Posts tagged San Diego
Opinion: California’s Kitchen Nightmare: Union Demands Rise as Enrollment Falls
March 20, 2026 // Even though public school enrollment has fallen sharply since the pandemic, most California districts have continued adding staff. Now teachers unions are pressing districts to commit to more expensive labor contracts, even as the funding they receive remains tied to the number of students they serve. Earlier this month, teachers in two Sacramento-area school districts walked off the job after contract negotiations stalled, bringing the number of teacher strikes in California to six this school year. And more may be on the way. Unions in Los Angeles and Berkeley have already authorized strikes if negotiations fail. These strikes are not isolated incidents. They are part of a coordinated statewide pressure campaign by the California Teachers Association (CTA) called “We Can’t Wait,”
San Francisco Teachers Walk Out for the First Time Since 1979
February 10, 2026 // David Goldberg, the California Teachers Association president, said that teachers have watched their colleagues win sizable pay increases by going on strike. Teachers in Richmond, Calif., across the bay from San Francisco, negotiated an 8 percent raise over two years after a nearly weeklong strike in December. “Folks, frankly, are learning from each other,” Mr. Goldberg said in an interview. “It’s something we’ve never done, and it’s a very exciting model for how to really build power in a huge state like ours.”
Educators push for improved special education staffing in San Diego schools
January 11, 2026 // Representing 6,000 SDUSD educators, the San Diego Education Association (SDEA) voted to go on strike on Feb. 26. Educators said special education classes are severely understaffed, alleging an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge. SDUSD schools will be closed on Feb. 26. for student safety and supervision, according to the district. “Closing schools for one day will ensure that students are not placed in situations where adequate supervision, instructional continuity, and campus safety cannot be reliably maintained,” SDUSD Superintendent Fabi Bagula shared in a statement.
1,500 Rady Children’s Hospital workers unionize
January 7, 2026 // According to the NLRB, 1,110 ballots were cast, with 564 workers voting in favor and 546 against. The vote covers approximately 1,500 nonclinical workers, including environmental services attendants, patient care assistants, medical assistants, patient access representatives, food service workers and medical interpreters.
UCSD Preuss School teachers strike over alleged unfair labor practices
December 17, 2025 // The Preuss School is a charter middle and high school operated by the University of California, San Diego to help low-income students go to college. UC-AFT, the union representing the educators, shared teachers are striking from Tuesday to Wednesday to get a contract that gives Preuss staff the same benefits as other San Diego Unified schools
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.
Walking Dead Production Driver Defends Victory over Teamsters for Unlawful Discrimination in Rigged “Hiring Hall”
September 2, 2025 // Virginia-based driver asks National Labor Relations Board to order notification and compensation of other victims of Teamsters’ discriminatory scheme
How affordable housing in National City became a cash machine for San Diego County labor unions
July 9, 2025 // Public records show these same union leaders, who manage the coalition and the apartments, also direct political action committees that help channel rent and laundry payments into various political causes. Since 2016, about 11 cents of every dollar collected from tenants has been used to influence elections for city councils and school boards across the region, finance ballot initiatives that advance labor interests and pay these same union leaders six-figure salaries.
AFSCME union organizes state-wide rally over UC patient care contract
October 15, 2024 // Employees at the UCI Health Lakewood and Placentia Linda hospitals picketed similarly in front of their workplaces. Rallies were held simultaneously at all 10 UC campuses, including UC San Francisco and the UC San Diego, UC Davis and UCLA medical centers. Participants at UCI gathered at 8:30 a.m. to protest an ongoing impasse between the union and the UC system on negotiations for patient care technical and service employees, according to an Oct. 9 press release from AFSCME Local 3299.
Union workers at Hawaii’s largest hotel go on strike
September 26, 2024 // Around 2,000 hotel workers went on strike Tuesday at the world’s largest Hilton hotel and the biggest hotel in Hawaii Unionized workers at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort — the largest Hilton in the world — began an open-ended strike at 5 a.m. They are calling for conditions including higher wages, more manageable workloads and a reversal of cuts implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic such as limited daily room cleaning.