Volume 1, Issue 159
Thousands of Nurses and Supporters Rally to Celebrate Suffrage, Oppose Whitman
Yesterday, more than 2,000 nurses, union members and supporters came out for a massive rally in Sacramento yesterday in honor of the 90th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Activists dressed in early 20th century suffrage attire, and carried signs that read, "Women Vote for Women Who Vote," a reference to the fact that Meg Whitman has barely voted for most of her adult life, and is now out to buy the California governor's seat.
"She is just almost precisely the opposite of the leaders of the suffragist movement," said Rose Ann Demoro, executive director of the California Nurses Association, which sponsored the event. "We're basically here to call attention to the hypocrisy of her running and to say just because you're female, that doesn't make you a woman."
Legislature Passes Bills to Shine Light on Corporate Tax Breaks
This week, the state legislature voted to pass four landmark bills that will finally bring accountability to corporations that receive massive tax breaks. The bills -- AB 2564, AB 2666, SB 1272 and SB 1391-- introduce basic reporting requirements and performance measures to future tax breaks for major companies. Also, for the first time, the public will have the right to access information detailing exactly which corporations took taxpayer dollars, and how much they took. If that corporation promised to create jobs but instead created massive layoffs and outsourcing, the state will be able to recoup some of that taxpayer money.
"We cannot in good conscience allow our children to attend crumbling schools while at the same time blindly giving money away to corporations that aren't helping our state's economy grow," said California Labor Federation Executive-Secretary Art Pulaski in an op-ed for the Sacramento Bee. "It's time to shine a bright light on corporate tax expenditures that have so long thrived in the shadows of our budget."
Whitman-Samueli Fundraiser Raises Questions
Meg Whitman's big-ticket fundraiser with embroiled ex-CEO of Broadcom, Henry Samueli, raised some serious eyebrows this week, because Whitman and Samueli have more in common than being billionaire CEOs -- both were corporate insiders whose companies were involved in questionable insider deals that made millions for executives at the expense of shareholders.
Under Samueli's leadership, Broadcom was involved in the nation's largest stock backdating scandal after it failed to disclose to investors that the company had reset the dates of company stock grants to executives in order to artificially boost profits. Broadcom's backdating scheme resulted in an SEC investigation, Samueli's ouster, and a $160.5 million settlement with investors.
Attend a Labor Day Celebration in Your Area
Labor Day is right around the corner, and all across the state, workers will be coming together to celebrate the momentous achievements of the Labor Movement.
We have Labor Day events, picnics, barbeques and breakfasts going on throughout the state, and all are encouraged to join an event near you.
Click here for a complete list of Labor Day events.
This Week on "Labor's Edge"
We lambasted Whitman's fundraiser with embroiled tycoon Henry Samueli.
We blogged on the Assembly's vote to oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
The AFL-CIO's Mike Hall reported back from the massive suffrage action in Sacramento targeting Meg Whitman.
We posted our weekly Rants & Raves.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS.
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More than a dozen respected California economists spoke out against Meg Whitman's economic policy proposals, after careful analysis revealed she used flawed data and bogus claims to substantiate her positions.
This week, carwash workers in Los Angeles celebrated a huge victory when the City Attorney announced that two of LA's worst carwash owners -- brothers Benny and Nissan Pirian - have both been sentenced to a year in jail for egregious workplace violations. This major legal victory is in large part due to the carwash workers and allies with the CLEAN carwash campaign, who reported the numerous labor violations that led to the criminal complaint and subsequent conviction.
On Thursday, August 26th, join the California Nurses Association and other labor and community groups for a special celebration of the 90th anniversary if the 19th amendment, which legalized the right of women to vote in the US. We will also continue our protest of Meg Whitman, who has disgraced the suffragists' legacy by failing to vote for 28 years..jpg)
This week, more than 6,500 postdoctoral researchers at the University of California, who are members of Postdoctoral Researchers Organize/UAW, reached a tentative agreement over their first-ever union contract after more than 18 difficult months of bargaining.
On Wednesday, more than 8,000 state workers and members of SEIU local 1000 descended upon the state Capitol to protest the Governor's effort to slash workers' pay down to the federal minimum wage, and to speak out against all of the draconian cuts, furloughs, layoffs he has imposed. The message of the rally was "I Am California", and the workers called on Governor Schwarzenegger to approve a fair contract and stop attacking state workers' wages and benefits as part of budget negotiations.
On Tuesday, more than 75 Rite Aid workers from the Southwest Distribution Center in Lancaster marched off the job during their lunch break to join supporters from dozens of other unions demanding that Rite Aid management negotiate a good contract. The workers have been organizing with the ILWU for years, and have met with management more than 100 times in an attempt to peacefully reach a first contract but the management has failed to bargain in good faith.
Last week, GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg “Wall Street” Whitman arrogantly asked the California Nurses Association to turn over all of its members’ home addresses and contact information, so her campaign inundate their mailboxes with her flashy mailers. CNA refused to give up its members’ private info, and instead invited Whitman to talk to the nurses face-to-face. When Whitman declined to appear at a forum with her opponent Jerry Brown, the nurses offered a solo forum for her, moderated by non-partisan journalists, but she again declined, and instead proceeded with her onslaught of campaign propaganda on them.
In the face of major cuts to public transit services across the country, transit workers and community supporters have formed the national “Save Our Ride” alliance, to advocate for federal legislation to address the nationwide transit crisis.
Now that the general election season has begun, working families across the state are taking action to make sure Meg Whitman knows we’re not going to stand for her Wall Street agenda and her attempt at a hostile corporate takeover of our state.