Category: Labor

By KPBS/ July 10, 2023 The arrests of three UC San Diego student workers accused of vandalizing campus property drew a large crowd to the San Diego Central Courthouse Monday in protest of potential criminal charges.

The workers, Jessica Ng, William Schneider, and a third person whose name has not been disclosed, were arrested about a month after the discovery of what UC San Diego police has described as vandalism

By Peter Lucas / The Intercept / July 11, 2023

On May 5, as Chancellor Pradeep Khosla began his opening remarks at the 44th University of California, San Diego Alumni Awards at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, some 60 academic worker activists took the stage carrying a cardboard sign.

They were there to present him with UC’s “Most Overpaid Worker” award; Khosla had received a $500,000 raise while, the union says, the university was simultaneously refusing to fully implement their recently ratified collective bargaining agreement.

By Colleen O’Connor

More than 1,000 campuses were closed Tuesday and Wednesday, affecting about 420,000 students in the nation’s second largest school district, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Tuesday at 4:30 a.m., more than 60,000 LAUSD workers and teachers began walking picket lines in the rain.

To which I respond, good for them.  It is long overdue.

By CBS8 Staff / March 9, 2023

It took less than two days for the jury to come to a decision in the civil trial of former news anchor Sandra Maas against KUSI.

The jury was split on the claims but did award Sandra Maas more than $1.5 million for the difference in pay attributed to gender, past and future lost wages, and past and future emotional distress.

By Sonali Kolhatkar / Nation of Change / February 27, 2023

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, in a recent interview with CNN’s Poppy Harlow, proudly showed off his newest invention: a tablespoon of olive oil added to a cup of coffee to bring out rich, complex flavors. The conversation took place in Italy and was meant to showcase Schultz’s commitment to the innovation and quality of Starbucks coffee as he gets ready to step down as CEO of the company for the third time.

By Ken Stone / Times of San Diego / February 2, 2023

In a rare move, lawyers for KUSI-TV are asking a Superior Court judge to prohibit news media and the public from attending “portions” of former anchor Sandra Maas’ pay-equity trial starting Friday. Last Friday, McKinnon Broadcasting Co., the Kearny Mesa station’s operator, asked Judge Ronald Frazier to close parts of the civil trial

From 10News

The county Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Wednesday to advance a proposed minimum wage for traffic control workers on privately funded projects on county roads.

Wednesday’s vote, with Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond opposed, was technically the first reading of the ordinance. Supervisors will consider the issue again on Feb. 8 for possible final approval.

By Marjorie Cohn / TruthOut / January 2023

The right to strike is on trial in the Supreme Court. At stake is a 64-year-old precedent that shields workers and unions from state lawsuits while they pursue unfair labor practice claims in the federal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). If unions have to defend against costly lawsuits, it will likely discourage them from going on strike.

The Voice of San Diego reports today that “after a year of bargaining, High Tech High’s new teachers union has reached a tentative agreement on a contract with the school’s leadership. The breakthrough comes after the charter network’s board of trustees declared an impasse a few months ago.”

Back in November 2022 there was an impasse with the board. But there has been progress, as VOSD reports:

The two outstanding issues on the table were who would make a final decision if a teacher appealed a firing, and how long of a probationary period new educators would need to complete before becoming established teachers.

At a High Tech High Board of Trustees meeting in mid-November in Point Loma, the union that represents the school’s union and school management reached agreement on most points, including pay and health benefits, but deadlocked on the final points, according to Voice of San Diego.

It was the first board meeting since 89 percent of the union’s members approved a resolution of no confidence in the board as negotiations stalled. The union “no longer has confidence in the High Tech High Board of Trustees’ ability to lead our schools

By Amy Graff / SFGATE / Nov. 29, 2022

After a grueling 15-day labor walkout by 48,000 academic workers at the University of California, two of the four groups striking announced Tuesday that they reached a tentative agreement that includes wage increases, officials said.

Edited From KPBS

Thousands of researchers and student employees at the 10 University of California campuses have gone on strike as of 8 a.m. this morning, Monday, Nov. 14, in an effort to secure improved pay and working conditions.

Contract talks affect 48,000 workers, including 17,000 student researchers, at the 10 schools in the UC system, including UC San Diego. They voted to authorize a strike in October. UC officials are in contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers regarding four separate academic bargaining units