Feb 7, 2014
On January 31, the San Jose Mercury News printed a column by Lisa Rickard, President of the U.S. Chamber Institute of Legal Reform. Ms. Rickard strongly criticized the decision by Santa Clara County Judge James Kleinberg to employ public nuisance statutes to hold paint manufacturers responsible for health problems associated with the use of lead paint. Specifically, she stated, “It…
Feb 6, 2014
UPDATE: Dear Readers, It looks like Sam Liccardo’s campaign took down the questionable campaign event information from their website which th is post refers to. Look! Is that the behavior of someone who’s doing things on the straight and narrow? For those of you who have been wondering how mayoral candidate Sam Liccardo raised $512,000 in December, while Dave…
We’re coming up on a new election season, and in Silicon Valley there is a lot on the line for the people who live, work and vote here. As we saw in places across the country during the last election cycle, people continue to fight the idea that the most foundational right of political equality – the right to vote…
Feb 5, 2014
Santa Clara County leaders have had enough excuses from the City of San Jose on why emergency medical response times seem to be “dragging”, to put it mildly. The Fire Department has missed it’s contracted “on-time” response for almost the last year and a half (14 consecutive months). What does the county have to do to get some accountability around…
Feb 5, 2014
I detest free loaders. And a case recently argued before the U.S. Supreme Court can have far reaching implications on that subject. On Tuesday 1/21/2014, The Supreme Court debated a case of serious concern to labor unions and their employees nationwide. The question is simply stated: should the court prohibit states from requiring public employees to pay fees to the…
Feb 4, 2014
With the Jan 1 arrival of health care for millions, and with it the attendant sigh of relief, I have been reminded of the history among my gay brothers and sisters who have been living for years with AIDS. Not that long ago, we had a President who wouldn’t acknowledge the epidemic ravaging mostly gay men, creating whole communities of…
Jan 28, 2014
The San Jose City Council will decide today whether to condone corporate greed and poverty-level wages for workers or apply city law to Starbucks and a large developer who want to lease property at the San Jose Convention Center. San Jose would normally require businesses leasing the property to pay employees a living wage, but the City Manager’s Office recommends an…
Jan 27, 2014
For many people not familiar with Silicon Valley policy and politics, this may seem less like a “Left Hook” and more like something out of “Left Field.” Brace yourself. In Silicon Valley, the business community and the labor community work together much more often than we work against each other. At a minimum, that is certainly the case when it…
Jan 24, 2014
Mega Whopper In a recent editorial, the editors of the San Jose Mercury News supported efforts of the San Jose City Council to “tweak” (the Mercury’s term) the provisions regarding disability retirement in Measure B, Chuck Reed’s flawed and failing pension reform initiative. While agreeing that some tweaks needed to be made, and pointing out the Mercury News had in…
Jan 24, 2014
The recent court ruling that gutted San Jose’s Measure B was a huge blow to the city’s efforts to simply write off the rights of its employees. And it was a big win for all city employees, but it won’t stop police officers from leaving the City of San Jose. Although I do believe it will slow what could…