Tag Archives: Labor

Blog Roundup, Budget, Environment

July 22, 2007 Blog Roundup

Blog Roundup is on the flip; hopefully I made the email distribution cutoff. Went through 500 posts in 35 minutes.

As always, if I missed something, let me know in comments.

Budgets are Moral
Documents (Chronological Order)

Everyfink else (no
particular order

Uncategorized

Doolittle’s Chickens Coming Home To Roost

4 Comments

John Doolittle is so corrupt, people in other countries are flipping on him:

The governor of the Northern Mariana Islands said Thursday he’s cooperating with the Justice Department’s corruption investigation around jailed GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, which is focused in part on GOP Rep. John Doolittle of Rocklin, Calif. […]

The Justice Department’s interest in Doolittle appears to focus on payments Doolittle’s wife, Julie, received from Abramoff for fundraising work unrelated to the Marianas. But Doolittle was also heavily involved in Abramoff’s advocacy for the Marianas, endorsing Fitial for governor and pushing federal funding on his behalf.

Doolittle was lobbied on the issue by his own former legislative director, Kevin Ring, who went on to work with Abramoff and now is himself under investigation.

“Doolittle, he’s also a friend,” said Fitial.

Well, at least he called Doolittle a friend before knifing him.  Seems like Fitial wants the CNMI to get its money back from Abramoff’s lobbying shops, and if that means turning in Doolittle to do it, then that’s what has to be done.

The venue for this admission is interesting.

Fitial spoke to reporters after testifying against a Senate bill that would impose U.S. immigration laws on the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a chain of 14 islands just north of Guam in the Pacific. A similar bill passed the Senate in 2000 but Abramoff helped block it from advancing in the House.

The pressing need for this legislation comes directly from Abramoff’s and Doolittle’s help in keeping the CNMI an island of indentured servitude, where workers are routinely imprisoned at their place of employ, threatened, forced into the sex tourism industry, given abortions against their will, and more.

This bill was stopped in the House in 2000 thanks to the work of Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, and John Doolittle.  That devil’s bargain appears to be catching up with Doolittle now.

Dover Bitch has more on how you can help pass this bill and restore rights to those on the CNMI.  In addition, you can contribute to Charlie Brown  as part of Blogosphere Day and make sure John Doolittle is held fully accountable for what he has done.

Uncategorized

Contract Reached Between Grocery Workers and SoCal Chains

1 Comment

Looks like Southern California grocery workers got a better contract without striking than they ended up getting after the ugly 2004 strike.  Details to come, but this is the email from the UFCW:

Today, Southern California’s grocery workers agreed to a tentative contract with the management of Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons. This is a fair contract that obtains our primary goals of wage increases for everyone while protecting health care coverage.

This is not just a victory for grocery workers, this is a victory for all of us. You stood with grocery workers in support of strong, middle class jobs that strengthen our communities, and while it certainly took longer than we hoped, in the end we got a contract without having to go on strike.

Three years ago, Southern California’s grocery workers were forced to accept an unfair contract. Today, thanks to your support, we negotiated a fair contract on our terms.

This took seven long months of negotiations, but it looks like grocery workers will have their first raise in five years.  Good work by the UFCW for standing strong and not backing down.

California, Coachella Valley

(CA 80th) Honoring César Chávez in Coachella

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Manuel Pérez, quoted in the  The Desert Sun recently:

Solis’ legislation gives the Interior Department three years to study sites “significant to the life of César E. Chávez and the farm labor movement in the western United States.” Officials will examine ways to preserve the sites and interpret them to the public.

…… “This goes beyond just honoring him because it helps in so many ways,” Perez said. “He was always very family-oriented and an advocate for leadership development, youth development. The fact that we can dedicate these spaces in our communities for families and youth is such a positive thing.”  Perez, who recalls working on the farms as a child, said his parents were migrant farmworkers who settled in Coachella.  Now Perez is a school board member for the Coachella Valley Unified School District and a candidate for state assembly,  which he said reminds him to “appreciate the sacrifices of people like Chávez who did it in order to build up our communities.”

Crossposted at Daily Kos

Also quoted, our own Joe Mota:

“It’s a beginning and a good start to honoring a man that did so much for the plight of farmworkers,” said Joe Mota of Cathedral City.  Mota worked for UFW as regional director for Southern California from 2001-06.

“He was a very spiritual man,” Mota added, “and giving him parks is an honorable way to remember him because not only did he care for people but he cared so much about nature.”

This bodes well for The Desert Sun, let’s hope. 

It’s a treat to find unsolicited positive press on your candidate in the morning paper, and perhaps it’s a trend away from the usual RW worlitzer fare.  Today they ran an editorial supporting the legislation to honor Chavez,  and weeks ago The Desert Sun lauded Eddie Garcia, the new mayor of Coachella, for his rapid success in attracting businesses and providing civic services, just as he said he would. 

César Chávez so shaped many lives in this district.  It’s no coincidence that Manuel Pérez devoted his career to his community, that Joe Mota and Eddie Garcia did the same, and that they’re supporting Pérez’s run for State Assembly.  The UFW isn’t just a political ally or a social issue for Pérez, it’s family. 

Last night Democrats of the Desert presented Kian Kaeni of People for the American Way at the Peppertree Bookstore in LA Quinta. DoD members, DWD and other club members, and Manuel and Gladys and Amalia were there.  We talked about winning in the CA 80th, which was a priority for Kian, though the regional PFAW offices are now closing.  (New election cycle, new PFAW org structure.  Kian was philosophical about it.)  Kian believes that given the intransigence of the CA 45th voting patterns so far, we need to first win the 80th to win the 45th.

We talked about the gap between registration and actual voting, especially in Imperial County where Dems should dominate on election day, but so far we don’t.  This brought up questions about the southeastern end of the 80th, and Manuel Pérez had the answers.  Manuel brought our group of  western Coachella Valley Democrats up to date on the Democratic organizations in Mecca, Brawley, Calexico, also the newly formed Eastern Coachella Valley Democratic club.  Few knew how much good news there is for Democrats lately in the local Latino community. 

This candidate knows the whole district.  He lives the labor movement, the school reform issue, the healthcare crisis, and he’s completely committed to his community.  This is what the people-powered politics looks like in the 80th.
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket  Let’s put some energy into my Californians for Manuel Pérez Act Blue page, my fellow dfh brethren.  Manuel Pérez is exactly what we’re talking about.  For Pérez, the UFW is part of his life.  He doesn’t need to build alliances with labor, he can just call his parents to the podium.  They met working these fields.  It’s good that Representative Solis introduced HR 359 which will honor Chávez appropriately, and it’s good that so many of the generation to follow Chávez honors his work with their own.

Speaking of the Perez family, if you’re in the Coachella Valley, don’t miss the party:

Birthday Bash Fundraiser
Bring $35 for Manuel’s 35th

July 28, 2007
7-10pm
38-300 Rancho Los Coyotes, Indio
Rsvp: 760-772-3466
Come celebrate and enjoy food, drinks, & music.

Calitics Event Calendar listing (with map)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Blog Roundup, Health Care

July 7, 2007 Blog Roundup

Blog roundup on the flip. The labels should be self-explanatory.

Schwarzenegger’s Air
Resource Board Shenanigans

Health Care

California Politics


Local and Labor

Republicans Are What They
Are

Orange County

How Do I Use the Bus When the Drivers Are on Strike?

25 Comments

OK, this will sound bizarre to all of you who believe in the stereotype of people in “The OC” speeding around in Hummers and Maseratis… But I often ride the bus here. That’s why I’m now worrying about
the bus workers’ strike that started at 12:00 AM today.

I don’t know what’s happening to the buses that usually glide down Bristol Street just outside my house. I don’t know if I can take the bus today to where I had been planning to go. I’m now wondering if my idea of being more eco-friendly by using mass transit was a stupid idea after all.

But more importantly, I’m worrying about all those hundreds of thousands of people who depend on the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to get around. How do they get to work and to school and to the grocery store now? What the heck will happen to all these people?

Follow me after the flip for more…

Right now, OCTA bus drivers are paid between $13 and $21 an hour. That may sound good, but consider how much it costs to make do in a place with such a high cost of living as Orange County. And consider that they haven’t had a pay increase in years. And consider that the wage and benefit package that’s being offered by OCTA won’t meet the projected living standards offered by the county. The only reason why the drivers are going on strike is because they can’t keep up with inflation and the rising cost of living.

So OCTA is starting to budge. Why couldn’t they budge sooner? And why can’t they just agree upon a fair deal with the drivers? Some 220,000 riders depend on these buses to get around every day. And now that the entire Orange County bus system is in limbo, how can these people get around?

Maybe a few of these people have their own cars. Maybe some of these people have friends who can give them rides. But what about all those folks who have no access to a car? Are they just screwed?

So this strike isn’t a good deal for any one. The drivers need a living wage that will help them get by in such an expensive place to live as OC. The riders need buses to get them to where they need to go. And the OC economy depends on these workers and consumers who use the bus to get around.

So what happens now? I guess I’ll have a hard time getting around today. Perhaps I can bum more rides off my dad. But what about all those folks who can’t bum a ride off my dad? How will they get down Bristol Street to the mall now? How will they get to work at that sushi place in Newport? How will they get to the grocery store off 17th Street?

I guess that’s the way the strike blows.

Uncategorized

CA-37 Post-Mortem

32 Comments

Well, Laura Richardson won her race for Congress and will represent the Long Beach area for, I gather, the next 20 years, barrring a redistricting change (but considering this is an 80% Democratic district, how much of a change would that take?).  There’ll be a runoff, but that’s just a formality; the Democrats in the race got close to 80% of the vote (not that there was much of a vote; turnout was about 11%, and Richardson will go to Congress with the support, in the primary at least, of 11,000 voters).

What this really shows is that you don’t mess with labor.  If Jenny Oropeza made a different vote in the State Senate with regard to the tribal gaming compacts, maybe she’d be headed to DC.  But what dismays me is how nasty a campaign Richardson ran, and how in the end it didn’t matter one bit.  She continually claimed that the Congressional seat ought to go to “one of us,” a not-so-subtle swipe at Oropeza’s Hispanic roots (although both of them have Caucasian mothers, apparently).  She also sent a sickening mailer attacking Oropeza for missing votes in the Assembly, at a time when Oropeza had liver cancer.

Ultimately, I don’t think these negative attacks mattered; it was the boots on the ground from labor unions that did.  But that’s the problem; they DIDN’T matter.  Richardson didn’t pay the price for running an ugly and dishonest campaign.  That, combined with the pathetic turnout, should give everyone pause.  This is a low-income and low-information district.  The progressive movement is nonexistent here.  And the same identity politics drove the race, and labor turned a blind eye to it.

And people wonder why it’s hard to take back America…

Add your thoughts in comments.

Central Valley

UNITE HERE Rally in Sacramento at Noon

3 Comments

Just an hour from now, UNITE HERE, which represents some Indian Casino workers, will hold a rally on the North Capitol Steps. The Assembly is currently renegotiating reviewing the compacts for additional and expanded casinos in the state.  Furthermore, these compacts could be at the leading edge of the fight for “card check” (PDF) in the nation as well. At this point it is not clear whether the labor issues will be dealt with. CPR has more:

Press release over the flip.

CASINO WORKERS TO RAISE VOICES TUESDAY AT CAPITOL RALLY

  – REAL WORLD PROBLEMS IN PENDING GAMING COMPACTS  –

Sacramento, CA – Casino workers and others will join forces to call out problems in the pending Indian gaming compacts before the California Legislature at a rally at noon on Tuesday, June 19 on the North Steps of the State Capitol.  Hundreds of casino workers and others from San Diego, Los Angeles, Fresno, Long Beach, Temecula, the Coachella Valley, the Bay Area and the Sacramento region will highlight key problems in the pending compacts.

“These compacts guarantee billion-dollar monopoly gaming rights to the few and completely disregard basic rights for workers,” said Art Pulaski, Executive Secretary of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.  “How can the Governor give away billion dollar gaming monopolies while the workers that keep these casinos running are left without federal and state worker protections? The Legislature has an obligation to send the Governor back to the negotiating table with a simple message:  All Californians deserve the right to a voice at work.”

Several former and current Indian casino workers will join Pulaski at the noon rally to underscore protections for injured workers, inadequate health care, disregard for California child support obligations and intimidating tactics employed by tribal casino operators.  The tribal compacts now pending in the State Legislature represent the largest gaming expansion in American history. 

WHERE:  STATE CAPITOL

WHEN:  NOON, TUESDAY, JUNE 19

WHO:  CASINO WORKERS & SUPPORTERS

WHY:  PENDING INDIAN GAMING COMPACTS MUST BE RENEOGIATATED – WORKERS RIGHTS NECESSARY TO MAKE COMPACTS WORK FOR ALL CALIFORNIANS

Uncategorized

Major Grocery Chains Attempt to Divide Workers Again, SoCal Strike Looms

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When a tentative agreement on health care benefits was reported a couple weeks back, it looked as if a Southern California grocery strike along the lines of the crippling 6-month strike back in 2003-04 would be averted.  But the latest shenanigans by Ralph’s and Vons and Albertson’s have forced the UFCW to set a June 21 deadline for a comprehensive offer they can bring to their workers, or else they will vote on a walkout.

Here’s what the chains did.  The major goal of the negotiations on the labor side has been to eliminate the two-tier wage system for employees.  Under the current contract, workers hired before 2004 make more (and receive more benefits) than workers hired after 2004, even if they do exactly the same job.  This has given the chains an incentive to turn over their workers in favor of lower-paid new hires, and sure enough, over half of all current employees are in the lower tier.

This “divide and conquer” strategy worked so well last time that the chains are trying it again.

over…

From an email to supporters:

…we were shocked when the employers finally put the following wage proposal on the table: NO pay increases for anyone, and THREE wage tiers.

That’s right. Despite the negative impact the two-tier system has had on grocery workers and their families — not to mention the moral implications of creating inferior classes of workers — Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons’ contract negotiators proposed slashing wages even further with an additional third tier.

So if the employers have their way, grocery workers would be divided into the following three tiers:

One for employees hired before March 2004.

Another for employees hired after March 2004 but before the coming 2007 contract.

And yet another for everyone hired after the new contract.

And each one pays less than the one before.

These negotiations have gone on for six months, and now the chains are attempted to cut their wage outlays even FURTHER by adding a third tier.  This is absolutely unacceptable, yet the union, reeling from the unsuccessful 2003-04 strike, has little room to maneuver.  Only through collective action, and punishing these chains economically for their attempts to disrespect their employees, can there ever be any success.  And that includes not only refusing to shop at their stores; after all, most Southern Californians stayed away the last strike.  I’m talking about stock divestment, solidarity with other labor groups (like those who supply the stores through trucking) and any other means to ensure that the suits, who have the upper hand because of their size and flexibility, are permanently impacted.

California

AB1505: A Direct Attack upon Consumers: Class-Action Obfuscation

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Over the past twenty years, one of the key gains by the Wall Street Wing of both the Republican and Democratic Parties has been the slow chipping away of consumer rights especially with respect to tort deform.  Even in our so-called liberal bastion on the “left coast” we have some really crappy consumer protection laws.  And Assemblywoman Nicole Parra (D-Bakersfield) and our Progressive Democratic Governator want to further protect corporations from what they have done in AB1505 by greatly limiting class action lawsuits.

More on AB1505 over the flip:

You can’t blame the Wall Streetists for this attempt, I mean it is in their financial best interest to do so. But for too long the progressive movement has refused to fight on this issue, ceding consumer rights for fear of looking like they were too friendly with the evil trial lawyers.  You know those evil people who have been fighting for hundreds of years to promote justice and protect consumers.  Pretty much the opposite of Bush’s pick to head the Consumer Products Safety Comission, Michael Baroody, the head of the National Association of Manufacturers, who withdrew his name from consideration.

See, the thing is that the tort system is something that nobody envisions themselves using. That’s for the poor lackeys who get hurt, but not me.  And so, “consumers” don’t really care when short-sighted legislators like Asm. Parra bring corporatist attacks upon the tort system.  Fortunately, AB 1505 was blocked in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, but this is not dead, as there is a reasonable expectation that they will bring this back as a ballot proposition.

But this isn’t just about attorneys. This issues is about organized labor, and removing a powerful tool available to unions.  This is about the rights of workers at Wal-Mart to sue the behemoth on one front instead of single fights only.  This is at the heart of collective strength and the organization model.  Quite simply if many of these cases can’t go through class-action procedures, they just won’t happen.  The resources just aren’t there.

But now, the left is slowly awakening to the fact that these protections are not trivial.  And they stood up to defeat Parra’s corporatist intentions:

The bill, AB 1505 by Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, was summarily defeated this month in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. The death of the bill, which would have made it more difficult to file class actions, came as little surprise in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

But Capitol insiders believe it may serve as a leverage point for proponents who seek to raise money for a ballot initiative next year. Sources say discussions are under way, although none cared to publicly discuss their progress, if any. The list of backers and opponents of the Parra bill reads like a Who’s Who of California’s most powerful political players. Opponents include the California Nurses Association, AARP, the trial lawyers, the SEIU State Council, and consumer and labor groups. Supporters include the California Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau, the grocers, hospitals, retailers, Hewlett Packard, Intel and insurers, among many others.

“We haven’t foreclosed any options,” said Vince Sollitto, Chamber of Commerce spokesman. “We always try to work with the Legislature, and we will continue to do so now. Nothing is ever really dead in the Legislature. While this particular bill didn’t clear policy deadlines, the issue isn’t going away.” (Capitol Weekly 5/24/07)

This isn’t going away, and we need to turn the tide.  We need stronger protections for consumers against global corporations that have been able to swat away lawsuits like gnats on a horse’s ass, not weaker protections.  While progressives were asleep at the switch on Prop 64 we can no longer afford to rest.  If hard-ball is how the multi-nationals want to play, time to start bringing some of our propositions to the ballot. As George Bush says, “we’re going to stay on the offense.”