News affecting working people this week: January 25-29

by Rachel Warino

We'd like to highlight a few recent articles on Friedrichs v CTA:

• [must read OpEd on Friedrichs] Scalia’s Putsch at the Supreme Court, New York Times
• Teachers should pay fair share for representation, San Diego Union Tribune
• Union supporters rally in San Francisco to express concern about pending US Supreme Court case, KRON 4

And on the 7th Anniversary of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, be sure to read AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler's post on Moms Rising: No Working Woman Should Have to Wait Decades to Receive Equal Pay. Also cheers to President Obama for his new executive actions taken today to continue to address the gender pay gap! Join the conversation on social media with #EqualPayCantWait! 

California

• Silicon Valley's poorest workers tell government 'we can't live like this', Guardian
• Public pensions spared attack by ballot measure by Jennifer Muir in Orange County Register
• John Lewis: The Fight Is Never Over, Capital & Main 
• Arrests after immigrant rights protest shuts LA intersection, Times Union
• San Jose community members deliver initiative for more hours to part-time workers, KRON 4
• Jerry Brown to announce ballot measure on sentencing reform, Sacramento Bee
• Wal-Mart wrongly fired workers for striking and must rehire them, labor board rules, Los Angeles Times 
• Uber
• [on point!] Uber doesn’t care about labor, environment, or rights of others, Manteca Bulletin
• After LAX allows UberX pick-ups, taxi drivers brace for 'trouble', KPCC
• Meet the attorney suing Uber, Lyft, GrubHub and a dozen California tech firms, LA Times
• Uber Makes Sure It’s The Only Ride Sharing Service For A Super Bowl That Is In Its Backyard, Sport Techie
• Why A San Francisco Cab Company Blames Uber for its Bankruptcy, Forbes
• $10.50 per hour by next year? Long Beach moves forward on minimum wage hike, Orange County Register 
• OC Labor Movement's story of progress: “We had to let them go” Medium
• Apprenticeship programs give employers competitive advantage, Pacific Coast Business Times
• California teacher shortage could get worse, report warns, San Jose Mercury
• Assemblywoman Gonzalez’s Double Pay on the Holiday Bill Passes Assembly
• Robert Reich’s Seriously Funny Crusade to Save Capitalism and America’s Middle Class: Part 1 and Part II  by Capital & Main 
• The workers of the San Quintin valley are no longer willing to be invisible, David Bacon

National

• President Obama Announces Rules for Closing Gender Pay Gap, NBC
• A Surprising Number of America’s Mayors Support $15 Minimum Wage, Politico Nearly two-thirds of mayors surveyed anonymously by Politico say that raising the minimum wage is something they would endorse. (!!!!!)
• Labor Goes South, American Prospect
• To retain drivers, some trucking companies try giving them a voice on the job, Washington Post
• Can Labor Support Both Black Lives Matter And Police Unions?, Buzzfeed
• Employee Wellness Programs Use Carrots and, Increasingly, Sticks, New York Times
• [great news!] Staff Of The Center For American Progress Unionizes, Huffington Post

Feel Good Friday

With all of the tragic/depressing/enraging news coming out of Flint, it's stories like this that make me feel some hope for the world. Labor unions from across state volunteer to aid in Flint's water crisis