The 80th Assembly District in California is one of the best pickup opportunities this year, and we have just the transformational candidate to make it happen. Manuel Pérez is a hands-on, no bs, Harvard-educated community organizer from the heart of the Coachella Valley, a direct, unapologetic progressive with experience in building a just and healthy society.  He won’t promise loyalty in Sacramento in exchange for support, he’s getting his mojo the time-honored way:  walking precincts, meeting with more union review committees, and he just participated in a podcast on Calitics.  

I’ve been posting on this race since last May, and have yet to compile the best quotes nor list the endorsers adequately.  Let’s kick it off with the  California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO:

Art Pulaski, Executive Secretary of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO:

Manuel Perez knows first hand the struggles of working families and will be a champion of healthcare, education and creating new jobs in the State Assembly.

What Folks Are Saying About Manuel Perez, Democrat for the 80th Assembly District:

(Update, CA Federation of Teachers’ just chimed in)

Marty Hittelman, President of the California Federation of Teachers:

Manuel Perez is a real education champion – he’s a former classroom teacher, earned a Masters in Education from Harvard University and serves as a school board member helping struggling schools to succeed. Manuel fights every day to give kids the educational tools they  need to succeed in life and in the workplace.

Steve Clute, Former California State Assemblyman:

(Perez) has the heart – corazón – and passion to truly represent the people.

Fred W. Lowe, Business Manager/Secretary Treasurer for Laborers’ Local 777:

He is a strong and clear voice for the communities he serves, and is willing to fight for fundamental rights; fair pay; fair treatment and justice; protections and security for our families; access to health care; better education and better working conditions for the residents of the 80th Assembly District.

Harvard Graduate School of Education, announcing Manuel Perez as a recipient of the HGSE Alumni of Color Achievement Award:  

Mr. Perez is being recognized for his work, which addresses issues of race and education in ways that offer new frames of thought and practice, and evidences a commitment to promote meaningful strategies to affect change and to improve educational opportunities for people of color.

David Dayen, blogger at Calitics, Hullaballoo, and The Right’s Field:

This is someone who hasn’t waited around for higher office to make a difference in his community; he’s rolled up his sleeves and dived in.  As a director for the Borrego Community Health Foundation, he’s created one of the first diabetes resource centers in the desert region and has delivered health services to underserved regions.  As a researcher for the California Institute for Rural Studies, he put together a groundbreaking study on women’s reproductive health issues in Imperial County, where women have little opportunities and resources to manage their own health.  With Promotores, he’s part of a group of community-based leaders devoted to teaching  about health issues and making sure people in the community get the facts about programs at their disposal.  As a schoolteacher he started his school’s first ever Chicano Studies program designed to allow students to learn history from their perspective.  With the Eastern Coachella Valley Social Change Collaborative, he identified farm workers living in the area and trained them to be community leaders themselves.  Believe it or not, he’s only 34.

…

Manuel Pérez is not only a perfect fit for this district, providing an opportunity to retake this seat and get us closer to 2/3.  He represents a new generation of Hispanic-Americans who are dedicated to working for change from the bottom up.  He would bring to Sacramento a unique set of skills, as someone who can build coalitions and train a group of leaders far into the future.  There are primary candidates on the Democratic side for this seat who appear to be very nice.  I don’t think anyone combines the résumé and the hope for the future more than Manuel Pérez.

Joe Murillo, President,  Coachella Valley Unified School District Board:

(Perez) likes to see improvement. He is not a man for the status quo.

Partial List of Endorsers:



California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

United Domestic Workers

California Teachers Association

SEIU State Council

Laborers (LIUNA)

California Nurses Association

AFSCME

California Medical Association

Former Congressman Esteban Torres, 34th Congressional District, California

Congressman John Conyers Jr. 14th Congressional District, Michigan

Congressman Raul Grijalva, 7th Congressional District, Arizona

State Senator Gloria Romero

Joe Coto, Assemblyman and Latino Caucus Chair

Steve Clute, Former Assemblyman and 80th AD Candidate, 2006

Tony Cardenas, Former Assemblyman, current Councilman City of Los Angeles

Paul M. Rasso, Candidate, 64th Assembly District

Victor Carrillo, Supervisor, Imperial County Board of Supervisors

Ray Castillo, Former Mayor, El Centro

Joel Perez, Former School Board Trustee, El Centro Elementary School District

George Nava, Council Member, City of Brawley

Chuck Valenzuela, Former Mayor and Treasurer, Brawley

Joe Murillo, President, Coachella Valley Unified School Board

Eduardo Garcia, Mayor, City of Coachella

Steve Hernandez, Council member, City of Coachella

Tim Brown, City Manager, City of Coachella

Steve Brown, Assistant City Manager, City of Coachella

Carlos Campos, Attorney, City of Coachella

Jackie Lopez, Executive Director, City of Coachella Chamber of Commerce

Carlos Ortega, City Manager, City of Palm Desert

Mike Wilson, Councilmember, City of Indio

Maria Machuca, Former Chair, Mecca Community Council

Sal Alejo, Member, Mecca Community Council

Jennifer Baker, President, California Latino School Board Association

Alice A. Huffman, President, California State Conf. of the NAACP

Fred Lowe, Union Rep., LIUNA, Laborer’s Local 777

Jose Mejia, Director, Laborer’s International Union of North America

Antonio Tirado, Chairman of the Imperial County Democratic Central Committee

Michael Rosenfeld, Former President, CVTA

Richard Razo, Union Rep, CVTA

Bonifacio Hernandez, Union Rep, CVTA

Dale Wissman, Union Rep, CSEA

Don MacCready, CSEA

Joe Mota, Former Director, UFW

Juan Carlos Sanchez, DSCC Delegate & Community Organizer

Beth Caskie,  local Democratic activist / DSCC Delegate for the 80th AD

Ruben Gonzalez, President, Coachella Valley Voters League

Inez Cardoza Freeman, Volunteer of the Year, Democrats of the Desert

Amalia DeAztlan, Delegate, National Democratic Committee

Jose Carmona, Principal, Verde Group, Sacramento, CA

Rafael Aguilera, Principal, Verde Group, Sacramento, CA

Orson Aguilar, Associate Director, Greenlining Institute, Berkeley, CA

Hector Preciado, Health Policy Director, Greenlining Institute, Berkeley, CA.

Eric Reyes, Executive Director, Institute for Social and Economic Justice, Brawley

Jesse G. Enriquez, President, Hidalgo Society, Brawley

Lupe Quintero, CRLA Lawyer, Imperial

Jesus Perez, Former Candidate for Superintendent of Public Schools, Imperial County

Arturo Encinas, President, MAPA, Calexico

Bill Hodge, Union Rep, Calexico

Beatriz O. Zayas, Mana member at-large, Calexico

Danny Santillan, Grassroots Organizer, Calexico

Morris Reisin, President, Chamber of Commerce, Calexico

Ruben Gonzales, Former President, Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, El Centro

Rodolfo Pinon, Grassroots Organizer, Blythe

Dan Figueroa, Grassroots Organizer, Blythe

Mike Figueroa, Grassroots Organizer, Blythe

Alfredo Figueroa, Grassroots Organizer, Blythe

Rosalio Plata, Businessman, Cathedral City

Fred Deharo, Former President, Coachella Valley Rotary, La Quinta

Maria Deharo, Director RCOE Migrant Education Program, La Quinta

Gilberto Salcedo, CEO Que Crees Magazine, La Quinta

Greg Cervantes, Tribal Issues Consultant, La Quinta

Martin Martinez, CVMACC Co-Founder & Community Activist, Indio

Nadia Villagran, Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, Indio

Mike Walsh, Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, Indio

Roger Larranaga, Azteca America, Indio

Claudia Castorena, Co-Founder Martha’s Kitchen, Indio

Gloria Gomez, Co-Founder Martha’s Kitchen, Indio

Carlos Gonzalez, Grassroots Organizer, Indio

David Skinner, Educator, Indio

Chris Cuahape, Grassroots Organizer, Indio

Tony Rubio, Grassroots Organizer, Indio

Edgar Zendejas, Grassroots Organizer, Coachella

Lee Espinoza, Executive Director, Coachella Boxing Club, Coachella

Sal Velasquez, Community Activist, Coachella

Mirna Flores, Executive Director, CET, Coachella

Maria Arcos, Executive Director, Senior Center, Coachella

Elvira Murillo, Executive Director, Vocation and Rehabilitation, Coachella

Abby Figueroa, Community Activist, Coachella

Juanita Godwin, Executive Director, Boys and Girls Club, Coachella

Emmanuel Martinez, Grassroots Organizer, Coachella

Jose Luis Huerta, Grassroots Organizer, Oasis

Anna Lisa Vargas, Grassroots Organizer, Thermal

Gina Chapa, Grassroots Organizer, Thermal

Roberto Palomino, Director, El Informador Newspaper, Indio

Leopoldo Trevino Sr. CEO, El Independiente Newspaper, Indio

Joe Beaver, Community Activist, Palm Springs

Freddy Nuñez, Grassroots Organizer, El Centro

Ron Amidon, Candidate for School Board, Calipatria

Dr. Gustavo Galindo, Professor & Grassroots Organizer, Calipatria

Antonio Ramos, Retired Probation and Grassroots Organizer, El Centro

Juan Arvizu, Probation Officer, Heber

Pete Salgado, Probation Officer, El Centro

Joe Arambula, Probation Officer, El Centro

Guillermo Niebla, Retired Probation Officer, El Centro

Alex Vasquez, Grassroots Organizer, Calexico

Jerry Grijalva, Grassroots Organizer, Calexico

Gilbert Grijalva, Grassroots Organizer, Calexico

Arturo Rioseco, Grassroots Organizer, Calexico

Margarita DeNecochea, Community Volunteer, Calexico

Guillermo Niebla, Community Activist, Calexico

Johnny Romo, Community Activist, Calexico

Last but not least, there’s a Binder poll out on the race, and it puts Manuel Perez as the strongest Democrat against the Republican opponent, beating him in the general.  May we see that come true this November.

Over the last three days, organized labor has been working in solidarity with one another in a project called Hollywood to the Docks, a three-day march and protest involving both Change to Win unions and AFL-CIO members, from the Teamsters to SAG, from the ILWU to the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports.  They’ve literally walked from the heart of Hollywood to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for the last three days, concluding with a concert on the docks tonight and appearances by Speaker-Elect Karen Bass and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Next Monday, April 21, will be a day of action across the state put together by a coalition called Students for California’s Future, representing 3.2 million students, with major rallies planned in Los Angeles and at the state capital.  They are rallying against cuts to education and the university system, and this will be just the beginning of a year-long effort to call attention to education funding.

And tomorrow, at 4:00 at the ABC/Disney headquarters in Burbank, in protest of the historically awful, content-free Democratic debate aired on ABC last night, the Courage Campaign and local LA activists are going to offer lapel pins to Disney employees.  Otherwise, their network news anchors George Stephanopolous and Charles Gibson will think they hate America, which they obviously wouldn’t want. (We’ll have a lot more on this later)

Angered by eight years of conservative failure and inspired by a fiercely contested Democratic primary, a rejeuvenated grassroots is building all over the country and in California.  Find an organization that speaks to you.  Participate.  Organize.  And inch by inch, we’re going to take this state and this country back.

Andy Stern’s SEIU International has gone and proven why RNs want nothing to do with.

Even though they’re providing the evidence for all the critiques of CNA/NNOC, today is a dark, dark day for the labor movement.  Last night, in Dearborn Michigan, at an annual conference of union activists, sponsored by the non-partisal Labor Notes SEIU resorted to violence to get their messages across.

I will link to the release and pictures after the release.

I’m sure SEIU will come on here with some crazy spin justifying their violence, but please first answer these questions:

1. Will SEIU pay the bill of the hospitalized worker?

2. Will Andy Stern promise to renounce violence?

3. Will you aplogize to all involved?

4. Will we see the same tactics in other venues?

I ask everyone reading this to go look at these two pictures: here and here.

That is the face of modern-day union thuggery.  

And now I’m posting below the press release put out by Labor Notes.  They only have a short blurb up on their site so far, but this release has been circulating, and I am going to post the whole thing:

April 12, 2008

SERVICE EMPLOYEES UNION ATTACKS LABOR GATHERING- CONFERENCE-GOERS ASSAULTED

Dearborn, MI-The Service Employees International Union turned their dispute with the California Nurses Association violent by attacking a labor conference April 12, injuring several and sending an American Axle striker to the hospital.

A recently retired member of United Auto Workers Local 235, Dianne Feeley, suffered a head wound after being knocked to the ground by SEIU International staff and local members. Other conference-goers-members of the Teamsters, UAW, UNITE HERE, International Longshoremen’s Association, and SEIU itself-were punched, kicked, shoved, and pushed to the floor. Dearborn police responded and evicted the three bus loads of SEIU International staff and members of local and regional health care unions. No arrests were made.

The assault took place at the Labor Notes conference, a biennial gathering of 1,100 union members and leaders who met to discuss strategies to rebuild the labor movement.

David Cohen, an international representative of the United Electrical Workers, asked protesters why they came. He said one responded, “they told us just to get on the bus.” The protesters included several members with young children, who had to be ushered away when SEIU tried to force their way into the conference banquet hall. Protesters were targeting Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the AFL-CIO-affiliated CNA. DeMoro was scheduled to speak but declined to appear after threats were made against her union’s leadership.

Despite being welcomed to the conference earlier in the day-and given space to debate supporters of the CNA and the National Nurses Organizing Committee about neutrality organizing agreements-SEIU international and regional staff shouted down speakers at workshops and panels throughout the event.

“Labor Notes has always been a space for open debate, but when a union decides to engage in violence against their brothers and sisters, we draw a line,” said Mark Brenner, director of Labor Notes. “Violence within the labor movement is unacceptable and we call on the national leadership of SEIU, including President Andy Stern, to repudiate it.”

For more information, contact Chris Kutalik 313-378-2588 or Mischa Gaus 773-627-3205  

By now you may feel like you’ve heard quite enough of the back-and-forth between SEIU and the CNA over union representation of nurses and healthcare workers in Ohio. You may have also heard that the dispute runs deep and wide and goes back years and across state lines into Nevada, California, Texas and several others, and that the encounters have become more extreme.

And perhaps you’re wondering-why should I care?

If this were just about CNA and SEIU, or even just about a dispute at an isolated hospital in one state, you could move on. The thing is, these struggles are not taking place in a vacuum-and what becomes of them has far-reaching impact that touches us all. At a time when the economy is bad and getting worse, and the number of workers represented by a union in this country is an anemic 12%, labor unions face a choice…and workers everywhere face the consequences.

Unions can fight for turf within the ever-shrinking pool of unionized workers, or we can get back on the offensive by reaching out to help more workers join unions to strengthen the hand of more working families.  

SEIU has been at the forefront of unions doing exactly this since 1996. And the results speak for themselves.  Since 1996, more than 1 million new members have united to join SEIU.  Today SEIU represents 1.9 million workers. These new members range from child care workers to city employees in nonunion right to work states like Texas and Arizona to, significantly, hospital workers.

By contrast, CNA, harking back to old-school craft unionism, has pursued an elitist agenda that not only excludes hospital workers who aren’t registered nurses, it prevents registered nurses who want to join a union other than CNA from doing so simply because it’s not the CNA.

Six days before union elections at nine hospitals in Ohio-one with unprecedented ground rules that resulted from three-plus years of hard work by hospital workers, their community allies, and SEIU to hammer out fair election guidelines with the state’s largest health care system-CNA dropped into the state. CAN organizers ran a fiercely anti-union campaign encouraging workers to “vote no.” Their tactics so poisoned the environment that the elections were cancelled. I won’t go into detail here-it’s all detailed in this timeline: http://www.shameoncna.com/incl…

By disrupting this process, CNA sent an unmistakable message to the hospital industry: if a hospital agrees to a fair organizing process, it will be subjected to outlandish accusations of “company unionism” and “backroom deals.”

The CNA’s actions in Ohio represent a major setback in the labor movement’s efforts to raise the standard of employer conduct in organizing campaigns. And it’s not the first time CAN has used such divisive tactics to poach members from an existing union or otherwise divide workers who are in the process of forming a union. It’s happening in California, Nevada, Texas, and elsewhere.

But why might it matter to you? It should if you (you being a working person, a progressive, a consumer in the American economy, or all 3) because this approach undermines the future of the labor movement. At this time of historic inequality and utter insecurity in the American economy, workers need more than ever the strength in community that comes from being organized at work.

In the healthcare sector alone, there are nine million workers out there who don’t have a union. As boomers age, our healthcare needs grow, and the industry’s identity crisis drags on, healthcare workers united in unions have a crucial role to play.

The same is true for the other industries that employ hundreds of millions of American workers-88% of whom don’t have a voice on the job.

But our ability as workers, progressives, and consumers to sit at the big kids’ table depends on our ability to grow and our ability to work together. On a national scale, we’re living the reality of what happens when a smaller and smaller percentage of workers stand together: corporations get to have a bigger and bigger say in the way things work and who gets what.

But at SEIU, we’re living the reality of what happens when workers-with tremendous courage and at great odds-stand together for the interests of all working people: lives, neighborhoods, cities, and whole industries are transformed for the better.

Experience has taught us the hard lesson that circling the wagons simply doesn’t work. And our progressive sensibilities-our concern for the common good-confirm it.

This struggle matters because it’s not just about CNA or SEIU, or Rose Ann DeMoro or Andy Stern. It’s about the future direction and vitality of the American labor movement-a movement that has the ability to blaze a path to an economy and a society that works for everyone-not just the lucky 12%…or 11…or 10…or 9%…

–posted by Nadia, SEIU staff

Some links that I’ve picked up along the way:

• Assemblymember and former Banking Committee Chair Ted Lieu had a good piece yesterday on the foreclosure crisis and how continuing a laissez-faire attitude toward a deregulated lending industry is a recipe for even more disaster.  AB 1830 is the vehicle to crack down on irresponsible lenders and ban risky loans.

• Steve Wiegand writes about the circuitous route the Governor has taken this year, first toward fiscal austerity, then toward revenue enhancement, and everywhere in between.  Schwarzenegger is completely squeezed, knowing his legacy and reputation is on the  line and at his wit’s end over how to bridge the chasm between Republican intransigence and a way forward for California.

• The California Labor Fed has released its endorsements for legislative races.  Not a lot of surprises here, nor a lot of variance from the CDP endorsements, although Carole Migden and Bob Blumenfield didn’t see their endorsements vacated on the convention floor.  The Labor Fed can endorse multiple candidates in one race, which allows them to wiggle out of some of the more contested primaries (in AD-14 they actually had a TRIPLE endorsement).  The Labor Fed does bring member education, and in some cases money and volunteers, so it’s not a little thing.

• Wired’s Autopia looks at LA’s future in mobility.  In a word, I would call the report frustrating.  It’s basically going to take forever until the city truly has the transit system it deserves; right now, just 7% of the city uses mass transit.

• Mayor Villaraigosa takes a strong stand against ICE raids.

“I am concerned that ICE enforcement actions are creating an impression that this region is somehow less hospitable to these critical businesses than other regions,” Villaraigosa wrote in a March 27 letter to Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security […]

In his letter, Villaraigosa said ICE has targeted “established, responsible employers” in industries that have a “significant reliance on workforces that include undocumented immigrants.”

“In these industries, including most areas of manufacturing, even the most scrupulous and responsible employers have no choice but to rely on workers whose documentation, while facially valid, may raise questions about their lawful presence,” he wrote. He said ICE should spend its limited resources targeting employers who exploit wage and hour laws.

“At a time when we are facing an economic downturn and gang violence at epidemic levels, the federal government should focus its resources on deporting criminal gang members rather than targeting legitimate businesses,” said Matt Szabo, the mayor’s spokesman.

In general I agree with worksite rules enforcement, but the issue does seem to be out of proportion and balance.  It’s selective.

• This is a really interesting and refreshingly honest article by Brad Plumer on the SEIU/UHW situation.