Posts tagged San Francisco
Unions sue over Trump’s ‘illegal’ plan to fire many federal workers in a shutdown
October 2, 2025 // The suit, which was filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, involves the groups Democracy Forward and the State Democracy Defenders Fund. The court docket did not immediately reflect which judge would handle the case, which names Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought as a defendant.
The Castro’s central Starbucks — ‘Bearbucks’ — shutters abruptly
September 27, 2025 // Affectionately known as “Bearbucks” — owing to the prevalence of LGBTQ+ customers — that location was the first Starbucks in the city to unionize, during a nationwide push in 2022. At the time, workers cited difficulties at the cafe during and after the pandemic, including a four-month closure for plumbing issues. Citing declining sales, the company has shuttered at least six cafes in San Francisco in the past year, most of them downtown.
SEIU Local 87 Tied to Anti-ICE Riots Hired Sex Offender to Top Role
September 23, 2025 // The SEIU labor union’s San Francisco chapter hired a convicted sex offender to a top position after she served jail time for child sexual abuse at a California high school with four underage boys. The House Education and Workforce Committee just sent a letter Monday to SEIU Local 87, a San Francisco labor union which hired Noelia Linares, the convicted sex offender, as a business agent.
Workers at 4 Popular Bay Area Rock Climbing Gyms Win Unionization Vote
September 11, 2025 // Workers at some of the Bay Area’s most popular rock climbing gyms have voted to unionize, joining colleagues at five gyms in Southern California that are in contract negotiations with their employer, Touchstone Climbing. Employees of Mission Cliffs and Dogpatch Boulders in San Francisco, as well as The Studio in San Jose and Diablo Rock Gym in Concord, won their unionization votes on Monday night.
Court allows Trump to end union bargaining for federal workers
August 5, 2025 // Trump's order exempted more than a dozen federal agencies from obligations to bargain with unions. They include the Departments of Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, and Health and Human Services.
Commentary California’s $20 Minimum Wage Is a Cautionary Tale for Los Angeles’ Olympic-Sized Wage Hike
July 22, 2025 // In a classic case of central planning, lawmakers in Los Angeles passed a bill in May to bring the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 by 2028, while also imposing a new $8.25 per hour mandatory health care contribution. Implementation of that bill is currently on hold as the city clerk reviews the signatures of a referendum petition that would bring the bill to a public vote in June 2026. Los Angeles’ sector-specific wage hike follows on the heels of California’s statewide $20 minimum wage mandate for fast-food workers that went into effect in April 2024. The consequences of that wage hike on the fast-food industry should be a warning sign to Los Angeles, especially as it prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics. Crucial to the success of those Olympic games will be the capability of the city’s hotels and its Los Angeles International Airport to serve an estimated 15 million visitors.
Supreme Court clears way for Trump to downsize the federal workforce
July 10, 2025 // The labor unions and nonprofit groups that sued over the downsizing offered the justices several examples of what would happen if it were allowed to take effect, including cuts of 40% to 50% at several agencies. Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco were among cities that also sued. “Today’s decision has dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy. This decision does not change the simple and clear fact that reorganizing government functions and laying off federal workers en masse haphazardly without any congressional approval is not allowed by our Constitution,” the parties that sued said in a joint statement.
Editorial: Unionizing Uber and Lyft drivers may speed up their robotic replacement
July 2, 2025 // Here’s the issue for drivers. Labor talks are playing out as Uber and its competitors are investing heavily in driverless vehicles, just like Tesla. Uber isn’t hiding that future. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi even told The Wall Street Journal this year he expects AVs to gradually overtake human drivers.
Oakland children’s hospital workers end strike after judge denies injunction
June 30, 2025 // Employees at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland will be back at work on Monday after deciding to end their strike. According to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, a federal judge denied their request to stop UCSF Health from proceeding to cancel union contracts.
S.F. union members arrested after halting City Hall meeting with rowdy protest
June 19, 2025 // About 100 demonstrators chanted loudly, forcing the Board of Supervisors to go on recess about 30 minutes into its 2 p.m. regular meeting. Protesters continued for nearly two hours before police warned them to leave and then started detaining some demonstrators. The board resumed its meeting around 4 p.m. Organized labor groups decried Lurie’s plan to eliminate around 100 filled jobs as well as hundreds of vacant positions — while retaining roughly 33,000 employees. They also object to his plans to slash $185 million in nonprofit and contract funding and impose other austerity measures to close a roughly $800 million deficit. Unions are demanding that the mayor slash more “wasteful” private contracts and reduce what they say is “top-heavy” management while retaining those 100 filled jobs.