Apr 24, 2014
In May 1886 immigrant workers joined with American born workers to call for an eight hour day. They demanded a measure of justice. They wanted some fair share of the great wealth their work produced for the industrialist millionaire “Robber Barons,” the ruling class 1% of the day. When they called a strike and picketed they were shot and killed.…
Apr 23, 2014
By now you’ve probably seen the headlines about the Obama administration’s outrageous record of deporting immigrants for committing minor offenses. You may be wondering why you should care that well over a million undocumented immigrants have been deported for nothing more serious than a minor traffic violation or misdemeanor. Here’s why: This is a family issue. Tweet
Apr 22, 2014
Sometimes politics is described as a pendulum swinging back and forth: one side may be very successful for a while, but eventually political momentum tends to swing back the other way. At the City of San Jose in recent years, the pendulum has swung very far in the pro pension-reform direction. There has been a sense among pension reform advocates…
Apr 22, 2014
The delegates to the South Bay Labor Council voted on the last few endorsements before the June 3rd Primary Election, and they decided to stay out of the fray of the controversial issue of whom to endorse in the race for judicial seat 24, currently held by Diane Ritchie. The delegates overwhelmingly voted to make no endorsement in that race. …
Apr 21, 2014
When your house is on fire and somebody offers their water to help, it is wise to accept. No reasonable person would reject such assistance. But that is exactly what Mayor Chuck Reed did to Supervisor Dave Cortese’s proposal to help stem the crime rate in San Jose using Sheriff’s deputies to temporarily augment an understaffed and demoralized San Jose Police Department. Reed didn’t…
Apr 18, 2014
This week’s whopper appears in a San Jose Inside column by Josh Koehn which discusses the recommendation by county staff that Measure A funds be allocated to the Healthier Kids Foundation, headed by Kathleen King. Noting that King played a significant role in the campaign to pass Measure A, Koehn asks – coincidence or kickback? A kickback? Webster defines a…
Apr 17, 2014
This is an exciting time for women’s health care. More than 9 million people now have access to health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act, with close to a quarter of those being women who were previously uninsured. Despite the rocky launch of the federal website to sign up for insurance, that total is expected to rise significantly with the enrollment…
Apr 15, 2014
As millions of Americans pay income taxes today, Bay Area security officers and community supporters called on Apple Inc. to pay taxes on some of an estimated $102 billion the company is holding overseas. Activists gathered outside a San Francisco Apple store and encouraged customers to participate in a mock $15 billion “mail-in rebate” to highlight how the company’s unpaid…
Apr 15, 2014
Santa Clara Co. Board of Supervisors 1. Janitorial Services: worker retention and living wage The County is cutting down on the number of companies it had janitorial contracts with from 6 to 2. The new contracts with Pride Industries and Universal Janitorial for janitorial services at county offices include requirements to retain workers from the old contractor and make sure…
Apr 14, 2014
When I filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission and the San Jose Ethics Commission against mayoral candidate Sam Liccardo, I did so because I take laws seriously. Liccardo has cheated his way through the early part of the campaign to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he shouldn’t get away with it. Tweet