Volume 1., Issue 277
San Diego Labor Leader Wins State Assembly Race in Landslide
This week, San Diego-Imperial Central Labor Council leader Lorena Gonzalez secured a decisive victory over her opponent in the race to fill the vacant Assembly seat in AD 80. Gonzalez, who received a stunning 73% of the vote, will replace Ben Hueso who was recently elected to the State Senate to represent the 40th District.
“I couldn't be more excited to tackle this new chapter in my life - raising the voice of working families even higher and to continue to be a worker advocate and organizer at the state level,” Gonzalez said in an election night message to supporters. “I know that we've only seen the beginning of all that we will accomplish together, and I can't wait to continue working for you in Sacramento.”
Saturday: Rally in Solidarity With Locked-Out Six Flags Mechanics
The ride mechanics at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo have been locked out of work since May 2nd, and they are still fighting for safer working conditions and decent wages.
This weekend, the mechanics will be joined by community supporters and labor allies at a solidarity rally in front of Six Flags. The action will take place on Saturday, May 25th from 10am to noon outside the main entrance to the theme park, and all are encouraged to attend. Additionally, the mechanics are asking their supporters to avoid crossing the picket line until the workers have won their fight for justice.
For more info and to RSVP, email tjb1596@sbcglobal.net.
Take Action: Urge Your Assemblymember to Close the Walmart Loophole
AB 880 would close the “Walmart Loophole” that incentivizes big corporations like Walmart to dump workers onto taxpayer-funded Medi-Cal in order to avoid paying a dime for health care. Thanks to the hard work and support from unions and activists around the state, the bill is advancing quickly, and could come up for a vote on the Assembly floor as early as next week.
Walmart’s ultra-powerful lobbyists are in Sacramento every day pressuring legislators to vote against this common-sense legislation so they can continue to skirt the law and shift their obligation onto taxpayers. Now is the time to send a message to your legislators urging them to vote YES on AB 880.
Tell the U.S. Senate: Choose People, Not Pritzker
The U.S. Senate could vote as soon as next week on whether to confirm Hyatt Hotels executive Penny Pritzker to be the new Secretary of the U.S. Commerce Department. Pritzker’s Hyatt hotel chain is widely recognized as the worst employer in the hotel industry, transforming hotel work from stable long-term jobs with decent wages and benefits into jobs with temp agencies paying minimum wage. Hyatt imposes dangerous workloads on housekeepers, and has fired workers after they speak out about injustices.
If Pritzker brings this Hyatt-style business model to Washington, the results could be devastating. Americans need family-supporting, lifelong careers, not minimum wage temp jobs. Send a message to your U.S. Senator today, urging them to vote NO on Penny Pritzker for Commerce Secretary.
UC Hospital Patient Care Workers and Supporters Strike for Justice
Nearly 13,000 patient care technical workers in the UC Hospital System, as well as sympathy strikers from the UC Hospital Service Unit represented by AFSCME 3299 and members of UPTE-CWA 9119, participated in a two-day strike against UC hospitals this week. The actions came after nearly a year of stalled negotiations with UC administrators over a range of issues, including patient safety, staffing levels at UC hospitals, and the increasing diversion of patient care resources into skyrocketing compensation packages for UC health executives.
"I'm on strike because my patients come first. I believe that the Best in the West can do better. Our patients deserve quality care and UC needs to stop cutting costs on patient care," says Gloria Maldonado, gastrointestinal tech at UCLA Santa Monica Hospital.
Thursday: Walmart Workers Kick Off “Ride for Respect” Caravan to Shareholders’ Meeting
This summer, Walmart workers are taking their campaign for justice to the next level with a coast-to-coast bus and car caravan, which will converge at annual Walmart shareholder meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas. The caravan participants and activists will be calling on Walmart executives and the Board of Directors to end retaliation against Associates who speak out to improve working conditions.
Show your support for the Walmart caravan participants leaving from Southern California by joining the send-off strike action and rally on Thursday, May 30th at 8am at Walmart in Pico Rivera (8500 Washington Blvd.)
This Week on “Labor’s Edge”
- “AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust Celebrates Workers At Pension-Funded Construction Project” by Paul Burton, San Mateo Labor
- “Pulaski in OC Register: Don’t Let Walmart & Other Big Chains Push Health Care Costs Onto Taxpayers” by Rebecca Band, California Labor Federation
- “My Story: Speaking Out For Safer Working Conditions For Warehouse Workers in Mira Loma” by Miriam Garcia, Warehouse Workers United
- “Comprehensive Immigration Reform: It’s About Keeping Families Together” by Jim Zamora, SEIU 1000
Send blog submissions to info@calaborfed.org.
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This week, workers and seniors in the Central Valley brought the fight to close the “Walmart Loophole” right to Walmart’s doorstep, holding actions at Walmart supercenters in Stockton and Fresno to spread the word about Walmart’s outrageous practice of forcing its workers onto Medi-Cal and making taxpayers foot the bill. Activists spoke directly with shoppers about closing the “Walmart Loophole” by passing AB 880, which would ensure huge corporations like Walmart pay their fair share for their workers health care. The protestors also delivered a giant invoice in the amount if $32 million to the Walmart managers to signify the annual cost of the “Walmart Loophole” on California taxpayers. 
This morning before dawn, dozens of workers gathered outside Walmart in West Sacramento to spread the word to shoppers about a loophole in the Affordable Care Act that Walmart and other corporate giants are exploiting to get out of paying their fair share for workers’ health care. They carried signs that read “Protect Taxpayers- Close the Walmart Loophole” and delivered an invoice to the store’s manager that detailed how Walmart’s practice of dumping workers onto Medi-Cal is costing taxpayers $32 million annually. 
On Wednesday, thousands of California workers, immigrant rights activists, students and community supporters came out to May Day actions in more than a dozen cities to demonstrate their support for comprehensive immigration reform. The rallies and marches all carried the same message: NOW is the time to pass immigration reform that includes a roadmap to citizenship and vital protections for immigrant workers.
Wednesday, May 1st is known around the world as International Workers Day, and all across the state and country, workers and immigrant families will be hitting the streets to rally for the rights of all workers, regardless of where they were born. Activists will be commemorating the legacy of May Day by demanding a roadmap to citizenship and strong worker protections, as well as an immediate end to deportations for those who are potentially eligible for citizenship.
Since 2006, more than 600 Bangladeshi garment workers have died in preventable fires while sewing clothing for companies like Gap and Walmart. 112 workers died in a recent fire at a Walmart supplier and 29 workers died at a Gap supplier, but Gap and Walmart are still refusing to pay for reforms and join with other companies in a binding fire safety agreement that includes independent inspections and worker representation.
For far too long, California’s biggest and most profitable corporations have been lining their pockets at the expense of working families by taking advantage of massive tax loopholes and giveaways the rest of us couldn’t dream of. One of these tax giveaways, the “enterprise zone” (EZ) program, is draining the state budget of over $700 million each year, and instead of creating new jobs, the EZ program is being used to eliminate good union jobs.
New immigration reform legislation is expected to be introduced in Congress as soon as next week, and on Wednesday, April 10th, tens of thousands of union members, immigrants, supporters, faith leaders and community advocates will be joining a nationwide Day of Action to support fair and just immigration reform.
Earlier this month, San Jose’s new voter-approved minimum wage increase went into effect, and now unions and businesses are joining forces in a new campaign to urge South Bay families to dine, shop and take in some entertainment in San Jose, where they can feel confident knowing their dollars are supporting quality jobs and a strong community.
This morning before dawn, hundreds of workers at three Waste Management facilities in the East Bay held a 5-hour strike to protest the management’s unlawful behavior, including systemic threats, intimidation and exploitation of its many immigrant workers.
Comprehensive immigration reform is essential to ensure no worker gets treated like a second-class citizen, and it’s also a vital piece of our economic recovery. According to the Center for American Progress, if Congress passes a bill that would give immigrant workers a road map to citizenship, it would mean 663,000 new jobs in California, and $5.3 billion in new tax revenues.
Employers across the country are gaming today’s broken immigration system to exploit immigrant workers and evade both labor and immigration laws, according to a new report released this week by the National Employment Law Project. The report uses two dozen case studies—including the recent action at Palermo’s Pizza—as examples of employers’ use of immigration enforcement or the threat of it to retaliate against workers who seek their basic workplace rights.