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06/2010 Labor's Edge Blog Articles
6/25/10
Rants & Raves for the Week of June 21st
* Senate blocks unemployment extension for hundreds of thousands of jobless Americans * Meg Whitman launches attack on California nurses *
* Senate and House negotiators reach deal on financial industry reform * LAUSD passes resolution to use only CLEAN carwashes * Air and rail workers move closer to fair union elections *
6/25/10
Nurses to Whitman: Don’t Push Us Around
by Shum Preston
Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has been attacking the California Nurses Association all week, upset that the state’s RNs don’t support her $100-million campaign for the state’s top office. Today, nurses fired back with a rally and press conference of over 100 RNs at CNA’s Oakland headquarters. Nurse leaders said they were insulted by Whitman’s demands that CNA provide her with the home addresses of the state’s nurses, and harassing phone calls her campaign had made to nurses in order to spread negative information about CNA.
6/24/10
Workers Rally to Make It Right at Rite Aid
by James Parks
Hundreds of Rite Aid workers and supporters from Pennsylvania, New York and California rallied this morning outside the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Harrisburg, Pa., to demand good jobs and a voice at work.
During the rally, Sylvia Estrada and Angel Warner, two workers from Rite Aid’s massive distribution center in Lancaster, Calif., described the five-year struggle by 550 employees to form a union.
6/24/10
L.A. Schools Approve Resolution to Use CLEAN Carwashes
by Chloe Osmer
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board passed a resolution yesterday calling for the district to wash its huge fleet of vehicles only at carwashes that have signed the CLEAN Agreement, which commits the companies to abide by minimum employment, health and safety and environmental standards and to respect workers’ right to join a union.
6/18/10
Rants & Raves for the Week of June 14th
* Whitman and Blakeslee team up to attempt corporate takeover of CA * Senate Republicans block extension of unemployment benefits * BP tries to mask truth about sick oil clean-up workers *
* Jerry Brown announces clean energy jobs plan * New study reveals economic benefits of high-speed rail *
6/18/10
Workers Take a Stand Against Wall Street-Big Oil Takeover at Whitman/Blakeslee Fundraiser
by Rebecca Greenberg
Last night, Meg “Wall Street” Whitman teamed up with SD 15 GOP candidate Sam “The Oil Man” Blakeslee for a ritzy Silicon Valley garden reception and fundraiser. Blakeslee, a former Exxon executive who is bought and paid for by the Big Oil interests that want to drill off California’s coast, was trying to squeeze out some last-minute campaign cash before Tuesday’s special election, when he'll face off against labor-endorsed candidate and champion for working families, John Laird.
The idea of Big Oil and Wall Street coming together in an effort to wage a hostile corporate takeover of our state was too unnerving for some South Bay workers, who protested outside the fundraiser in Los Gatos with signs and chants, saying “Sam and Meg, you shall fail – California is not for sale!”
6/14/10
A Deal is Never a Deal With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
by Angie Wei
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is holding a gun to the heads of over 300,000 California state employees. He’s salivating at the opportunity to drop state employee pay to federal minimum wage if a budget isn’t enacted by July 31st. He’s also announced that he won’t sign a budget unless it includes worker concessions on their pensions.
That’s right. The federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, 75 cents below CA’s $8 an hour minimum wage. Sacramento’s economy would come to its knees. Local restaurants, car repair, grocery stores, landlords, banks, would all lose revenue as a result.
6/11/10
Rants & Raves for the Week of June 7th
* Whitman's new TV ad on unemployment patently offensive * Study finds eBay sellers don't comply with state sales tax laws * Fiorina caught on camera gossiping about Boxer *
* Labor-endorsed candidates form the "Main Street Slate" * New tv ad targets Whitman's spotty voting record * Arkansas working families put up strong fight for Halter to de-seat Lincoln * Domestic workers demand better working conditions * Unions brief legislative staff on teachers' rights and education *
6/10/10
UC Postdocs File Unfair Labor Practice Charges Over Bargaining Delays
by Matthew "Oki" O'Connor
After more than 17 months and 57 bargaining sessions, Postdoctoral Scholars at the University of California (UC) still don’t have a contract. UC’s stalling has drawn widespread criticism from elected officals and workers’ rights organization yet we still haven’t made any progress toward a contract. This week our union – Postdoctoral Researchers Organize/United Autoworkers filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) with the Public Employee Relations Board charging that UC deliberately delayed negotiations and attempted to undermine our union.
6/9/10
Working Families Protest Whitman and Fiorina’s “Wall Street Express” Outside GOP ‘Victory’ Breakfast
by Priscilla Luviano
As Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina celebrated spending a combined $100 million to buy their primary victories at the GOP “victory” breakfast this morning, California workers and families protested outside the Anaheim Hilton. The working Californians who would be harmed by Whitman and Fiorina’s anti-worker Wall Street agenda chanted and waved signs declaring that 'California will not be sold to the highest bidder.'
6/8/10
The Battle for California’s Future Begins Tonight
by Art Pulaski
The results of tonight's primaries set in motion a battle for the soul of California. It’s Main Street vs. Wall Street, with the winner having an opportunity to shape California’s future for decades to come.
After months of obscene campaign spending, billionaire CEO Meg Whitman will use her seemingly unlimited fortune to try to stage a hostile takeover of our state. She’s made clear that, if elected, she plans to bring a Wall Street agenda to California. Whitman’s economic philosophy, which she honed as a corporate executive and director in places like Goldman Sachs, is simple: What’s good for Wall Street and the wealthy is good for everyone. California families know all too well just how flawed that philosophy is.
6/7/10
Labor’s Legislative Update: June 2010
by Angie Wei
With an important legislative deadline passed, Labor’s sponsored bills continued on their path to enactment. Overall, our bills easily garnered the support they needed to pass on majority votes. But with two senators (Oropeza and Wiggins) out with illness, several bills died at the hand of moderate Democrats. Their return late in the session helped squeeze out key bills with just 21 votes, the bare majority needed in the 40-member Senate. Click here for a quick breakdown of our bills.
6/4/10
Where Workforce Partnerships and Job Recovery Converge
by Rebecca Greenberg
Imagine labor, business and government representatives all working together towards a common goal -- to develop a sustainable, clean energy economy that will create quality green jobs while simultaneously alleviating our dependence of fossil fuels. If this sounds unlikely to you, then you’ve obviously never been to our ‘Building Workforce Partnerships’ conference.
6/3/10
Top Seven Reasons to vote NO on Proposition 14
by Bryan Blum
With less than a week left until the June 8 election day, we’re counting down the top seven reasons to vote NO on Proposition 14, the Top Two Primaries Act that will require that all candidates run in a single primary open to all registered voters regardless of party affiliation, with the top two vote-getters meeting in a runoff.