Monitoring San Diego From the Coast

Are the County Supervisors executing a term-limits power play? Yes, says the U-T Editorial Board.

Everything You Need To Know About The San Diego Padres New Husband-And-Wife Owners — SanDiegoVille has the story.

San Diego’s roller coaster effort to cement long-term public control of Liberty Station is broken down by David Garrick at the U-T. It is becoming steadily more bitter as city officials and the complex’s largest leaseholder trade barbs and accusations.

County Supe District 5 Debate – Four of the five candidates seeking the county Board of Supervisors’ District 5 seat Monday evening discussed issues ranging from tackling homelessness to public transportation during a virtual forum. Patch San Diego has it.

Workers at San Diego REI store file to unionize – 
Employees at the REI store in Kearny Mesa have filed to unionize, the REI Union announced on Monday, April 27. The store’s employees are hoping to join UFCW Local 135, which represents over 13,000 workers, making it the largest private-sector union in the San Diego and Imperial Counties region. In a letter addressed to the co-op’s leadership, the group of 119 employees said that they hope to unionize and bargain for better staffing, wages, hours and working conditions.

If a vote passes, the San Diego store would become the third REI store to unionize in California and the 12th nationwide. The location is one of the co-op’s top-performing stores and could become the largest unionized REI store in the country, according to UFCW Local 135. Since 2022, 11 REI stores have voted to unionize and have attempted to negotiate a contract with the co-op’s board. After months of negotiations, the union rejected an offer from REI.

In a joint statement released on Monday, REI “declared bargaining impasse,” which essentially means no progress has been made and all good-faith efforts have been exhausted. If an impasse is declared too early, it could violate labor laws — which is what the union has accused REI of doing.

The statement reads: “REI has declared bargaining impasse and is implementing the economic terms of its last, best, and final offer at the 11 certified stores. The Union denies that the parties are at impasse and has filed claims disputing the co-op’s position. Both parties will engage in future discussions to reach an agreement and continue to work toward a mutually agreeable path forward.” The REI Union has planned a boycott of the store’s May anniversary sale, which is the store’s largest annual shopping event, if a deal isn’t reached by May 1.