State Sen. Steve Glazer said SB 1149 is not intended to fix the pension crisis, but not make it any worse. 7TH STATE SENATE DISTRICTA bill that gives new state workers a choice between the standard defined benefit pension plan… Read More ›
SEIU
Honda’s campaign touts local labor endorsements
Rep. Mike Honda donning boxing gloves just weeks before Election Day in October 2014. PHOTO/Steven Tavares CONGRESS | 17TH DISTRICT | Above all else, Rep. Mike Honda’s ace card is his strong support from labor unions. With a round of… Read More ›
Nancy Skinner nears $1.1 million in cash reserves; Nate Miley’s supervisorial campaign in the red
State Senate candidate Nancy Skinner raised more than $277,000 during the past six months. SD9 ALCOD4 CAMPAIGN FINANCE |Former Assemblymember Nancy Skinner of Berkeley reported that she has nearly $1.1 million in cash reserves in her state Senate campaign account,… Read More ›
Richmond progressives warn of fraudulent rent control petition
A Richmond resident and member of the Service Employees International Union describes her interaction with a petitioner seeking to repeal the city’s rent control ordinance. RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL | The Richmond Progressive Alliance say a petition purporting to support the… Read More ›
Another Wieckowski aide loses a winnable city council race
Wieckowski aide Tim Orozco lost his San Jose City Council race Tuesday despite $232,000 in support from the South Bay AFL-CIO. Orozco loses in San Jose; Fernandez failed in Hayward STATE SENATE | DISTRICT 10 | Even with the pocket… Read More ›
Is Joel Young Running Scared?
AC TRANSIT | AT-LARGE SEAT | Since 2011, AC Transit Board Director At-Large Joel Young has racked up a list of notable misdeeds unmatched in East Bay politics. Two years after being appointed to the seat, he began what was… Read More ›
Labor’s Tacit Support for Joel Young may have Cleared AC Transit Field
A graphic from 2012 contemplated Joel Young’s next move. It may be another four years at AC Transit. AC TRANSIT | AT-LARGE | The re-election of At-Large AC Transit board member Joel Young received a significant boost when two potential… Read More ›
Hayward City Council to Forego Pay Raise; Swear-In New Mayor Tuesday
HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL | At least, the Hayward City Council puts its money where its mouth is. As the city continues its hard line against some of its public employee labor groups, the Daily Review reports, the new City Council will… Read More ›
Primary Question: Hayward Mayor
Clockwise from the top: Councilmembers Barbara Halliday, Mark Salinas, Francisco Zermeno and Hayward businessman Rakesh Kumar Christian. THE CANDIDATES All three major candidates are also sitting members of the Hayward City Council hoping to replace three-time Mayor Michael Sweeney, who… Read More ›
Primary Questions: Hayward City Council
Hayward City Council chambers. Which two of the seven candidates will take a seat at the dais this summer? THE CANDIDATES Councilmember Marvin Peixoto is seeking re-election to the City Council. Hayward holds at-large June elections with the top two… Read More ›
East Bay Political Groups Give Hayward Mayoral Candidates the Cold Shoulder
HAYWARD | MAYOR | As more local political groups continue to shun Hayward mayoral candidates seeking their endorsement, it’s becoming clear the trio who voted to impose a five percent wage cut of city workers carry a torturous Scarlet Letter… Read More ›
Hayward Mayoral Candidates Explore City’s Budget Dilemma
HAYWARD | MAYOR | Hayward has two competing but inextricably related problems. One, is a long-held public perception the city is anti-development and, second, it’s a bear for small businesses to set up shop making it difficult for Hayward to… Read More ›
Hayward Budget Report Tamps Down Exuberance After $4.8M in New Revenue
HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL | Hayward is forecasting a significant bump in revenue in a mid-year budget adjustment report to be presented to the City Council this Tuesday. On the heels of increased real estate activity in Hayward, the city’s finance… Read More ›
Intriguing Hayward Mayoral, City Council Races Set for June Election
City employees picket Hayward City Hall last August. CAMPAIGN 2014 | HAYWARD | It’s been eight years since Hayward had a competitive race for mayor. In 2006, Michael Sweeney topped Brian Schott and subsequently won re-election four years later against… Read More ›
Report: Oakland City Administrator Deanna Santana Resigns
OAKLAND | Following two unsuccessful attempts at finding employment outside of Oakland, City Administrator Deanna Santana has resigned, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday afternoon. Santana, who was recently a finalist for the same position in both Dallas and Phoenix,… Read More ›
Union Vows to Influence Hayward’s June Election, Now They Just Need to Find Some Liberal Candidates
BANG Blackmails Honda | Wife of Oakland Candidate Gets Arrested | Duh-Saulnier | #EricLies CHAPTER 3 | So, know that we know the Hayward City Council is the most conservative group of public officials outside of your local sanitary board,… Read More ›
Hayward Looks to Impose Pay Cuts on City Union Workers
Hayward city employees striking in front of City Hall last August. PHOTO/Steven Tavares HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL | LABOR |Ten months after contracts for nearly 300 Hayward city employees expired, the City Council may decide Tuesday night to unilaterally impose its… Read More ›
Hayward’s Lingering Labor Dispute Is Really About A Lack Of Leadership
Hayward City Council, left to right, Mark Salinas, Francisco Zermeno, Mayor Michael Sweeney, Al Mendal, Barbara Halliday, Greg Jones, Marvin Peixoto. HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL//LABOR/ANALYSIS | To the casual observer the continuing labor strife between Hayward and its city employees might… Read More ›
Labor Negotiators For Hayward City Employees Accuse City Of Threatening Layoffs
HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL//LABOR | A three-day strike by Hayward city employees last month did nothing to persuade city officials to return to the bargaining table, while union negotiators accused the city of threatening layoffs if their demands for wage cuts… Read More ›
Kaplan Calls On Congress To Restore Head Start Funding
Rebecca Kaplan OAKLAND | Calling on the feds to intervene on the local level is nothing new for Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. In the past, for instance, she has excoriated the federal government for looking askance while financial institutions like… Read More ›
Tough Talk As Hayward City Employees Hunker Down
Striking Hayward city employees assemble in front of City Hall Tuesday evening. PHOTO/Steven Tavares HAYWARD//STRIKE | Members of the Service Employees International Union, Local 1021, the same labor union involved in the dispute with BART management, say Hayward officials have… Read More ›
Striking Hayward City Employee Hit By Van While Picketing
Paramedics tend to Hayward city employee Jerry Schilling after he was struckTuesday morning by van while picketing. PHOTO/SEIU 1021 HAYWARD//STRIKE | Just hours after 280 Hayward city employees began a three-day strike Tuesday morning, a picketing worker was hit by… Read More ›
Hayward City Employees Prepare For Three-Day Strike
Striking Hayward city employees set to picket in front of Hayward City Hall starting Tuesday. HAYWARD//STRIKE | In Hayward, the confluence of an uncompromising city manager, a complacent City Council and city employees hoping for relief following three years of… Read More ›
Bonta’s First Bill Signed Into Law Gives State Workers A Raise
Asm. Rob Bonta PHOTO/Steven Tavares) ASSEMBLY 18 | Assemblyman Rob Bonta’s first bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown contains a 4.5 percent raise for SEIU Local 1000, one of the largest blocs of union labor in state government representing over 95,000 workers. The new three-year… Read More ›
Don’t Blame Striking Workers, Blame MTC
SUNDAY COLUMN | How about blaming the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) on Monday morning when your car is sitting in traffic, instead of workers? Oh, you don’t know what or who MTC is? That’s exactly how they like it. Starting on… Read More ›
Oakland Union Members Make Raucous Demands For Their Share In Next Budget
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL//BUDGET | Members of the largest union in the city packed the Oakland City Council chambers on Tuesday, demanding concessions from the city as it prepares to release its financial plans for the next five years. The plan… Read More ›
Labor Calls Out Hayward For Strong Arm Bargaining Tactics
HAYWARDMar. 28, 2012 | Representatives for city employee unions in Hayward took the unusual stance of publicly shedding light on what they charge is the city’s attempts to force them under threat of layoffs to accept steep cuts in wages. Employees… Read More ›
Major Labor Union Pulls Endorsement of Joel Young
ASSEMBLY 18Mar. 15, 2012 | On February 6, the powerful Service Employees International Union endorsed all three candidates for the 18th Assembly District in the East Bay. However, a month later the union took the unusual step of withdrawing its… Read More ›
Guillen Nabs Early Union Endorsement in Assembly Race
Sept. 6, 2011 | A day after Labor Day, assembly candidate Abel Guillen snagged one of the first big union endorsements of the upcoming election season. Guillen, who is running for the newly-drawn 18th District representing Alameda, San Leandro and part of… Read More ›
Former SL Hospital Suitor Accused of Bilking Medicare
WAXMAN, STARK, UNION SAYS PRIME OVERBILLED MEDICARE $18 MILLIONThere will be blood and it may or may not be dirty, according to a federal and state investigation into claims by Reps. Henry Waxman and Pete Stark that Prime Healthcare Services, which once… Read More ›
