Posts Tagged: workers

News

UC’s academic union workers in week two of strike

Strikers and their allies at a Nov. 16 rally on the campus of UC Davis. (Photo: David Kn, via Shutterstock)

About 48,000 academic union workers at the University of California are in the second week of a strike at UC’s 10 campuses, from San Diego north to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. They walked off their jobs on Nov. 14 amid complaints of unfair labor practices, an action that closed some classrooms and research labs.

Opinion

Proposed ‘FAST Act’ directly assaults CA’s restaurant industry

Diners at an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles, (Photo: The Image Party, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The California Legislature is back in session after its annual summer recess, and over the course of this month, there will be hearings on hundreds of measures. Those include one that is a direct assault on the restaurant industry, as well as working families dealing with the dramatic rise in costs for the goods and services they rely on.

News

Amid policy and pandemic, will California employment rebound?

A worker inspects planks at a California timber yard. (Photo: sirtravelalot, via Shutterrstock)

The year 2021 was a long year battling COVID-19. As coronavirus restrictions ease under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s SMARTER Plan in 2022, we turn to the Golden State’s labor market. Is it on track to rebound to its pre-pandemic shape? Here are the employment numbers, then and now.

News

California College of Art workers go on strike 

Workers at the Caliornia College of the Arts walking a picket line. (Photo: SEIU Local 1021)

California College of the Arts employees with the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 went on strike today (Feb. 8) at the private college’s Oakland and San Francisco campuses. The CCA strike is the first such labor action at a private college in California since a brief a one-day work stoppage at Pepperdine 46 years ago.

Opinion

‘FAST recovery’ plan would cripple franchise businesses

A food court in a popular shopping mall offering a variety of brands. (Photo, Thiti Sukapan, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The franchise model, whereby a brand and business are developed by a franchisor and a franchisee pays for the right to distribute products and services based on the model, is a time-honored way of achieving success. From auto repair (Meineke Car Care Centers) to childcare (Kiddie Academy), the franchise model meets the needs of a community with a known and trusted brand.

Opinion

Big Tech’s assault on workers and democracy must be stopped

Workers at a February 2021 demonstration protesting Amazon's policies. (Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Our nation finds itself at a major crossroads. The anti-democratic forces that have sought to delegitimize the 2020 presidential election continue their movement to attack free and fair elections, aided and abetted by companies like Google and Facebook.

Opinion

App-based services helped California survive the pandemic

An app-user types out an order on his hand-held device. (Photo: Billion Photos, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The economic devastation of the pandemic is well-chronicled. At its peak, more than two million Californians lost their jobs. In the wake of such devastation, a recent report found that app-based rideshare and food delivery platforms helped provide earnings for displaced or struggling workers, and helped keep many restaurants and retailers afloat.

Opinion

A deeper dive into California’s housing crisis

A wood frame of a house under construction in rural California. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock) Wood frame of house under construction, Lone Pine, CA

OPINION: When it comes to California’s housing crisis, policy makers have often taken the narrow approach of throwing money at efforts to boost supply of sub-market rate units, with comparatively little focus on the dynamics that are driving demand for low income housing.

News

Daybreak PAC hopes to push Legislature leftward

The state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Cassionhabib, via Shutterstock)

On March 23, about 80 people gathered on a Zoom call to launch Daybreak PAC, a political action committee aimed at moving the California Legislature to the left by supporting progressive candidates and policies. The PAC is headed by activist Jackie Fielder, an unsuccessful state Senate candidate who challenged incumbent Democrat Scott Wiener last year in San Francisco.

Opinion

Memo to Biden: Let’s rebuild infrastructure together

Workers repairing Polk Street near Pacific Avenue in San Francisco. (Photo: Susan Leg Anthony, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: President Biden wants America to Build Back Better — and we at the Associated Builders and Contractors Northern California (ABC NorCal) completely agree. The foundation for the country’s economic rebound will depend on the big infrastructure plans the president has for the country.

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