Category: Labor

By Margot Sheehan / San Diego Reader Archives / Republished June 6, 2026

The Frontier Homes Housing Project — 3500 “temporary” dwellings constructed in the first nine months of 1944. One of the largest developments of its kind ever built in the USA — Designed to last for two years and enduring (parts of it, at least) for 20. Was there ever such a project, so grand, so ghastly, and so successfully erased from civic memory?

Don’t look for Frontier in the Journal of San Diego History or in any of those big picture books that Neil Morgan used to crank out. The only people who really remember the project are the people who lived there. Old timers who didn’t live there, even folks who drove past Frontier every day, will give you all kinds of cockeyed answers when you ask about it. “Oh, yeah, you mean those military barracks.” “Frontier? That was Navy housing.” Someone might even offer that 1950s misconception that Lait and Mortimer provide in USA Confidential: “a low-income housing project for Mexicans and Negroes.”

Nearly 100,000 Impacted in San Diego County; 665,000 in California

New federal rules will go into effect Monday, requiring some San Diego County residents who receive CalFresh food benefits to meet work or volunteer requirements to get or keep benefits.

State-wide, the updated CalFresh work rules impact approximately 840,000 recipients, with state officials estimating that up to 665,000 Californians are at risk of losing their food benefits if they do not meet the new requirements.

The updated federal rules apply to certain Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents, or ABAWDs, who are applying for or renewing CalFresh benefits. Those affected are individuals who:

• Are between 18 and 64 years old;
• Are not living with a child under 14;
• Do not meet a federal exemption;
• Are physically and mentally able to work; and
• Are not pregnant or disabled.

This is a brief summary of David Garrick’s piece at The San Diego Union-Tribune, published May 26-27, 2026, entitled “Here’s who’s drawing the most money in San Diego City Council races”. Our primary focus is on District 2, and Garrick’s review was primarily on the candidates drawing the most money.

Josh Coyne

Josh Coyne — who’s a Democrat (as are all the D2 candidates except Bailey) has been receiving strong financial support — “more than $200,000 — from an independent committee led by Local 89 of the Laborers International Union of North America.”

In terms of positioning for a future campaign should he be one of the winners in the Primary, Coyne has “essentially nothing — he has $30,000 in cash on hand but a matching $30,000 in unpaid bills,” reports Garrick.

However, all the top Democrats in this race expect party and labor help for whichever of them wins in the Primary.

Nicole Crosby

Nicole Crosby, is also getting labor support, mainly from the largest labor union for city workers — the Municipal Employees Association

REI Workers, Labor Leaders, and Community Members to Rally Ahead of Union Election in San Diego

REI workers, union members, labor leaders, and community supporters will gather on Tuesday, May 26 at 1:00 p.m. outside REI’s San Diego store in Kearny Mesa to rally in support of workers as they prepare to vote in a union election to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 135.

The rally will take place at:

REI Kearny Mesa
5556 Copley Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

The event comes one day before workers at the store, known as Green Vests, begin voting in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) union election on Wednesday, May 27 and Thursday, May 28. More than 100 workers are eligible to vote on whether to join UFCW Local 135.

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.

It’s time to brag about the Rag.

On March 6th we published JW August’s post “Trump’s Plan to Reduce Federal Workforce Includes Culling Out ‘Disloyal’ Veterans“. It was bombshell reporting … but never really found much traction from the mainstream media — until just last week.

Here is most of August’s post:

The Trump administration has rolled out a plan to begin further cuts in the federal workforce, a move that some sources say has a hidden agenda  — to remove employees who are seen as not loyal to the president.  We are told by a long time source that U.S.Veterans who voted Democratic or Independent will be on an administrative hit list as the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) just released “reductions in force ” (RIF) is rolled out.

By Kate Callen

When I moved to San Diego to live with my new husband, Neal Matthews, he drove me around town to show me many places he loved and a few he loathed.

In the first category, we visited The Black, where we bought a water pipe. “Ocean Beach,” he said, “is the real San Diego.”

The second category took us to another coastal stop: Coronado Shores, a cluster of ten 15-story towers that would be a strong contender for “most monstrous development on the Western Seaboard.”

Neal was a San Diego Reader reporter who had covered the saga of the Shores construction in the 1970s. “These eyesores,” he said, “are partly why California established a Coastal Commission.”

Thanks to the Commission, developers can no longer turn San Diego into Miami Beach by erecting massive towers that block off the ocean. But there are smaller ways that arrogance can commandeer public spaces for private benefit.

I saw an example on April 16, when I drove to Coronado to walk on the beach. I regularly park in a public access lot that Coronado Shores was required by law to provide. It fills up on weekends, but spaces are available on weekdays.

Commentary — From the Trenches

By JW August –– Special to the OB Rag

When President Donald Trump’s calliope of confusion is at its noisiest, we’ve learned a game is afoot in numerous places.  This particular game comes with a warning from a source who has a highly placed position in a large federal agency.

The source is named “S” and says an end-of-March announcement about moving the U.S. Forest Service out of Washington, D.C. is a foreshadowing of a massive reorganization effort of the federal government. The suggested agency suspected of being the next ordered to move will be the Bureau of Land Management, according to my source.

The overall goal, made in the name of efficiency, is to punish the cities and states that vote Democratic and reward Trump loyalists with jobs and money, says our source. By creating these new offices, away from D.C., there will be far less oversight, and far more access.

The source says that “as long as it’s a Republican town, they’re going to get an infusion of cash and jobs because their plan is to go out to isolated areas of the country so that they can do whatever they want.”

by Ernie McCray

Oh, I wish so much of the news
didn’t give me the blues,
as hearing Dolores Huerta weigh in
on Cesar Chavez’s sexual abuse
of women and minor children
with allegations
of situations
he put her in
darkened my soul
like midnight
on a moonless night,
making me weep
as I read of her emotional pain,
of how she has kept quiet
over time
so as not to bring negative attention
to the United Farm Worker’s struggles,

by Todd Walters / Times of San Diego / Feb. 24, 2026

Public office demands more than ambition. It demands principles. It demands courage. And above all, it demands accountability.

That is why I cannot stay silent about San Diego Unified Board President Richard Barrera and his bid for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Leadership is not defined by titles held or campaigns launched. It is defined in moments of crisis, when speaking up carries risk, when loyalty to power conflicts with loyalty to people, and when silence becomes a choice.

During one of the most painful chapters in our union’s history, Barrera made that choice.

For years, former United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 135 President Mickey Kasparian faced multiple public allegations and lawsuits involving sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation. These were not whispers. They were reported, litigated, protested and deeply felt by labor and the broader community.

At that time, Barrera served as secretary-treasurer of the union. He was widely regarded as Kasparian’s right-hand man, a senior officer with influence, access and authority. If there was ever a moment that called for moral clarity, this was it.

And yet, he remained silent.

by Calista Stocker and Myckenzie Smith / Daily Aztec / February 17, 2026

On the first day of CSU Unit 6’s Unfair Labor Practice strike, members were met with support, administrative attention and some police pushback.

From 5 a.m. to 12 p.m., more than 50 skilled trades workers — including facilities services, electricians and technicians — showed up at SDSU to fight for unpaid contractual raises and step increases that were promised to them in July 2025.

As a facet of the Local Teamsters 2010, CSU Unit 6 represents more than 1,100 skilled trades workers systemwide. From now until Friday, union members are withholding their labor across CSU’s 22 campuses.

For the striking members, the campus disruption is a necessary evil and a last resort to obtain their overdue raises.

31,000 Kaiser nurses and other professionals vow to strike until fair contract agreement is reached.

By City News Service / NBC7  / February 16, 2026

Kaiser Permanente nurses and health care workers in the San Diego area will remain on picket lines Monday as their open-ended strike alleging unfair labor practices amid prolonged contract talks enters it’s fourth week.

The roughly 31,000 members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals vowed to stay on strike until a fair contract agreement is reached. UNAC/UHCP members include registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, speech language pathologists, dietitians and other specialty health care professionals.

Picketing resumes at 9 a.m. Monday at San Diego Medical Center, 9455 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.