econ

When CA public workers go on strike

Los Angeles city workers with SEIU Local 721 picket outside Los Angeles City Hall for the one-day strike on Aug. 8, 2023. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters

While much of the attention of “hot labor summer” has been focused on workers in the

private sector — such as hotel workers, delivery drivers and Hollywood screenwriters —

employees in the public sector are also demanding better pay and working conditions.

On Tuesday, thousands of city workers across Los Angeles, including staff at LAX and Van Nuys

airport, City Hall, animal shelters, public swimming pools and other facilities, walked off the

job for a 24-hour strike, reports the Los Angeles Times.

In San Jose, two of the city’s biggest unions, representing more than 4,000 city workers, have

voted to authorize a three-day strike starting Aug. 15 after failing to reach an agreement with

the city over wage increases, parental leave and other benefits, according to KQED. (City

council members and union leaders are expected to meet today to renegotiate, however,

reports San Jose Spotlight.)

There have been some efforts in the Legislature to expand strike rights for public workers.

State Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat from Santa Ana, has proposed a constitutional

amendment that would enshrine every worker’s right, including public sector employees, to

join a union and negotiate with their employers “to protect their economic well-being and

safety at work.”

Another measure, authored by Democratic Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes of San

Bernardino, would protect public employees from disciplinary action if they join a sympathy

strike, refuse to cross a picket line or refuse cover work for striking co-workers. The bill would

also prohibit employers from including provisions that limit or waive these rights in union

contracts.

The University of California, which opposes the bill, has contracts with a handful of unions

that restrict members’ rights to join sympathy strikes and argues that the measure “would risk

constant disruptions… and hinder their ability to serve the state.”

Reyes’ bill does include one important exception, however: public safety workers. Because

workers such as firefighters and police officers can’t go on strike, their right to join sympathy

strikes would not be protected under the bill.

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San Diego). See all our openings and apply here.

CalMatters is hosting more events: The next one is Tuesday and focuses on whether the

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19, on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push for rehabilitation over incarceration. Register here.

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OTHER STORIES YOU SHOULD KNOW

Rematches in the Valley

Then-Assemblymember Adam Gray addresses the Assembly at the Capitol on May 26, 2020. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo/Pool

Tight congressional races in the Central Valley played a big part in flipping control of the U.S.

House to Republicans last year. In 2024, those districts could prove pivotal again — and

rematches from 2022 could determine the outcome.

Wednesday, Democrat Adam Gray announced that he’ll again take on Republican Rep. John

Duarte, who won by 564 votes last November in the 13th District.

Besides bashing Duarte, Gray, a former state Assemblymember, pledges to put the Valley

above party politics.

That follows Democrat Rudy Salas declaring he’ll try again to defeat Republican Rep. David

Valadao, who prevailed by 3,132 votes in the 22nd District.

Those victories helped the GOP narrow the gap in California’s U.S. House delegation to 40-12,

from a 42-11 Democratic edge before last year’s election. And the Republican inroads made

Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco hand the speaker’s gavel to Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield.

Political pundits and elected officials are already predicting that California voters could

decide whether Democrats retake control of the House. And those competitive districts are

not just in the Valley, but also in Orange County (where Democrat Katie Porter is giving up her

seat to run for U.S. Senate) and elsewhere.

Become a CalMatters member today to stay informed, bolster our nonpartisan news and expand knowledge across California. Donate

Calendar reminder: Since it’s a presidential election year, California’s primary is March 5,

which means that if you’re not registered to vote, the deadline (other than same-day) is Feb.

20.

Training school ‘lunch ladies’

School food service workers at San Luis Coastal Unified School District train at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa on Aug 3,

2023. Photo by Semantha Norris, CalMatters

Serving about 1 billion meals a year, California’s largest restaurant system isn’t McDonald’s,

Starbucks or Subway — instead, it’s the public school system, which provides more meals

annually than all three combined.

As CalMatters’ K-12 education reporter Carolyn Jones explains, since becoming the first state

to offer universal meal programs to all public school students in 2022, California has made an

effort to offer better options than frozen pizza. The $15 billion schools have received in state

and federal funding have gone toward not only feeding nearly 6 million students, but also

serving them healthier and fresher meals, upgrading school kitchens and training staff.

In San Luis Obispo County, for example, dozens of school cafeteria workers from two districts

attended a two-day training session at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, one of the

premier cooking schools in the country.

But expanding meal programs comes with big challenges. School food service workers

typically earn less than fast food workers, so kitchens are often understaffed. Cooking

facilities at schools aren’t usually big enough to process and cook hundreds of pounds of

produce, and transporting food for preparation is expensive. And while all students are

eligible for free meals, families are still required to submit paperwork for tracking and federal

funding purposes — a process that can be “as complicated as the U.S. tax code,” one program

leader told Carolyn.

Despite the hurdles, improving the quality of school meals appears to be popular with

students.

Food insecurity and hunger: CalMatters has a detailed new explainer that explores a key

conundrum for California: Why does a state that produces nearly half the country’s fruits and

vegetables — and that spends so much on food aid — have so many residents still not getting

all the food they need? The explainer looks at the history of food aid, what happened during

the COVID-19 pandemic, what solutions are being tried and much more. If you’re curious

about this issue, read here.

Water board accused of discrimination

The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta on June 22, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

The San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are central to California’s water

supply, providing water for 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland. With its

importance, the watershed has also been the center of decades-long controversy over water

quality, the health of endangered fish species and the livelihoods of the people who rely on

them.

Now, it’s the focus of a federal environmental justice investigation into complaints by Native

American tribes that the state water board has discriminated against them by failing to

protect water quality, CalMatters’ Rachel Becker reports.

The complaint before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleges that the State Water

Board has allowed the “waterways to descend into ecological crisis, with the resulting

environmental burdens falling most heavily on Native tribes and other communities of color.”

In addition, the board “has intentionally excluded local Native Tribes and Black, Asian and

Latino residents from participation in the policymaking process.”

Jackie Carpenter, a spokesperson for the water board, told Rachel that it will cooperate fully

with the investigation and “believes U.S. EPA will ultimately conclude the board has acted

appropriately.”

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OTHER THINGS WORTH YOUR TIME

Some stories may require a subscription to read

An absent Sen. Dianne Feinstein is honored at Lake Tahoe summit // Los Angeles Times

Can state lawmakers make social media safer for young people? // Los Angeles Times

Contract negotiations heat up for CA state worker unions // The Sacramento Bee

Risk, reward for Newsom if he tries to end Hollywood strikes // Los Angeles Times

As San Quentin prison vows to transform, inmates ask: Is change possible? // The Guardian

SF can allow noncitizen voting in school board races, court rules // San Francisco Chronicle

Appeals court upholds parcel taxes based on square footage with a ceiling // EdSource

1,000 People in jail as San Francisco ramps up drug arrests // The San Francisco Standard

LA supervisors propose $25 hourly wage for hotel, theme park workers // Los Angeles Times

Kaiser nurses raise concern over staffing as San Marcos hospital opens // KPBS

No charges filed in fight between Kevin de León and activist // Los Angeles Times

No appetite from San Diego City Council to revive desegregation measures // KPBS

Proposed law could rebuild SF communities destroyed by urban renewal // San Francisco

Chronicle

‘Desperation’ in Alameda County eviction court after moratorium // Oaklandside

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David Green, Service Employees International Union Local 721 president and executive

director, to the L.A. Times: “People don’t understand the hard work they do. There’s a lot

of unsung heroes in the city. So I think it’s important that the city, that we take a day to

recognize that, and let the city know… they need to respect what we do as city

employees.”

1

Gray, in a video: “I know what independence looks like, and I know that party loyalists are

bad for the Valley.”

2

Renee Williams, a food service worker at San Luis Coastal Unified: “I’m not really a cook.

Before, we just defrosted stuff. This is all new and a little scary. But I want to learn.”

Alysa Oliver, a sophomore at Aptos High in Pajaro Unified: “The food used to come in little

plastic packages that you’d warm up, and it had this condensed, sweaty feeling. Now we

have this high-quality food that’s better for you, and it tastes better.”

3

Gary Mulcahy, government liaison for the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, in a statement: “It’s

pretty bad when California Indians have to file a complaint with the Federal Government

so that the State doesn’t violate our civil rights.”

CALMATTERS COMMENTARY

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Critics of California’s housing goals are turning to voters

and lower population projections to undercut them.

CalMatters columnist Jim Newton: Mayor Bass sees migrants as people, but Texas Gov. Greg

Abbott uses them as pawns to make a cynical point on immigration.

CalMatters commentary has a new California Voices page with previous op-eds and columns,

plus picks by editor Yousef Baig. Give it a look.

See you tomorrow

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YOUR GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA POLICY AND POLITICS

BY LYNN LA • AUGUST 10, 2023

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