labor

Why Unions Oppose Overhauling CEQA

Ben Adler — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:08:47 +0000

The coalition of groups that will fight efforts in the state legislature this year to overhaul the California Environmental Quality Act is taking shape. It includes environmental groups, some Democratic lawmakers … and labor unions. Ben Adler reports from Sacramento on why unions are on this side of the CEQA debate.

GOP Bill Would Allow Flexible Work Schedules

Ben Adler — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 02:14:20 +0000

A California lawmaker is reviving a proposal that’s stalled in previous years that would allow employees to work flexible schedules – such as four 10-hour days each week.

Republican State Senator Tom Berryhill says his bill would let individual workers ask their companies for more flexibility.

Costs for Funding State Retiree Health Benefits Grows

Amy Quinton — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 03:30:19 +0000

A new report shows the unfunded liability for state retiree health benefits in California has grown to more than $63 billion.

As Amy Quinton reports from Sacramento, State Controller John Chiang says some increases in future liability could be prevented.

Chiang says the unfunded obligation for state retiree benefits has grown almost two billion dollars from 2011 to 2012. That’s less than expected because of fewer and less expensive healthcare claims.

Visalia's Public Safety Tax Spurs Talk for Similar Proposal in Fresno

Juanita Stevenson — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:38:05 +0000

The hustle and bustle of downtown Visalia, a place alive with activity. Local residents point to it with pride. City Manager Steve Salomon says it has a lot to do with the community’s vision for its city.

“The city council in this city for decades and decades has been able to have a long term view of what they thought this city should be, and done things that were not necessarily going to have an immediate result for them, but a long term result,” says Salomon.

Fresno, Bus Driver Union At Odds Over Work Rules, Pay Cut

Juanita Stevenson — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 23:41:01 +0000

Drivers who operate the city of Fresno’s bus service, known as Fresno Area Express will tell you that despite that some may thing, theirs is not a cushy job.

President Obama to Visit Kern County, Declare César Chávez Site a National Monument

Joe Moore — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:17:24 +0000

President Obama announced today that he will visit Kern County next Monday to declare the headquarters of the late United Farm Workers union co-founder César Chávez a national monument. The Chávez compound in the small community of Keene, located in the Tehachapi hills east of Bakersfield served as the home for both the UFW and Chávez for several decades.

New Field Poll on Prop 32 Shows Measure Trailing

Ben Adler — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:57:04 +0000

For the second time this week, a new poll shows Proposition 32, which would change rules on union and corporate political donations, faces a tough road to passage on California’s November ballot.

The latest Field Poll conducted with UC Berkeley shows Prop 32 losing 44 percent to 38 percent. The six-point margin is similar to this week’s Public Policy Institute of California survey, where the measure trailed 49 percent to 42 percent.

New Study Says California Temp Workers More Likely To Be Poor

Steve Milne — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:13:32 +0000

A new UC Berkeley study says temporary workers in California are more likely to live in poverty than their co-workers.

Miranda Dietz is with the university’s Center for Labor Research and Education. She says “temps” hired through staffing agencies to work in data entry, nursing, accounting and other jobs, earn an average of 18 percent less per hour than their co-workers.

Commentary: Pay Gap Between Workers and CEOs Should Change

Ida Jones — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 02:06:03 +0000

What’s the value of a typical worker’s contribution to a company’s success compared to that of CEOs of the largest companies? The CEO’s contribution is about 380 times more valuable, according to the AFL-CIO’s 2012 annual report on pay disparity.

380 times more valuable! Not only it is more valuable, but its value rises faster than inflation. Last year CEO pay rose 14% to nearly $13 million. What was your pay raise last year?

Pension Deal Nears; Unions Furious

Ben Adler — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:38:17 +0000

A proposed overhaul of California’s pension system is angering public employee unions, as Democrats get set to unveil the details. The specific details are being kept as quiet as can be, but all signs point to a deal emerging by Tuesday at the California State Capitol.

Democrats are promising “comprehensive pension reform” that will save tens of billions of dollars over the next few decades. Assemblyman Warren Furutani says the deal won’t please everyone.