News
Freshman files: Assemblymember Liz Ortega
Labor unions have been at the center of Assemblymember Liz Ortega’s life since early childhood and the centerpiece of her career.
Labor unions have been at the center of Assemblymember Liz Ortega’s life since early childhood and the centerpiece of her career.
A recent dustup with the California Republican Party using unofficial dropboxes as a version of so-called “ballot harvesting” has brought the state’s ballot delivery process under a national spotlight. Much of this controversy can be attributed to the misleading way in which the law has been interpreted, most commonly by people who are trying to conjure up scandal and supposed misdeeds by campaigns that organize such efforts and win.
Proposition 22 has ignited the most expensive ballot proposition fight in California history, exemplifying the emerging 21st century battle of traditional employment-vs.-the gig economy. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is poised to weigh in.
Kidney dialysis may sound like an odd topic for a California ballot proposition, but voters will tangle with the issue on Nov. 3 — for the second time.The basic fight over Proposition 23 is between organized labor, which favors the initiative, and the dialysis clinic industry, which is opposed. Surrounding the debate are questions of medical care quality, clinic staffing, access, and costs.
Robbie Hunter started his career as a steelworker, but his labor bonafides go deeper than that: His great-grandfather was an Irish labor organizer and steeplejack who helped build the Titanic.
California labor confronted major challenges last year but responded with frenetic organizing and a newfound aggressiveness—momentum unions hope to maintain in 2019. As 2018 opened, California had 2.49 million union members, roughly 15.5 percent of the state’s official working population