Posts Tagged: workers

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.

Opinion

Defined benefit pensions crucial for economic health

Couple enjoying a lake in Rancho Santa Margarita, Orange County.(Photo: VG Photo, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: As Americans confront the effects of a K-shaped recovery that is further enriching the wealthy even as low- and-middle income workers struggle to stay afloat, the chasm between Wall Street and Main Street has never seemed wider. Finding ways to bridge that chasm remains one of this nation’s greatest economic challenges.

News

Proposition 22: California’s new labor landscape

A food delivery worker arrives at a customer's house. (Photo: Simone Hogan, via Shutterstock)

As the new year gets under way, the most significant changes in years to the state’s labor law are in effect. The landmark ballot initiative, Proposition 22, favored by six out of 10 voters in November, defines the future of “gig work” in California. It took effect just weeks ago.

News

The young health care workers killed by COVID-19

Siblings Jasmine and Josh Obra both tested positive for COVID-19 on the same day. Only one of them survived. (The Obra family)

Jasmine Obra believed that if it wasn’t for her brother Joshua, she wouldn’t exist. When 7-year-old Josh realized that his parents weren’t going to live forever, he asked for a sibling so he would never be alone. By spring 2020, at ages 29 and 21, Josh and Jasmine shared a condo in Anaheim, California, not far from Disneyland, which they both loved.

Opinion

Childcare in a locked-down world

Youngsters at play in a kindergarten.. Photo: Robert Kneschke, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: A recent television news headline asked, “Can day cares stay open amid coronavirus outbreak?” The answer has been confusing to many – school are closed, shouldn’t childcare centers be, too? Why are these groups of people okay but not others? What about the safety of the kids and staff?

News

CSU faculty, workers air concerns

Students heading to classes at San Diego State. (Photo: Pictor Picture, via Shutterstock)

The fiscal outlook at California State University is good and the sprawling, 23-campus system that serves nearly a half-million students is in the midst of expansion. But there appear to be segments of CSU that aren’t all that happy — the faculty and the university’s workers.

News

Temps suffer higher injury rates than permanent workers

PriorityWorkForce office in Santa Ana. (Photo: Eli Wolfe, FairWarning)

Last October, Erick Solis, a 19-year-old temp worker at a Los Angeles food company, lost two fingers when his hand got caught in an unguarded dough-rolling machine. Cal/OSHA, the state job safety agency, cited the company, JSL Foods Inc., for willful violations because an almost identical accident had happened before

News

As economy surges, a dramatic drop in workers on disability

Tens of thousands of Californians have come off the Social Security disability payroll and gone back to work, part of a national trend that reflects a surging U.S. economy, a shift toward less conventional work and tighter supervision of what qualifies a worker for disability benefits.

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