DSA congratulates the 350,000 workers at UPS for ratifying their contract after showing their bosses and the country that they were ready to strike. This contract includes significant wage increases, the elimination of two-tier wages for package car drivers, the installation of air conditioning in new vehicles, and the creation of thousands of new full-time warehouse jobs. Together, these terms represent a transfer of over $30 billion in surplus value away from corporate owners and directly to 350,000 workers. 

Over the past month, we bore witness to a great debate as workers reviewed the contract offer to decide whether or not it was good enough. This signifies something —that workers are not willing to settle for less. As the result of a historic contract campaign, UPS Teamsters got a taste of how it felt to flex their power as workers. A working class with high expectations is a very good thing for the Teamsters, for our labor movement, and for the struggle for workplace democracy and socialism. 

After two decades of concessionary contracts, UPS Teamsters have begun the process of transforming their workplace, their union, and the labor movement. They are energized around these wins and are ready to continue the fight into the coming period. 

As DSA, we are energized with them. Our Strike Ready campaign to support UPS Teamsters engaged over 100 chapters. It was our largest national campaign since Bernie 2020. Thousands of comrades signed petitions, attended rallies, walked practice pickets, and demonstrated to strike-ready workers that socialism means solidarity. We are proud of our comrades for this incredible effort, and we look forward to building on the relationships formed with the Teamsters rank-and-file across the country.

Inside the Teamsters’ contract campaign and inside our Strike Ready campaign, we see the unmistakable spark of a new fire in the labor movement; a revival of a movement that knows its own fighting strength. This momentum will not stop. We will carry it through the fight at the Big Three auto companies and into the struggles to come. 

Solidarity forever!

 

 

The post UPS Teamsters Show Us the Way appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

by Iris Scott

The 9th UFCW International Convention was both infuriating and inspiring – that was my experience as a rank-and-file member serving as a delegate and pushing for reform within UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers International Union). The primary camps in opposition at the convention were the ironically named Members First uncontested slate fighting to maintain the status quo vs. the Essential Workers for Democracy (EW4D). Reformers got some significant wins with better strike benefits, a form of UFCW Board representation, and the creation of a new healthcare division. But some of our biggest priorities got voted down: one member one vote, first day strike pay, seats on the International board for rank and file workers, more investment in organizing, and others. The mental gymnastics by staff and local presidents needed to oppose these common sense pro-worker amendments was impressive. But since convention, EW4D has been hearing from workers all across the US and Canada who are inspired by what we are doing and want to get involved. 

This UFCW convention, held every 5 years, is when our international leadership is selected, and amendments to our constitution are debated and voted upon. This past April 2023, reformers from within UFCW came together as delegates and alternates in Las Vegas to shake up the status quo that has been accepted for far too long within our union. It was invaluable to connect with other reformers in person and to stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity as we begin our fight for a more democratic union. 

EW4D is fighting for reforms such as one member one vote, first day strike pay, capping staff salaries at $250k, committing more resources and effort towards organizing, and many other pro-democracy and pro-worker changes. Five local Presidents receive annual compensation over $400,000. Our union dues should be going to efforts to organize more workers and fight against corporations and greedy executives, not to pay union staffers an executive’s salary. EW4D examined the full list of delegates and alternates to the convention. We estimate that 60% or more of those in attendance at convention were UFCW staff (UFCW International has not released the number of paid staff vs rank-and-file workers at convention, when asked). We can both recognize the importance of union staff and also admit that not providing our rank-and-file members a truly democratic way to elect our leadership is wrong. UFCW is more than 1 million workers strong across the United States and Canada, yet paid staff are essentially making all of the decisions on the future of our union. These are just a few examples of why we so desperately need to revitalize UFCW.

My journey to the 9th United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) International Convention started in the fall of 2022. Each member of my local, UFCW 1459 in western Massachusetts and Vermont, received a letter explaining that there would be a UFCW International Convention in April 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. If we had interest nominating ourselves or another member as a delegate or alternate, we could do so on a certain date, time, and location. Knowing that this letter went out to more than 4,000 members, I wasn’t quite sure how contested this nomination process and election would be. My fellow stewards and I talked and decided to put our names in the hat; we wanted to have representation from our store, even if it was highly unlikely. After the nomination day came and went, we found out that nobody outside of our group had nominated or self-nominated (in a Local of approximately 4,000 members) which was very shocking to me, but we’ve all seen this before in various elections. Sometimes the only thing you need to do is to show up. I was lucky enough to be appointed a convention delegate, and my coworker and fellow steward Ian Kelly was appointed an alternate. The rest of our delegation would be filled by a few Local 1459 staff and the rest by board members from our Local (all rank-and-file workers themselves). 

Let me take a step back and introduce myself. 

My name is Iris Scott and I use they/she pronouns. I am a rank and file member of UFCW Local 1459 which covers western Massachusetts and Vermont. I am a grocery worker and a shop steward at a food co-op in western Mass, a delegate and board member for the Western Massachusetts Area Labor Federation (WMALF), proud member of EW4D, and on the Executive Committee of River Valley DSA (River Valley covers approximately the area known by the colonial name Pioneer Valley). Boil that all down and I am simply a working class person newly embedded in the labor movement. 

When I joined DSA in the fall of 2020, I truly didn’t know much about organized labor. Just 7 months after joining, I knew that the way I could best engage with the movement was being embedded in the working class. I desperately needed a career shift in 2021 and my criteria when figuring out my next step were: 

1. work close to home  

2. be in a union 

I got a job at a food co-op in my town that was already unionized and has a bargaining unit of approximately 160. I was able to become a steward after 6 months at my workplace, joined the bargaining committee one month later to fight for our contract, and became a delegate to WMALF not long after that. Each step along this expedited journey, I have been trying to learn as much as I can from my colleagues and show solidarity with other workers and working class people. When the opportunity came to represent my workplace and Local 1459 at the UFCW International Convention, I knew I had to seize it. Rank and file workers deserve to have our voices heard, and I am humbled to have had that chance at this convention which only comes around every 5 years. 

At the beginning of November 2022, I saw the Labor Notes article UFCW Reformers Look to 2023. That’s where I first learned of Essential Workers for Democracy (referred to as Essential Workers for a Democratic UFCW in the article – they officially became Essential Workers for Democracy, EW4D for short, a few weeks later). I agreed with the reforms they were rallying around, and I reached out to them on Twitter. I got involved with them over the months leading up to the convention and did some freelancing for them alongside a small group of people from across the country, looking into publicly available tax documents from UFCW Locals. We were compiling data on the staff positions and salaries of the delegates that would be at convention, and I cannot even tell you how many egregious salaries we uncovered. For example, the president of Local 1996, based in Georgia, makes just shy of $600,000. That made my skin crawl. The highest salary we uncovered was the president of Local 464A in New Jersey who made $700,941 in 2022. Imagine – leading a local, professing your solidarity with your members and being paid an executive’s salary to represent and fight for a group of workers that you are entirely removed from. How can a Local President making $700k relate to people struggling to feed their families and avoid eviction? We live in different worlds, and that is absolutely unacceptable. That would become one of our core reforms that EW4D brought to convention: capping all staff salaries at $250,000. Spoiler alert: overpaid UFCW staff didn’t love that idea! Surprising, right?

The 9th UFCW Convention kicked off on Monday, April 24th, 2023 at the Mirage in Las Vegas. The very first thing on the schedule were workshops we had signed up for months prior. I was in a workshop called Members on the Move and I kept getting distracted by huge cheers and chants that sounded like they were happening right across the hall from us. I ducked out of the workshop early to get a free COVID-19 test, and I was stopped in my tracks out in the main hallway. This giant events center hallway was lined on both sides with hundreds of UFCW staff, delegates, and alternates – this is where the cheering and chanting was coming from. Signs, buttons, and chants proclaiming “MEMBERS FIRST” (the name of Mark Perrone’s uncontested slate) were everywhere. The irony is thick with that name and slogan – EW4D is dreaming of and fighting for a world where the UFCW does finally put members first, while the old boys club is riding the status quo and their “Members First” charade right into another 5 years of leadership.

This pre-planned gathering of Members First supporters was there to create a celebratory atmosphere as people were walking down the hallway towards the main convention hall, cheering and chanting loudly whenever people walked by. It was later that day I found out that the Local 3000 contingent – all eager supporters of the reform movement and co-authors of the proposed amendments and resolutions – were taunted and ridiculed as they walked the main hallway, sporting their (really excellent) bright blue t-shirts that read “ORGANIZING & BARGAINING & THE RIGHT TO STRIKE & A VOICE IN OUR UNION” and leading a chant of their own: “First Day, Strike Pay!”

That first day was filled with rah-rah type welcome speeches and overly produced feel-good videos of rank and file workers smiling. The heat turned up on day 2, which started off with an early press conference orchestrated by EW4D. 

Rank and file workers from EW4D spoke about the reforms needed, with 40+ of our fellow reformers standing behind us, broadcasting virtually via Facebook, Zoom, and later on Youtube. We spoke about the main pillars of our movement:

1. One member one vote
2. Investing in organizing 
3. Strike to win 
4. Member seats on the UFCW Board
5. Bringing more rank and file voices to the convention floor 

After the press conference, we all readied ourselves with the bright red bandanas from EW4D which became the visual declaration tying our movement together the rest of the week. You were in good company if there was a red bandana around you. We filtered down to the main floor and marched down the casino hallways together chanting “ONE MEMBER, ONE VOTE” and “FIRST DAY, STRIKE PAY” all the way to the convention hall. It was a great moment of solidarity, as we announced our presence loud and proud and made it clear that we were coming in with our own demands and we weren’t there to slap backs and rubber stamp all of the recommendations given to us by the various committees.

The 2nd and 3rd days of the convention were when the actual business was accomplished: the “election” of the uncontested Members First slate for the 5 top positions and the 50 International Vice Presidents, debate and votes on proposed amendments, and debate and votes on proposed resolutions. Some highlights include:

• Mark Perrone FINALLY speaking out against the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger in his speech after re-election. It only took him about 6 months and a re-election to declare that we will fight the merger, which would be absolutely devastating for our workers and the entire grocery industry. 
• The supposedly neutral Constitution Committee which vets all of the submitted amendments ahead of time coming forward with their recommendations on the amendments, conveniently being perfectly aligned with the Members First slate on all of the issues, and largely recommending against all of the pro-worker and pro-democracy amendments. 
• Debate being cut short by calling the question early. The One Member One Vote debate was prematurely cut short, with a smirk and a laugh by the Secretary-Treasurer of a NY local who makes more than $250k/year, after only 3 people had spoken – 2 for, 1 against. For context, many of the other amendments being debated had upwards of 10-15 speakers per side that spoke. The question being called so early was a clear attempt to silence worker voices. The fact that it happened while debating One Member One Vote was a slap in the face to workers everywhere. “Members first,” am I right?

Iris Scott (@sunburn_life) from @ufcw1459 wanted to speak in favor of #1M1V on the floor, but @UFCW didn't let them. So much for "members first" pic.twitter.com/vD49FtrvjP

— Essential Workers for Democracy (@EW4Democracy) April 28, 2023

• The people speaking against our pro-democracy and pro-worker amendments were almost exclusively Local Presidents and/or International VP’s. In contrast, every single person who spoke in support of these amendments were rank-and-file workers. To be clear, there are Local Presidents who support our amendments, but those Presidents understand the need for worker voices at convention and will not stand in the way of that. 
• Over and over again, staffers and people in power came up to the mic to oppose our amendments and sneer at us and our demands to actually put members first. Their overall sentiment was: “How DARE you insult us and question the International. How DARE you not trust the International blindly. How DARE you say that rank and file workers deserve a voice in our union…we stocked shelves 30 years ago, we ARE the workers! How DARE you try to cap our salaries – our members ‘sign off’ on our salaries, which means you are questioning the intelligence of the workers.” My eyes rolled so far back on that last one that I didn’t know if I’d ever see again. The mental gymnastics needed to oppose these common sense pro-worker amendments was both impressive and infuriating. 
• A Local President who was part of the Members First slate screaming into the microphone and cursing at us, the members, like we were children needing to be put in our place. By the way, he makes over $350k a year, plus a $20k stipend for being an International Vice President. 

Last month at UFCW's convention there was a lot of enthusiasm for revitalization among rank-and-file workers. There were also a lot of excuses mostly from paid staff about why they don't support it. Here's the top 5 excuses we hard. https://t.co/QP5Rd2ZCgK

— Essential Workers for Democracy (@EW4Democracy) May 17, 2023

By the end of the convention, a number of our resolutions got voted down: one member one vote, first day strike pay, seats on the International board for rank and file workers, changing 2/3rds to simple majority for a strike vote, making distributions of delegates more equitable, allowing for full per capita roll call voting at convention, and requiring International to spend at least 20% of its budget on organizing. These pro-worker and pro-democracy amendments and resolutions were shot down by the status quo majority in the convention hall. But we had some real wins, as well: the creation of a new healthcare division, extension of strike benefits to workers newly organizing into UFCW, strike pay on the 8th day (meaning strike pay will begin after a full week on strike – it was previously two full weeks, and we will continue to fight for strike pay to start on the first day of a strike like workers deserve), Constituency Groups having a form of Board representation.

There were also resolutions passed which EW4D supported that will put in writing the UFCW’s commitment to support broader social issues:

• student loan debt relief 
• trans, non-binary, and gender nonconforming peoples’ rights and inclusive language
• protecting the right to vote for those impacted by the criminal legal system
• reproductive rights as workers’ rights
• the urgent fight for racial justice 
• protecting workers experiencing domestic violence
• building power in the cannabis industry

We did not expect to get everything we were pushing for at the convention. We know that reform movements like this one take years, and this was just our coming out party – our chance to put the International and the folks in power within the UFCW on notice. They may be able to silence us on the convention floor, but we will never be truly silenced. The workers are the union and this is just the beginning. The red bandanas are here to stay. We walked out of convention with a renewed sense of exactly what we are fighting for and an electricity running through us that will continue to propel us through this reform movement. I am incredibly grateful to have met and shared this experience with so many unique and passionate rank-and-file workers, many of whom shared deeply impactful personal stories on the convention floor. 

What is EW4D up to post-convention? There have been zoom calls to debrief with those of us who were at convention and rank-and-file workers who did not have that opportunity. Our efforts now turn to strategizing ways to bring more and more workers into our movement, and planning an assembly for essential workers next spring. There is much work to be done in order to revitalize the UFCW, but we are in it for the long haul. EW4D has been hearing from workers all across the US and Canada who have been inspired by what we are doing and want to get involved. It’s time to welcome them in and get organizing. 

Iris Scott (they/she) is a union steward and active member of River Valley DSA. They are also a delegate and board member for the Western Massachusetts Area Labor Federation and working to reform UFCW with Essential Workers for Democracy.

Iris urges you to get involved with Essential Workers for Democracy by visiting ew4d.org – they want to connect with workers everywhere, whether or not you are a union member.

Does the United States have a general labor shortage? Clearly there are problems in specific locations and occupations. There are shortages at 911 call-centers across the country. The U.S. Postal Service is short of staff. In Los Angeles County where I live, the government legal infrastructure is a mess; there is a shortage of public defenders, interpreters, court reporters, and prosecutors. Despite high pay for some of these jobs, the private sector offers even higher pay. Rural school districts in the far north of my state have what the Los Angeles Times calls an “alarming teacher shortage.” Other states, too, have teacher shortages; it’s a difficult job and it is getting more difficult as the book-banners harass teachers and school officials. And across the country there is a shortage of school bus drivers.

Let’s look at this last “shortage” for a minute. A company called Zum that recruits and manages drivers for the LA Unified School District offers $26 an hour—above average for the region–and at least five hours a day of work. This might seem like a reasonable proposition for someone who needs only part-time work, but not if you are supporting others or if you are alone and don’t want to live in a shack. For a school year of 40 weeks and 5 hours a day you’d earn $26,000. If your rent is $1,300 a month, you’d have about $14,000 for your other bills and paycheck deductions over those nine months. Maybe you should try a different line of work.

Areas with high job vacancies may have specific explanations, including worker burnout, lack of appropriate skills, and lousy compensation, but these do not show that there is a widespread shortage of labor across the economy. The latter idea is being pushed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber’s writers ask why more workers aren’t getting into the labor force and accepting jobs. According to employer reports, the number of job openings in June stood at 9.6 million. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of people who were not working but were looking for work—the unemployed—numbered 5.8 million in July. Why so few? The CC answer is less immigration, more early retirements, and pandemic-era government benefits that convinced workers that “they no longer need to work.”

The Official Count of the Unemployed Is Just Half the Story

But there are many potential workers standing just outside the official labor force ready to work. The National Jobs For All Network’s (NJFAN) Full Count adds to the official tally people who want a job but are not currently searching. If we add just those 5.2 million people, the pool of unemployed job-wanters reaches 11 million, and the unemployment rate jumps from 3.5% to 8.7%.  

There is usually a large group of people outside the official labor force who want a job and soon take one. In fact, rarely discussed government data show that more people every month move from “not in the labor force” to being “employed” than move from the category of “unemployed” to “employed.” Too technical? The key point is that there are millions of workers ready to take jobs although they are not counted as looking for work and unemployed. 

Why don’t more of them actively search for a job? Probably some aren’t ready to work right away; some haven’t figured out child-care arrangements. Some can’t find jobs with decent pay and benefits. Some may have gotten tired of being jerked around in a job-search process that has become more frustrating, more dishonest, and more dangerous. Some don’t have the right credentials for various jobs. In the areas of retail jobs and accommodations and food services, where specialized skills are not key, there is a rough balance between job openings and hires. In government work, there is a huge gap between job openings of 1,130,000 and new hires at 387,000.

The Job-Search Gauntlet

In a terrific piece of research for Time Magazine, Alana Semuels presents much support for her title: “You’re Not Imagining It—Job Hunting is Getting Worse.” For example, some firms include more company reviewers on their side, and that means more opinions, often from people who are unfamiliar with the process. That makes the hiring process longer.

It is also riskier. Scammers pose as recruiters to steal applicants’ personal information, including bank account numbers. A person who claims to have been applying for ten jobs a day for many months sums it up this way: “You can’t ever be confident it’s a real job reaching out to you.”

And if you are dealing with a real employer, you cannot be sure that you will be treated honestly and with courtesy. In one survey, two-thirds of the applicants were ghosted after a job interview—cut off without explanation–and the ghosting rate for minority candidates was higher. Also, some companies lie about job vacancies. They post ghost jobs that they will never fill or not soon. Why? To get a pool of candidates they might some day use; to show that their company is expanding; and to keep current employees motivated. 

Back to the Chamber of Commerce argument about a general labor shortage. As NJFAN’s Full Count shows, the number of unemployed job-wanters is twice the official count of unemployed workers. It totaled 11 million people in July. If more jobs were more attractive, and if the hiring process were more honest and user-friendly, more people might report that they were actively looking for work, more would find jobs, and employers would show fewer job vacancies.

But there aren’t enough jobs that offer a wage and solid benefits. That is one reason we need government good-job programs. And there is plenty of work to be done. We need a massive effort to respond to climate threats of cataclysmic proportions, not to mention the need for affordable housing and a dozen other things.  We don’t need more unemployment. We don’t need a Federal Reserve-induced recession. The Consumer Price Index increased just one and a half percent over the last six months. Government actions, Federal Reserve policies, and natural economic processes worked to cut inflation rates. A recession is not necessary and would cause pain to millions of people, especially those in groups that are already hurting. Unemployment rates for disabled people have come down, but they are still very high at 6.9%. The unemployment rate for Black people is lower than it has often been, but it is still very high at 5.8% and is almost twice the white rate of 3.1%.  Also, a recession would undercut real wage growth. That is a key aspect of Fed anti-inflation policy. Wages are not exactly surging, but a 2% increase in the real purchasing power of the average hourly wage over the last year is not something we have seen much of in the 21^st century. And the Fed wants to call a halt.

The post  Is There a Worker-Shortage? A Closer Look at the July Jobs Report appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

As socialists, we are fundamentally aware of the ways money impacts legislation at all levels of government – that is clear in the voting records of Nevada’s legislators during the 2023 Session.

With cash flowing in from all sectors of private business, including landlord associations, working class needs were de-prioritized and often completely rejected. This is especially true for affordable housing. In 2022, Culinary 226 delivered a ballot initiative to North Las Vegas City Council to demand rent stabilization. This ballot initiative would have applied to North Las Vegas alone, and not Las Vegas or unincorporated Clark County. Still, it was a good bill that would have protected families from rapidly increasing rents. The ballot initiative was scrapped by North Las Vegas City Council, who tied it up in expensive litigation and declared that the signatures obtained by Culinary 226 were invalid. Of course, every North Las Vegas City Council member has received money from for-profit housing groups, including “progressive” Isaac Barron.

It was then carried by Senator Pat Spearman to the legislature, who introduced the bill to implement rent stabilization statewide. Culinary 226 rallied behind the bill, as did hundreds of community members. Las Vegas DSA sent over 200 letters in support, and community members spoke directly to the legislature about the pain Nevadans face due to drastic and unyielding rent increases. Three housing lobbyists were also in attendance: Ovation Properties, The National Apartment Association, and Nevada Realtors.

The bill passed the senate, then was left to die in the house, a common tactic used by the legislature. They didn’t vote no, in favor of the lobbyists who spent a combined $3 million on their personal campaigns, they simply didn’t vote at all!

It gets worse. If you follow these same three lobbyist groups throughout the legislature, you’ll quickly notice a recurring theme. Whenever they opposed a bill, they typically won. In one egregious instance, Ovation Properties submitted an amendment on a bill that would have ended exploitative application fees by capping the amount landlords could charge. Senator Fabian Donate, the sponsor, graciously allowed this corporate behemoth to amend his bill, changing it from a bill that helped tenants into a bill that allowed landlords to sue tenants for their own evictions. Officially, landlord groups have donated over $8700 to Donate’s campaign. Unofficially, that number is surely higher.

This is not just about housing. Other bills that supported workers over corporations were also shot down. A bill that would have provided water breaks for outdoor workers was rejected, much to the confusion of everyone involved. It originally included mandated breaks at temperatures over 95 degrees, but was quickly amended to say “as needed” over 105 degrees before it ultimately died in the assembly committee. No one directly opposed the bill, however, construction industries have donated heavily to Democratic lawmakers.

While labor unions also donated heavily to campaigns this cycle, their concerns were often ignored. Senator Rochelle Nguyen, the recipient of massive amounts of casino money, took it upon herself to champion a bill to roll back daily room cleanings at hotels, which was opposed by Culinary 226. Nguyen took a bizarre, niche stance in fighting against the union’s desired protections. While it may seem like a matter of small importance, what’s truly striking about the bill is that it was introduced at the behest of casino corporations. Nguyen argues that COVID era protections are no longer needed, but that’s not why this bill was introduced. The Nevada Resort Association pressured the Democrats to pass the bill, so they did.

Workers lost most of the fights in the Nevada legislature. Democratic lawmakers shot down most tenants rights bills, including bills that would have ended income discrimination and reigned in application fees. Workers rights were non-existent in the legislature, with zero bills passed to correct the power imbalance between employee & employer. Democrats were, however, successful in passing several liberal reforms. They managed to remove slavery from the constitution and further enshrine our already enshrined abortion rights, facing zero opposition from Republicans in doing so. The NGO world has chosen to fixate on these wins despite the overwhelming failure to support the working class.

Workers didn’t just lose, corporations and billionaires won. Most bills for worker or tenant protections simply “died” in committee without a vote, a shrewd move that voters are supposed to believe is due to time limitations. Meanwhile, a bill to provide over $500 million in public tax money to fund the construction of a baseball stadium for billionaire A’s owner, John Fisher, got its own special session. For a week, Democrats played coy. They made public announcements against the special session, stood up in session and delivered fiery speeches about the rich … then voted to pass the bill. Assemblyman Steve Yeager signaled which direction they would vote when he responded to criticism by saying “I didn’t get into politics to make friends”. I disagree, it seems that you can be Steve Yeager’s friend, but only if you have the right amount of money. Combined with the $400 million in tax breaks handed out to billionaire Elon Musk, Nevadans are now on the hook for $1 billion in free money to two billionaires.

With the help of the Nevada Legislature in this recent session, corporations are allowed to continue to mistreat workers, while tenants are without any meaningful protection, rents continue to rise, wages continue to stay the same, and no real help is offered to the homeless – except to hide them in a massive corporate sponsored jail facility. Nevadans deserve better.

Thorn West: Issue No. 170

State Politics

• The California State Legislature is back from recess this week for the final five weeks of the 2023 legislative session. All new bills will need to be voted on before September 14 in order to pass along to Governor Gavin Newsom to be signed or vetoed.

Housing Rights

• Residents of the Aetna Street encampment in Van Nuys successfully blocked a sweep. LA Public Press has firsthand coverage.

• A change in federal regulations will eliminate a significant bottleneck that prevents unhoused people from moving into available permanent housing units while working on their applications, causing units to remain empty for months while the application process drags on. Mayor Karen Bass lobbied for the change.

• After being heard at the Budget and Finance and Housing Committees this week, the initial spending plan for funds collected by Measure ULA, developed by the ULA Citizens Oversight Council (COC), was advanced to full council with a full $150 million of front-funding.

Labor

• Among the bills under consideration by the California State Legislature will be legislation that would give striking workers the right to collect unemployment benefits, as is already the case in New York and New Jersey.

• A report from the Writers Guild of America calls for antitrust agencies to regulate streaming platforms.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• In LA Taco, a report on how two-thirds of Los Angeles’ $1.3 billion in COVID-19 relief funds went to fund the police and fire departments, with none of it going toward housing.

• Next week, LA City Council committees will begin discussing the proposed tentative agreement between the city and the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which increases the starting pay for LAPD officers by nearly 13%.

Environmental Justice

• Los Angeles received its first-ever tropical storm warning, as Hurricane Hilary is predicted to pass through the area over the weekend. LA Public Press spoke with mutual aid groups that are concerned the city has not done enough to help the unhoused community prepare for the likelihood of torrential rain and flooding. Updates from the city and county noted here.

• This month the LA Times is running a special series focusing on the effects of climate change across the state and city, and what can be done on both the individual and governmental levels.

• Politico rounds up some of the climate-related bills that the state legislature will consider in the upcoming final few weeks of this year’s legislative session.

The post Tropical Storm Warning for SoCal + State Leg. Returns from Recess appeared first on The Thorn West.

The post Democracy is Power appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

Thorn West: Issue No. 169

DSA held its biannual national convention over the past weekend, with over 1,000 socialists gathering in Chicago to set the direction of the organization for the next two years. The Los Angeles chapter sent over 60 delegates, the second-largest delegation, and one of its members was elected to DSA’s 16-person National Political Committee.

City Politics

• This Tuesday the Los Angeles City Council’s Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee will meet for the first time in several months, as the absence of Councilmember Curren Price has led to several cancellations. This week the committee will discuss impediments to the Targeted Local Hire Program, which the city relies on to staff open civilian positions.

Labor

• Los Angeles city employees represented by SEIU Local 721 staged a 24-hour walkout on Tuesday in response to alleged unfair labor practices by the city. The union also used the opportunity to draw attention to the city’s thousands of staffing vacancies, which for numerous reasons the city has been slow to fill. “If you’re our members, there’s immediacy — if you’re working mandatory overtime every weekend, if you haven’t seen your family,” said union president David Green.

• The LA Times reports on numerous instances of violence being used against striking hotel workers by the security forces employed by hotels. Jacobin also has continued coverage of the hotel workers’ strike, with articles on a strike-breaking app and a strike-breaking conference of political science academics.

• Last Friday representatives of the WGA and AMPTP met to discuss the possibility of resuming negotiations. Though initial reports indicated that there had not been much progress to restart negotiations, it has since been announced that negotiations would resume today.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• Meanwhile the city has moved with feverish speed to address a parallel staffing decline in the LAPD, offering double-digit percentage pay bumps for starting pay in the latest contract. (Having fewer police officers has not corresponded with an increase in crime.) Los Angeles Police Protective League officers will vote to ratify the tentative agreement next week, after which the LA City Council must vote to approve it, first in the Personnel Committee and then in full council.

Housing Rights

• In 2022, years of tenant organizing at Hillside Villa led to a historically successful result, as the LA City Council passed a motion to acquire their building through eminent domain to maintain affordable rents. In the year since, the city has made very little progress on following through. Last week, the building’s owner delivered dozens of pay-or-quit notices to tenants. Thread from tenant rally here. 

• In July, reporting from ProPublica and Capital & Main uncovered several residential hotels — in which units are supposed to be kept as affordable housing — renting to tourists, violating the rules in plain sight. The Los Angeles Housing Department has responded by sending out notices to noncompliant owners. A motion from Councilmember Bob Blumenfield also aims to strengthen what has been lax enforcement of the ordinance, which LAHD claims is the result of departmental short-staffing.

• Relatedly, KCRW covers the city’s failure to enforce its tenant anti-harassment ordinance.

Environmental Justice

• The South Coast Air Quality Management District board approved new regulations to help the Southern California region hit federally mandated targets for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions. It is a first-of-its-kind rule that will require dozens of food manufacturers to soon begin replacing their gas-powered ovens with cleaner electric models.

The post High Vacancy Rate in City Staffing Aggravating Housing Crisis + Causing Labor Burnout appeared first on The Thorn West.

The workers of Barboncino Pizza in Crown Heights, Brooklyn made New York history on July 26th, as they voted unanimously to form a union with Workers United. Barboncino Workers United became New York’s first unionized pizzeria, an incredible show of strength for the cause of Labor in the deeply unorganized food service industry. Tonight, we hear from Alex and Mike, two workers involved in the organizing effort, about their successful campaign at Barboncino, and the fight that’s yet to come not only in their own workplace but across the restaurant industry.