Dec 22, 2016
At the behest of big corporations, the federal government has all but taken away the freedom of workers to organize in order to get their fair share. When workers lack the freedom to organize, wages stagnate, the middle class shrinks and inequality soars. Contrary to Republican dogma, it is workers and not businesses who are over-regulated. American workers are crying…
Dec 21, 2016
This year organized labor dodged a bullet when Justice Antonin Scalia’s death left the Supreme Court tied in the case of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. If Scalia had lived, the Court would have decided in Friedrichs that public sector workers cannot be required to pay for the services they receive from the union that represents the employees at their…
Dec 20, 2016
For more than 30 years the Labor Movement Holiday Party has brought holiday cheer and visits from Santa to thousands of Santa Clara County children and their families. This year’s celebration was no exception. The Labor Movement Holiday Party provided gifts, pictures with Santa, lunch, face painting, tokens to play games and live music to hard working families with limited…
Dec 19, 2016
City of Gilroy Declaring vacancy on City Council to be filled by Council appointment Council will be declaring a vacancy on City Council as a result of former Council member Roland Velasco’s election to Mayor, and directing staff to post a notice of intention to advertise and fill the vacancy. Former Council member Velasco’s term was set to expire in…
Dec 13, 2016
Jimmy Nguyen, candidate for San Jose City Council’s District 8 seat, has requested a manual recount of all the votes cast in the race. In a letter sent to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, Nguyen also asks for the opportunity to see “all rejected vote-by-mail and provisional ballot envelopes, all defective or ‘spoiled’ ballots which were remade by…
Dec 9, 2016
If you heeded the warnings that San Jose City Councilmember Johnny Khamis and the California Restaurant Association (CRA) offered at the Council meeting last Tuesday, you probably rushed out in the last couple of days to buy as much steak as you can before the city’s new minimum wage sends restaurant prices through the roof. That is, unless you’re…
Dec 8, 2016
By a 3-2 vote on Tuesday, the Campbell City Council chose to raise its minimum wage to $15 by 2019. The decision to increase the minimum wage sooner than mandated by the State of California was, in large part, led by Councilmember Jason Baker. Joining him in support of $15 by 2019 were Vice Mayor Liz Gibbons and Councilmember Michael…