, let him out, but they decided not to. They decided to just string him along like they do employees all the time and not do anything until he sued them and filed a temporary restraining order in federal court."