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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 2:23 p.m. Tuesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California lawmakers are introducing a bill that would allow drivers for ride-hailing apps to bargain collectively over pay and working conditions, even as they remain classified as independent contractors for companies such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033648/uber-lyft-withheld-billions-in-pay-california-alleges-settlement-talks-are-underway\">Uber and Lyft\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the measure, announced Tuesday at a rally with dozens of drivers near the state Capitol, unions that are certified by the state would be able to negotiate with app-based transportation companies on behalf of drivers to resolve disputes and improve working conditions. The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency would enforce the provisions, though details on the process have not yet been worked out, according to a draft of the bill reviewed by KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Independent contractors are not entitled to employee benefits such as minimum wage and overtime. They are also excluded from the National Labor Relations Act, a federal law that grants most private-sector employees the right to collectively bargain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed legislation, AB 1340, would not cover delivery drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), who are among several Democratic co-authors of the bill, spoke at Tuesday’s rally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We stand for the right of every worker to truly have a voice,” Wicks told the crowd of people holding signs that read “Gig Drivers Union Now.” “We’re here today to talk about respecting the voices of our rideshare drivers and offering you the choice to build power in your union. To build power for better wages, to build power for better working conditions, to build power for financial stability in your homes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Uber drivers and advocates rally outside the company’s driver support center in South San José on June 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Service Employees International Union, which supports AB 1340, backed a similar initiative in Massachusetts that \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/massachusetts-voters-allow-uber-lyft-drivers-unionize-2024-11-06/#:~:text=BOSTON%2C%20Nov%206%20(Reuters),based%20companies%20like%20Uber%20(UBER.\">voters approved\u003c/a> last fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, Uber, Lyft and other gig companies spent more than $200 million to back \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002988/some-gig-workers-say-they-are-seeing-little-of-prop-22-promises-and-lack-of-enforcement-from-state\">Proposition 22\u003c/a>, a 2020 ballot initiative that exempted them from having to classify their drivers as employees. Studies show employers often save money by hiring independent contractors, as they generally avoid paying for payroll taxes and employee benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Drivers overwhelmingly voted for and continue to support Prop. 22 because it is their preferred way to structure benefits and protections,” a Lyft spokesperson said in a statement. “And for years, we’ve been building upon this framework to roll out new products and features designed to improve the driver experience.”[aside postID=news_12034478 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/FederalEmployeeLayoffsGetty-1020x680.jpg']As part of Proposition 22, the gig companies promised that drivers would receive at least 120% of the local minimum wage while giving a ride or doing a delivery, a health care stipend of up to $426 for those that qualified, and accident insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An Uber spokesperson said AB 1340, if implemented, would end up increasing the price of rides and suggested that most drivers’ voices may be left out of a union process because only a small proportion work a significant number of hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They pointed to \u003ca href=\"https://protectdriversandservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/BRG-Economic-Impact-Analysis_FINAL_1.21.25.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a report (PDF)\u003c/a> by the Berkeley Research Group, a consulting firm, that found only 7% of drivers for app-based ride and delivery platforms worked more than 20 hours per week. The research was commissioned by Protect App-Based Drivers & Services, a group that counts Uber and Lyft among its members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Californians are already feeling the squeeze — and this proposal would drive up rideshare costs even more while threatening the flexible jobs thousands depend on,” the Uber spokesperson said. “Drivers have been clear: they want to stay independent and keep the freedom to choose when and how they work, with access to meaningful benefits.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, at the Sacramento rally, several drivers said their payment for rides has dropped as Uber and Lyft keep a greater share of what customers pay. A \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/gig-passenger-and-delivery-driver-pay-in-five-metro-areas/\">report by the UC Berkeley Labor Center\u003c/a> last year found that ride-hail drivers in the San Francisco Bay and four other metro areas made less than minimum wage after taking into account expenses and wait times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11770515\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11770515\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1457\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut-800x607.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut-1020x774.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut-1200x911.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Uber and Lyft drivers rallied at Uber headquarters in San Francisco in August 2019 before heading to Sacramento to push for legislation classifying them as employees. \u003ccite>(Sruti Mamidanna/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nick Calabar Jr. of Stockton said that when he started driving for Uber and Lyft 16 years ago, the pay was decent, but now it’s a struggle to survive. During a ride last week that cost the customer $60, Lyft only paid him $14, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How is that fair? I do all the work, pay for the cost of my car payment each month, cost of charging my vehicle, and not to mention taking all the risks,” Calabar said. “Like thousands of rideshare drivers, working for Uber or Lyft isn’t just a side gig, it’s our job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The effort to carve a new path for ride-hail drivers to collectively bargain in California comes as attorneys for the state and the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego are meeting Tuesday for a closed-door \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033648/uber-lyft-withheld-billions-in-pay-california-alleges-settlement-talks-are-underway\">mediation session\u003c/a> with Lyft. Another is planned with Uber for next month.[aside postID=news_12033648 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-1020x680.jpg']The negotiations stem from yearslong lawsuits by the California labor commissioner’s office, as well as the attorney general’s office and the three cities. Those legal challenges allege Uber and Lyft owe potentially billions of dollars in wages and damages to drivers misclassified as independent contractors before Proposition 22 passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last fall, Massachusetts \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/massachusetts-voters-allow-uber-lyft-drivers-unionize-2024-11-06/#:~:text=BOSTON%2C%20Nov%206%20(Reuters),based%20companies%20like%20Uber%20(UBER.\">became the first state\u003c/a> to allow ride-hail drivers to unionize as independent contractors. The companies did not formally oppose that measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Massachusetts Department of Labor is drafting regulations on the nuts and bolts of how the measure will work, including what happens if negotiations break down or what behavior constitutes as an unfair labor practice, said Maria O’Brien, who teaches employment law at Boston University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though Uber and Lyft did not formally oppose this, I would be very surprised if they simply rolled over once the regs are issued,” O’Brien said, pointing to companies’ track record of fighting policies they perceived as threats to their revenue and profits. “It wouldn’t surprise me, depending on what the regulations say, if you were to see lawsuits from Uber and Lyft.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the estimated 70,000 ride-hail drivers in that state, an option to engage in collective negotiations could build on gains achieved through a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mass.gov/info-details/uber-and-lyft-settlement-information-and-frequently-asked-questions\">settlement \u003c/a>between the Massachusetts attorney general’s office and Uber and Lyft last year, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In that deal, the companies agreed to pay a combined total of $175 million, most of it in restitution to drivers who were underpaid. Uber and Lyft must also compensate drivers at least $33.48 per hour for time spent picking up and driving a customer, an amount that will be adjusted annually for inflation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that the drivers themselves view the settlement as a promising first step, but view the union as a mechanism by which they’re going to get increases going forward,” O’Brien said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed legislation, AB 1340, would not cover delivery drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), who are among several Democratic co-authors of the bill, spoke at Tuesday’s rally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We stand for the right of every worker to truly have a voice,” Wicks told the crowd of people holding signs that read “Gig Drivers Union Now.” “We’re here today to talk about respecting the voices of our rideshare drivers and offering you the choice to build power in your union. To build power for better wages, to build power for better working conditions, to build power for financial stability in your homes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240625-UBERSANJOSE-JG-1-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Uber drivers and advocates rally outside the company’s driver support center in South San José on June 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Service Employees International Union, which supports AB 1340, backed a similar initiative in Massachusetts that \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/massachusetts-voters-allow-uber-lyft-drivers-unionize-2024-11-06/#:~:text=BOSTON%2C%20Nov%206%20(Reuters),based%20companies%20like%20Uber%20(UBER.\">voters approved\u003c/a> last fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, Uber, Lyft and other gig companies spent more than $200 million to back \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002988/some-gig-workers-say-they-are-seeing-little-of-prop-22-promises-and-lack-of-enforcement-from-state\">Proposition 22\u003c/a>, a 2020 ballot initiative that exempted them from having to classify their drivers as employees. Studies show employers often save money by hiring independent contractors, as they generally avoid paying for payroll taxes and employee benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Drivers overwhelmingly voted for and continue to support Prop. 22 because it is their preferred way to structure benefits and protections,” a Lyft spokesperson said in a statement. “And for years, we’ve been building upon this framework to roll out new products and features designed to improve the driver experience.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>As part of Proposition 22, the gig companies promised that drivers would receive at least 120% of the local minimum wage while giving a ride or doing a delivery, a health care stipend of up to $426 for those that qualified, and accident insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An Uber spokesperson said AB 1340, if implemented, would end up increasing the price of rides and suggested that most drivers’ voices may be left out of a union process because only a small proportion work a significant number of hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They pointed to \u003ca href=\"https://protectdriversandservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/BRG-Economic-Impact-Analysis_FINAL_1.21.25.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a report (PDF)\u003c/a> by the Berkeley Research Group, a consulting firm, that found only 7% of drivers for app-based ride and delivery platforms worked more than 20 hours per week. The research was commissioned by Protect App-Based Drivers & Services, a group that counts Uber and Lyft among its members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Californians are already feeling the squeeze — and this proposal would drive up rideshare costs even more while threatening the flexible jobs thousands depend on,” the Uber spokesperson said. “Drivers have been clear: they want to stay independent and keep the freedom to choose when and how they work, with access to meaningful benefits.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, at the Sacramento rally, several drivers said their payment for rides has dropped as Uber and Lyft keep a greater share of what customers pay. A \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/gig-passenger-and-delivery-driver-pay-in-five-metro-areas/\">report by the UC Berkeley Labor Center\u003c/a> last year found that ride-hail drivers in the San Francisco Bay and four other metro areas made less than minimum wage after taking into account expenses and wait times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11770515\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11770515\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1457\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut-800x607.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut-1020x774.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/RS38759__M6A2447-qut-1200x911.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Uber and Lyft drivers rallied at Uber headquarters in San Francisco in August 2019 before heading to Sacramento to push for legislation classifying them as employees. \u003ccite>(Sruti Mamidanna/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nick Calabar Jr. of Stockton said that when he started driving for Uber and Lyft 16 years ago, the pay was decent, but now it’s a struggle to survive. During a ride last week that cost the customer $60, Lyft only paid him $14, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How is that fair? I do all the work, pay for the cost of my car payment each month, cost of charging my vehicle, and not to mention taking all the risks,” Calabar said. “Like thousands of rideshare drivers, working for Uber or Lyft isn’t just a side gig, it’s our job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The effort to carve a new path for ride-hail drivers to collectively bargain in California comes as attorneys for the state and the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego are meeting Tuesday for a closed-door \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033648/uber-lyft-withheld-billions-in-pay-california-alleges-settlement-talks-are-underway\">mediation session\u003c/a> with Lyft. Another is planned with Uber for next month.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The negotiations stem from yearslong lawsuits by the California labor commissioner’s office, as well as the attorney general’s office and the three cities. Those legal challenges allege Uber and Lyft owe potentially billions of dollars in wages and damages to drivers misclassified as independent contractors before Proposition 22 passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last fall, Massachusetts \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/massachusetts-voters-allow-uber-lyft-drivers-unionize-2024-11-06/#:~:text=BOSTON%2C%20Nov%206%20(Reuters),based%20companies%20like%20Uber%20(UBER.\">became the first state\u003c/a> to allow ride-hail drivers to unionize as independent contractors. The companies did not formally oppose that measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Massachusetts Department of Labor is drafting regulations on the nuts and bolts of how the measure will work, including what happens if negotiations break down or what behavior constitutes as an unfair labor practice, said Maria O’Brien, who teaches employment law at Boston University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though Uber and Lyft did not formally oppose this, I would be very surprised if they simply rolled over once the regs are issued,” O’Brien said, pointing to companies’ track record of fighting policies they perceived as threats to their revenue and profits. “It wouldn’t surprise me, depending on what the regulations say, if you were to see lawsuits from Uber and Lyft.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the estimated 70,000 ride-hail drivers in that state, an option to engage in collective negotiations could build on gains achieved through a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mass.gov/info-details/uber-and-lyft-settlement-information-and-frequently-asked-questions\">settlement \u003c/a>between the Massachusetts attorney general’s office and Uber and Lyft last year, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In that deal, the companies agreed to pay a combined total of $175 million, most of it in restitution to drivers who were underpaid. Uber and Lyft must also compensate drivers at least $33.48 per hour for time spent picking up and driving a customer, an amount that will be adjusted annually for inflation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that the drivers themselves view the settlement as a promising first step, but view the union as a mechanism by which they’re going to get increases going forward,” O’Brien said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Federal Workers Are Being Fired by the Thousands. California Wants to Hire Them",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Golden State has a message for federal employees who’ve \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034414/rural-california-relies-on-the-trump-administration-for-jobs-now-theyre-bracing-for-cuts\">lost their jobs\u003c/a>: Come work for California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Trump administration carries out massive layoffs across federal agencies, California launched \u003ca href=\"https://www.calhr.ca.gov/Pages/latest-news.aspx\">an initiative\u003c/a> on Friday to recruit those displaced workers to thousands of vacant positions with the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Top recruitment priorities for the state’s 3,200 current job openings include \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029182/federal-policy-turmoil-threatens-californias-wildfire-prevention-efforts\">firefighters\u003c/a>, clinical social workers and psychologists, Monica Erickson, chief deputy director of the California Department of Human Resources, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is an incredible opportunity for California to be able to get workers that have incredible skill sets that California is looking for,” said Erickson, a state employee for 35 years. “We have great opportunities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tens of thousands of federal workers have been terminated or placed on administrative leave as President Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency shrinks agencies in a quest to reduce spending. Just this week, about 10,000 people were laid off from the Department of Health and Human Services, including hundreds at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033968/san-franciscos-hhs-office-close-federal-health-cuts-pelosi\">San Francisco office that was shut down\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024152\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024152\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy.jpg\" alt=\"Two men wearing jackets and the man on the right wearing a black hat stand near each other talking.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1336\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy-1920x1283.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Donald Trump talks with Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Jan. 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/03/03/governor-newsom-orders-return-to-office/\">ordered\u003c/a> CalHR to take steps to recruit laid-off federal employees. That includes a new resource \u003ca href=\"https://workforcalifornia.ca.gov/federalworkers\">website\u003c/a> that aims to help former or current federal workers better understand California’s job application process and find openings that match their skills, particularly in fields such as firefighting, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029178/trumps-mass-layoffs-noaa-cut-into-bay-area-weather-service\">weather forecasting\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029795/california-scientists-left-adrift-mass-federal-layoffs-noaa\">science\u003c/a>, and medical and mental health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California values the skillset and experience federal workers bring to public service — and we want them to know that there is a place for them here in the Golden State,” Newsom said in a statement. “Recruiting these experienced professionals to fill key job openings in a variety of fields can help us now and into the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is joining other states that are wooing former federal employees to fill jobs within their ranks. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said a “You’re Hired” campaign that started in February has drawn more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/youre-hired-governor-hochul-announces-more-1300-applications-received-new-york-launched#:~:text=Governor%20Kathy%20Hochul%20today%20updated,of%20Government%20Efficiency%20\">1,300 job applications\u003c/a> to state agencies and hired 28 candidates with federal work experience.[aside postID=news_12034221 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250307-BERKELEY-SCIENCE-PROTEST-MD-06-KQED-1020x680.jpg']According to the Hawaii Department of Human Resources Development, the state has hired 12 former federal workers, with more in the pipeline, after receiving more than 2,200 applications since February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hawaii Gov. Josh Green ordered the state to \u003ca href=\"https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/office-of-the-governor-news-release-gov-green-signs-executive-order-for-expedited-state-hiring/\">expedite\u003c/a> its hiring process for federal workers, a step California has not yet taken, according to Erickson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re certainly trying to focus on our federal workforce and bring them over by providing resources to them, videos to make it easy to hire, but the process is the same,” Erickson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Applicants who’ve self-identified as being affected by federal job cuts have created 165 online accounts to apply for California state jobs since March 7, when CalHR started tracking this information. The agency does not know how many of these applicants have been hired, according to a spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s new one-stop website for federal employees features guides to navigate the application process, examples of state positions that may have federal equivalency and a look at benefits available to California state workers such as employee pensions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalHR will hold a virtual training on Thursday tailored to former federal employees on how to apply for a state job, as well as future \u003ca href=\"https://workforcalifornia.ca.gov/events/\">hiring events\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Golden State has a message for federal employees who’ve \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034414/rural-california-relies-on-the-trump-administration-for-jobs-now-theyre-bracing-for-cuts\">lost their jobs\u003c/a>: Come work for California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Trump administration carries out massive layoffs across federal agencies, California launched \u003ca href=\"https://www.calhr.ca.gov/Pages/latest-news.aspx\">an initiative\u003c/a> on Friday to recruit those displaced workers to thousands of vacant positions with the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Top recruitment priorities for the state’s 3,200 current job openings include \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029182/federal-policy-turmoil-threatens-californias-wildfire-prevention-efforts\">firefighters\u003c/a>, clinical social workers and psychologists, Monica Erickson, chief deputy director of the California Department of Human Resources, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is an incredible opportunity for California to be able to get workers that have incredible skill sets that California is looking for,” said Erickson, a state employee for 35 years. “We have great opportunities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tens of thousands of federal workers have been terminated or placed on administrative leave as President Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency shrinks agencies in a quest to reduce spending. Just this week, about 10,000 people were laid off from the Department of Health and Human Services, including hundreds at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033968/san-franciscos-hhs-office-close-federal-health-cuts-pelosi\">San Francisco office that was shut down\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12024152\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12024152\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy.jpg\" alt=\"Two men wearing jackets and the man on the right wearing a black hat stand near each other talking.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1336\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/102425-Newsom-Trump-LA-Fires-AP-CM-03-copy-1920x1283.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Donald Trump talks with Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Jan. 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/03/03/governor-newsom-orders-return-to-office/\">ordered\u003c/a> CalHR to take steps to recruit laid-off federal employees. That includes a new resource \u003ca href=\"https://workforcalifornia.ca.gov/federalworkers\">website\u003c/a> that aims to help former or current federal workers better understand California’s job application process and find openings that match their skills, particularly in fields such as firefighting, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029178/trumps-mass-layoffs-noaa-cut-into-bay-area-weather-service\">weather forecasting\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029795/california-scientists-left-adrift-mass-federal-layoffs-noaa\">science\u003c/a>, and medical and mental health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California values the skillset and experience federal workers bring to public service — and we want them to know that there is a place for them here in the Golden State,” Newsom said in a statement. “Recruiting these experienced professionals to fill key job openings in a variety of fields can help us now and into the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is joining other states that are wooing former federal employees to fill jobs within their ranks. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said a “You’re Hired” campaign that started in February has drawn more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/youre-hired-governor-hochul-announces-more-1300-applications-received-new-york-launched#:~:text=Governor%20Kathy%20Hochul%20today%20updated,of%20Government%20Efficiency%20\">1,300 job applications\u003c/a> to state agencies and hired 28 candidates with federal work experience.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>According to the Hawaii Department of Human Resources Development, the state has hired 12 former federal workers, with more in the pipeline, after receiving more than 2,200 applications since February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hawaii Gov. Josh Green ordered the state to \u003ca href=\"https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/office-of-the-governor-news-release-gov-green-signs-executive-order-for-expedited-state-hiring/\">expedite\u003c/a> its hiring process for federal workers, a step California has not yet taken, according to Erickson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re certainly trying to focus on our federal workforce and bring them over by providing resources to them, videos to make it easy to hire, but the process is the same,” Erickson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Applicants who’ve self-identified as being affected by federal job cuts have created 165 online accounts to apply for California state jobs since March 7, when CalHR started tracking this information. The agency does not know how many of these applicants have been hired, according to a spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s new one-stop website for federal employees features guides to navigate the application process, examples of state positions that may have federal equivalency and a look at benefits available to California state workers such as employee pensions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalHR will hold a virtual training on Thursday tailored to former federal employees on how to apply for a state job, as well as future \u003ca href=\"https://workforcalifornia.ca.gov/events/\">hiring events\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Far from the halls of power in Washington, the forested hamlet of Mount Shasta has long tied its economic fate to a functioning federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet even in a county where President Donald Trump’s cuts could hit the region’s economy hard, some are welcoming them. Nearly 60% of voters there supported the president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The past two months have been a whirlwind for rural towns across California like Mount Shasta, population 3,200, where federal lands abound and outdoor recreation drives the local economy. Probationary federal workers were abruptly fired, then reinstated under court order, as further reductions in force loom. Local organizations scrambled when the federal government froze some grant funds for wildfire preparation, trail maintenance and other work, then some saw the money trickle in again but with no guarantee it’ll continue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sierra Club and other nonprofits are suing the Trump administration to reverse Forest Service firings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Business owners and officials in forest towns, overwhelmingly dependent on recreation and tourism, are anxious about whether there will be enough federal workers to keep trails open, campgrounds clean and visitors coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some forest towns, like Mammoth Lakes in the eastern Sierra Nevada, are trying to backfill some anticipated federal losses with their own dollars. But that would be a tough undertaking for many others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are a poor, rural county,” said Siskiyou County Supervisor Ed Valenzuela, who represents Mount Shasta. “Federal funding, it’s not like that money is going to be replicated anywhere else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rural California relies on federal funding\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>He has cause for concern. The namesake mountain towers above the small town, drawing in thousands of visitors to climb and ski. In surrounding Siskiyou County, over 60% of the land is owned and managed by the U.S. Forest Service. As much as 6% of the county workforce is employed by the federal government, according to Census data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s second only to neighboring Lassen County. Both are among the most Trump-supporting counties in the state. In Siskiyou County, nearly 60% voted for the president in November.[aside postID=news_12026245 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/ap25023755326447-1020x681.jpeg']Estimates from state labor agencies show other small, forested counties in Northern California and the Sierra Nevada also have high shares of federal employment. By contrast, though federal agencies employ far more people at offices in urban counties, they’re only responsible for 1–2% of the workforces there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things are magnified in a small community,” said Tonya Dowse, executive director of the Siskiyou Economic Development Council, a nonprofit that receives several federal grants to help small businesses, farmers and towns including Mount Shasta. “Small reductions are felt to a greater extent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal land makes up the majority of many rural counties, which are already dealing with the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/03/rural-counties/\">likely loss of millions of federal dollars\u003c/a> that prop up their school systems and public works departments. Rural hospitals are \u003ca href=\"https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2025/01/15/medicaids-role-in-small-towns-and-rural-areas/\">generally more reliant\u003c/a> on the massive low-income health program Medicaid. Their populations are older and poorer, making the Social Security Administration and federally funded safety net programs critical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12034416\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12034416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the rural Siskiyou County community of Happy Camp on Dec. 13, 2024. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Federal officials have not been forthcoming about exactly how many workers have been fired and reinstated in recent weeks, and locals say they’re unsure themselves. The Forest Service in February cut at least 3,400 probationary employees nationwide. The Washington Post reported last week that the administration plans new cuts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/27/federal-worker-layoffs-government-agencies/\">between 8% to 50% across federal agencies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the Forest Service, who would not provide a name, would say only that probationary employees who were fired in February were placed in March under a “phased plan for return-to-duty.” Thomas Stokesberry, a spokesperson for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, directed a separate request for a breakdown of staffing cuts to the regional Forest Service press office, which did not respond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Mount Shasta, everyone seems to know someone who is affected. John Redmond, a bar owner who is also the mayor, said his regulars who work at the local Forest Service district office haven’t been spending as much since they were fired or heard of cuts. Timothy Keating, a longtime mountain guide, said he depends on a fully staffed Forest Service to approve his operating permits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Down the street, an outdoor goods store manager named Michelle is also worried about economic fallout. She wouldn’t give her last name out of fear of drawing attention to her husband, a federal employee who she said was anxious about losing his job in the next round of reductions in force.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of federal workers make up our middle class,” she said. “This can really hurt our local tax base and spending levels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Trump’s cuts will hit a divided county\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yet others welcome cuts, even if they’ll hit the local economy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the town of Mount Shasta is liberal, its streets of Subarus, crystal shops and bed-and-breakfasts welcoming out-of-town mountaineers give way quickly to vast stretches of the county where ranchers and loggers have long clashed with environmentalists and chafed at state and federal regulations.[aside postID=news_12028454 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/GettyImages-2177324845-1020x680.jpg']Longtime resentment over Forest Service management and the decline of the timber industry have split the county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many in Mount Shasta cheered when then-President Joe Biden, in his last days in office in January, designated a new national monument on Forest Service lands outside the town, increasing federal protections there. Other Siskiyou County residents, including Supervisor W. Jess Harris, celebrated when Trump indicated last month he may revoke the designation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris acknowledges the county relies on the federal government for both services and jobs — but he said it doesn’t have to be that way. He hopes federal cuts will reduce grants to environmental nonprofits that he says have hampered private industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulations like those that restrict logging to protect the spotted owl, listed as a threatened species, have “effectively damaged all of our natural resource industries,” he said. “Our area’s just a prime example of what happens when you kill the industry and become reliant on the government jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan Dorsey, chair of the local Republican Party, said he welcomes reducing federal spending and doesn’t believe the cuts will be drastic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the idea is to sit back and wait and see where the cuts are going to be made, and do we actually need those programs anymore?” he said. “We have too many -ologists all over the place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other local politicians are caught in the middle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick, a Republican from Alturas, represents 11 rural counties across Northern California, including Siskiyou. She said she’s worried about the economic ripple effects of job losses in small towns, and about funding delays in local wildfire mitigation projects, when now is the season to make those preparations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12034417\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12034417\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assemblymember Heather Hadwick speaks before lawmakers during an Assembly floor session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Feb. 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Fred Greaves for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s personal, too. Hadwick’s husband manages a local office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and she’s seen firsthand how “his people are stressed.” But her district, which she said already holds deep distrust of the government, voted for cuts and spending reviews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s going to be uncomfortable for a while and it’s going to hurt, I know some of those programs that I care about deeply are going to be affected,” she said. “My district is very conservative, and I am very conservative … I’m going to trust in my president and trust what he’s doing is best.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With both federal uncertainty and local polarization, some are hesitant to speak publicly against the cuts. The leader of one nonprofit in Siskiyou County detailed to CalMatters how the group had a Forest Service grant temporarily frozen, delaying the hiring of contractors. But after meeting with the rest of the organization the leader asked to withdraw their comments, stressing the need to remain “apolitical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Other forest towns are preparing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In bluer parts of California, some forest towns are trying to mount a small resistance. Council members in Truckee, near Lake Tahoe, last month \u003ca href=\"https://www.townoftruckee.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=116\">passed a resolution\u003c/a> denouncing possible federal cuts, citing the impact they would have on the region’s ability to prevent wildfires and accommodate tourists visiting the Tahoe National Forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Similar resolutions have passed in a handful of local fire protection districts and in the eastern Sierra Nevada town of Mammoth Lakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The town, population 7,200, balloons to nearly quadruple its size on the weekends, from skiers in winter to backpackers, climbers and tourists in spring, summer and fall. It needs the visitors: Nearly three-quarters of Mammoth Lakes’ revenue comes from a bed tax on hotels and Airbnbs, Mayor Chris Bubser said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bubser said the city has already hired a new staff member to pick up trash and help maintain local campgrounds in case there aren’t enough Forest Service personnel to do so this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in March, the Mammoth Lakes Town Council agreed to provide $700,000 in bridge funding for a forest-thinning and wildfire resilience project run by a local nonprofit that spans 58,000 acres of mostly national forest land surrounding the town. The project relies on about $17 million in different federal grants, some of which is frozen, she said. But Bubser said she didn’t want the project to get delayed, risking having contractors leave town if they can’t be hired in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How, as a small-town government, are we supposed to plan and execute when the earth is moving beneath us?” she said. “We have to be prepared for any situation. We’re all alone out here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/04/rural-california-federal-cuts/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Rural counties are some of the most reliant on federal funding and federal workers. But some still welcome Trump’s upcoming cuts to forestry and other departments.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Far from the halls of power in Washington, the forested hamlet of Mount Shasta has long tied its economic fate to a functioning federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet even in a county where President Donald Trump’s cuts could hit the region’s economy hard, some are welcoming them. Nearly 60% of voters there supported the president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The past two months have been a whirlwind for rural towns across California like Mount Shasta, population 3,200, where federal lands abound and outdoor recreation drives the local economy. Probationary federal workers were abruptly fired, then reinstated under court order, as further reductions in force loom. Local organizations scrambled when the federal government froze some grant funds for wildfire preparation, trail maintenance and other work, then some saw the money trickle in again but with no guarantee it’ll continue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sierra Club and other nonprofits are suing the Trump administration to reverse Forest Service firings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Business owners and officials in forest towns, overwhelmingly dependent on recreation and tourism, are anxious about whether there will be enough federal workers to keep trails open, campgrounds clean and visitors coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some forest towns, like Mammoth Lakes in the eastern Sierra Nevada, are trying to backfill some anticipated federal losses with their own dollars. But that would be a tough undertaking for many others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are a poor, rural county,” said Siskiyou County Supervisor Ed Valenzuela, who represents Mount Shasta. “Federal funding, it’s not like that money is going to be replicated anywhere else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rural California relies on federal funding\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>He has cause for concern. The namesake mountain towers above the small town, drawing in thousands of visitors to climb and ski. In surrounding Siskiyou County, over 60% of the land is owned and managed by the U.S. Forest Service. As much as 6% of the county workforce is employed by the federal government, according to Census data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s second only to neighboring Lassen County. Both are among the most Trump-supporting counties in the state. In Siskiyou County, nearly 60% voted for the president in November.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Estimates from state labor agencies show other small, forested counties in Northern California and the Sierra Nevada also have high shares of federal employment. By contrast, though federal agencies employ far more people at offices in urban counties, they’re only responsible for 1–2% of the workforces there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things are magnified in a small community,” said Tonya Dowse, executive director of the Siskiyou Economic Development Council, a nonprofit that receives several federal grants to help small businesses, farmers and towns including Mount Shasta. “Small reductions are felt to a greater extent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal land makes up the majority of many rural counties, which are already dealing with the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/03/rural-counties/\">likely loss of millions of federal dollars\u003c/a> that prop up their school systems and public works departments. Rural hospitals are \u003ca href=\"https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2025/01/15/medicaids-role-in-small-towns-and-rural-areas/\">generally more reliant\u003c/a> on the massive low-income health program Medicaid. Their populations are older and poorer, making the Social Security Administration and federally funded safety net programs critical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12034416\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12034416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the rural Siskiyou County community of Happy Camp on Dec. 13, 2024. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Federal officials have not been forthcoming about exactly how many workers have been fired and reinstated in recent weeks, and locals say they’re unsure themselves. The Forest Service in February cut at least 3,400 probationary employees nationwide. The Washington Post reported last week that the administration plans new cuts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/27/federal-worker-layoffs-government-agencies/\">between 8% to 50% across federal agencies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the Forest Service, who would not provide a name, would say only that probationary employees who were fired in February were placed in March under a “phased plan for return-to-duty.” Thomas Stokesberry, a spokesperson for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, directed a separate request for a breakdown of staffing cuts to the regional Forest Service press office, which did not respond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Mount Shasta, everyone seems to know someone who is affected. John Redmond, a bar owner who is also the mayor, said his regulars who work at the local Forest Service district office haven’t been spending as much since they were fired or heard of cuts. Timothy Keating, a longtime mountain guide, said he depends on a fully staffed Forest Service to approve his operating permits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Down the street, an outdoor goods store manager named Michelle is also worried about economic fallout. She wouldn’t give her last name out of fear of drawing attention to her husband, a federal employee who she said was anxious about losing his job in the next round of reductions in force.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of federal workers make up our middle class,” she said. “This can really hurt our local tax base and spending levels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Trump’s cuts will hit a divided county\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yet others welcome cuts, even if they’ll hit the local economy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the town of Mount Shasta is liberal, its streets of Subarus, crystal shops and bed-and-breakfasts welcoming out-of-town mountaineers give way quickly to vast stretches of the county where ranchers and loggers have long clashed with environmentalists and chafed at state and federal regulations.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Longtime resentment over Forest Service management and the decline of the timber industry have split the county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many in Mount Shasta cheered when then-President Joe Biden, in his last days in office in January, designated a new national monument on Forest Service lands outside the town, increasing federal protections there. Other Siskiyou County residents, including Supervisor W. Jess Harris, celebrated when Trump indicated last month he may revoke the designation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris acknowledges the county relies on the federal government for both services and jobs — but he said it doesn’t have to be that way. He hopes federal cuts will reduce grants to environmental nonprofits that he says have hampered private industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulations like those that restrict logging to protect the spotted owl, listed as a threatened species, have “effectively damaged all of our natural resource industries,” he said. “Our area’s just a prime example of what happens when you kill the industry and become reliant on the government jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan Dorsey, chair of the local Republican Party, said he welcomes reducing federal spending and doesn’t believe the cuts will be drastic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the idea is to sit back and wait and see where the cuts are going to be made, and do we actually need those programs anymore?” he said. “We have too many -ologists all over the place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other local politicians are caught in the middle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick, a Republican from Alturas, represents 11 rural counties across Northern California, including Siskiyou. She said she’s worried about the economic ripple effects of job losses in small towns, and about funding delays in local wildfire mitigation projects, when now is the season to make those preparations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12034417\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12034417\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/022025_Capitol-Session_FG_CM_28-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assemblymember Heather Hadwick speaks before lawmakers during an Assembly floor session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Feb. 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Fred Greaves for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s personal, too. Hadwick’s husband manages a local office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and she’s seen firsthand how “his people are stressed.” But her district, which she said already holds deep distrust of the government, voted for cuts and spending reviews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s going to be uncomfortable for a while and it’s going to hurt, I know some of those programs that I care about deeply are going to be affected,” she said. “My district is very conservative, and I am very conservative … I’m going to trust in my president and trust what he’s doing is best.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With both federal uncertainty and local polarization, some are hesitant to speak publicly against the cuts. The leader of one nonprofit in Siskiyou County detailed to CalMatters how the group had a Forest Service grant temporarily frozen, delaying the hiring of contractors. But after meeting with the rest of the organization the leader asked to withdraw their comments, stressing the need to remain “apolitical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Other forest towns are preparing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In bluer parts of California, some forest towns are trying to mount a small resistance. Council members in Truckee, near Lake Tahoe, last month \u003ca href=\"https://www.townoftruckee.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=116\">passed a resolution\u003c/a> denouncing possible federal cuts, citing the impact they would have on the region’s ability to prevent wildfires and accommodate tourists visiting the Tahoe National Forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Similar resolutions have passed in a handful of local fire protection districts and in the eastern Sierra Nevada town of Mammoth Lakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The town, population 7,200, balloons to nearly quadruple its size on the weekends, from skiers in winter to backpackers, climbers and tourists in spring, summer and fall. It needs the visitors: Nearly three-quarters of Mammoth Lakes’ revenue comes from a bed tax on hotels and Airbnbs, Mayor Chris Bubser said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bubser said the city has already hired a new staff member to pick up trash and help maintain local campgrounds in case there aren’t enough Forest Service personnel to do so this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in March, the Mammoth Lakes Town Council agreed to provide $700,000 in bridge funding for a forest-thinning and wildfire resilience project run by a local nonprofit that spans 58,000 acres of mostly national forest land surrounding the town. The project relies on about $17 million in different federal grants, some of which is frozen, she said. But Bubser said she didn’t want the project to get delayed, risking having contractors leave town if they can’t be hired in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How, as a small-town government, are we supposed to plan and execute when the earth is moving beneath us?” she said. “We have to be prepared for any situation. We’re all alone out here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/04/rural-california-federal-cuts/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "If Your Employer Demands a Return to the Office, What Options Do You Have?",
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"content": "\u003cp>Five years ago this month, millions of Americans began\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101876368/working-from-home-in-the-coronavirus-era\"> working from home\u003c/a> as companies adapted to the sudden realities of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200312-coronavirus-covid-19-update-work-from-home-in-a-pandemic\"> COVID-19 pandemic\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the coronavirus spread nationwide, individual states — \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2020/03/california-essential-worker-coronavirus-lockdown/\">including California\u003c/a> — ordered residents to stay in their homes to minimize infections. And while some exceptions were made for workers considered “essential,” by April 2020, a Gallup poll found that 62% of employed Americans had begun \u003ca href=\"https://news.gallup.com/poll/306695/workers-discovering-affinity-remote-work.aspx\">working from home\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"#A\">Tell us: How has a return-to-office mandate affected you?\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>However, even as remote work swiftly became a new normal for many employees, the shift to widespread “working from home” was not permanent. As soon as the strictest\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11874669/californias-june-15-reopening-will-scrap-social-distancing-and-capacity-requirements\"> public health restrictions \u003c/a>were lifted, some companies around the country began calling their employees back to the office, while others instituted hybrid schedules where staff could mix in-office work with remote work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now, in recent months, several major employers are changing or abandoning those hybrid schedules completely — with companies like Meta, Amazon, Salesforce and JPMorgan ordering their staff to increase their\u003ca href=\"https://www.axios.com/2025/01/01/back-to-work-office-companies\"> in-office attendance\u003c/a>. On March 3, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/RTO-EO-3.3.25_-GGN-signed.pdf\">executive order (PDF)\u003c/a> ordering most state employees to work in-person at least four days a week starting July 1, stating that “When we work together, collaboration improves, innovation thrives, and accountability increases.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, going into the office more often can be a major adjustment for many reasons. These include the length — and expense — of commuting and losing flexibility that remote work can afford people with personal responsibilities like raising a child, taking care of a loved one or dealing with their own health issues. This flexibility, advocates say, has allowed working mothers to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/12/business/women-work-remote-flexible-careers.html\">more involved in their careers \u003c/a>while they balance child-raising and granted more job opportunities to folks living with\u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/30/return-to-office-inequity/\"> disabilities and chronic health conditions\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if your employer suddenly demands that you increase your in-office hours, what can you do — and what rights do employees even have when it comes to return-to-office mandates? We spoke to several legal experts who focus on employment law to understand what options remote or hybrid employees have in 2025 if they are asked to come to the office more — and how to best advocate for your particular needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>When it comes to return-to-office mandates, your employer has the upper hand\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“The employer always has the right to set the terms and conditions of employment,” said Christine Long, partner at Berliner Cohen, a San José-based law firm that provides employers with legal representation — “as long as the employee is given notice in advance of those things.” Adequate notice, Long said, “is usually considered a pay period in advance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you moved to another region — or even another state — during the pandemic, your employer can still require that you come into the office any number of days during the week. And if you were hired during the pandemic \u003cem>while\u003c/em> you were living in another state, it’s likely your employer can also ask for you to move to California. The employer usually has the right to change the terms of employment, Long told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=forum_2010101909031 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2025/02/GettyImages-2197268386-1-1020x574.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ella Zheng, managing partner at the San Francisco and Palo Alto offices of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight — a firm that offers legal services to workers — agrees that businesses have the upper hand here. Ultimately, “the employer has the discretion to set how many days they require their employees to go back to work,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zheng acknowledges that going to the office more could absolutely make it harder for employees to maintain a work-life balance — particularly caregivers. “If they’re raising a child, especially a young child,” she said, “If the employee is caring for an elder at home potentially with medical conditions, they would have concerns about returning to work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, at the state level, there is still no law in place that requires employers to set up hybrid work schedules for parents or caregivers. During the pandemic, Long said, “there was no order that said ‘you must work from home.’ The order was that you are not to be out unless you’re performing essential services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is one state law that does allow employees to request accommodations, including working from home in very specific circumstances. In 1959, California passed the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/FairEmploymentAct\">Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)\u003c/a>, which states that employers cannot discriminate against employees based on several factors, including a medical condition or a physical or mental disability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Being a parent or a caregiver, however, is not one of these factors — and “just getting your kid to and from school or needing child care in the afternoon, those are not accommodations,” Long said. (In San Francisco, however, employees who are parents or caregivers \u003cem>are \u003c/em>afforded some additional protections thanks to the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--family-friendly-workplace-ordinance\">Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance [FFWO]\u003c/a> — more on that in the next section.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you do plan to request certain accommodations from your employer due to your health or disability, keep in mind that while your employer is not allowed to ask for a diagnosis, they can ask you for a medical note from your healthcare provider confirming that you have a disability and listing the ways in which it limits you. You can contact\u003ca href=\"https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/FairEmploymentAct\"> California’s Department of Rehabilitation \u003c/a>to better understand which disabilities and health conditions are included under FEHA\u003ca href=\"https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/FairEmploymentAct\">.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you are granted accommodations under FEHA, Zheng said that your employer needs to make sure you will not be adversely impacted in the workplace as a result. Employees, she said, “should not get excluded from important projects or assignments and not be retaliated against because they have this reasonable accommodation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12034008\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1989px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12034008\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1989\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed.jpg 1989w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed-800x536.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed-1020x684.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed-1536x1029.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed-1920x1287.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1989px) 100vw, 1989px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bay Area Rapid Transit commuters stand on the platform as a train pulls into the Powell Street station in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>If you work in San Francisco, you may have more ability to push back against return-to-work mandates\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 2022, San Francisco expanded its \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--family-friendly-workplace-ordinance\">Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance\u003c/a> (FFWO), which sets up rules for SF-based employers with 20 or more employees. “The ordinance allows people to make requests of their employer to help them with parenting, family caregiving or caring for an older adult in their family,” said Katherine Wutchiett, senior staff attorney at Legal Aid at Work, a San Francisco-based legal aid office that offers services across California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People can request things like adjusting their schedule to make it possible to do daycare pickup, or requesting to be on projects that have more predictable hours,” she said. “There’s not a set list of what people can ask for, but it’s just changes that would allow them to be able to take care of their family.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To qualify for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/Family%20Friendly%20Workplace%20Poster%202022_0.pdf\">accommodations under FFWO\u003c/a>, you must:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>work in San Francisco, or be assigned to your employer’s San Francisco office (you don’t need to live in San Francisco);\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>work for a company that has at least 20 or more employees;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>work with this employer at least eight hours per week on a regular basis, for at least six months;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>be responsible for the care of either a child (your own or a child you’re a guardian of), a family member with a serious health condition, or a family member 65 or older.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>You must submit the FFWO request for accommodations to your employer in writing. If you’re unsure how to get started, San Francisco city officials have created \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/FFWO%20Sample%20Request%20Form%20-%20August%202022%20%28English%29.pdf\">a sample FFWO form (PDF) \u003c/a>that you can complete yourself and submit to your employer.[aside postID=news_12030376 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/M6A0745_qed-1020x680.jpg']“Using the [sample] form can be a great way to make the request because there are some employers that don’t know that this law exists,” Wutchiett said. “It educates the employer that this is actually a San Francisco city ordinance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An employer \u003cem>can\u003c/em> deny your request, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/Family%20Friendly%20Workplace%20Poster%202022_0.pdf\">according to city notices (PDF)\u003c/a>, your employer can only deny your request once they have met with you to discuss alternatives — and they must also show that accommodating your request would cause them \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/reports--may-2023--reasonable-accommodation-policy\">“undue hardship.”\u003c/a> Your employer must provide you an explanation in writing and you have the right to file a complaint with the city’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you believe that your employer has ignored your request — or is not following the terms of the FFWO — \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--contact-office-labor-standards-enforcement\">you can contact OLSE directly\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>You can still try to advocate for yourself in the face of an employer’s return-to-office announcement\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you don’t work in San Francisco and aren’t therefore covered by the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--family-friendly-workplace-ordinance\">Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance\u003c/a>, you frankly have fewer options available to push back against an employer who’s demanding that you come into the office more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even though it’s possible to still talk to your employer to propose alternatives, the legal experts KQED spoke to recommend that you exercise a degree of caution when trying this — to make sure you don’t accidentally jeopardize your job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People can certainly talk to their employer about standards and ask questions,” said Wutchiett from Legal Aid at Work. But, “they should be careful knowing that if they say to their employer, ‘I absolutely cannot come to work more than two days a week in person,’ and their employer wants to set a four day in-person requirement, that might make it difficult for them to continue in their job,” she warned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You also want to be proactive in initiating any conversation like this with your employer, recommended Zheng from Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight. “As soon as [employees] learn about the change in the in-office workday policy, they should start thinking about raising the accommodation request with the employer, and they need to do that as soon as possible,” she said. “They can’t be sitting on the policy for a long time and not say anything until the last minute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make sure you know the right person to talk about your company’s policies, Zheng adds — whether that’s your direct supervisor or the human resources department — and then communicate with that person in writing, whether that’s email or text. If you end up having an in-person conversation, make sure to send an email or another type of written message to who you met — confirming what you discussed and potentially agreed to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That way it’s very clear as to who said what, and it’s really the best way for employees to protect themselves,” Zheng said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When talking to your employer, Wutchiett also suggests highlighting how remote working or a hybrid schedule has helped you become a more productive worker — ideally with concrete examples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One thing we learned from the pandemic is that a lot of people are able to work really successfully from home,” she said. “Think through the ways that you’ve been successful over the last couple of years, how you’ve been able to accomplish your employer’s needs while still working from your home and being able to point out that in the ways it benefits both the employer and yourself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That can be a way to have a friendlier conversation about what that transition to go back might look like,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’re planning to request for an accommodation under California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/FairEmploymentAct\">Fair Employment and Housing Act\u003c/a> (FEHA), remember that there is a process both you and your employer must follow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once you make that [FEHA] request, your employer has an obligation to engage in a good faith interactive process with you, to determine how they can accommodate you,” Wutchiett said. Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations that would allow you to fulfill your essential functions at work, she explained, unless they can show that it would cause them “an undue hardship.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>If you’re part of a union, check in with them about your employer’s return-to-office mandate ASAP\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to 2023 data from UC Berkeley’s Labor Center, 16.2% of working Californians form \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/California-Union-Membership-and-Coverage-2023-Chartboook.pdf\">part of a labor union (PDF)\u003c/a>. If you’re one of them, your union could well be an additional resource when talking with your employer about returning to the office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is always important to seek out your shop steward, your union leadership, and try to get the help that they can provide for you,” said Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation. She adds that union leadership can walk you through the finer details of the collective bargaining agreement that exists between workers, the union and the employer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you have a collective bargaining agreement with your employer, it’s really important to know the conditions of it,” she said. “Some things were bargained for during and after COVID that have to be taken into consideration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions and employers re-negotiate their collective bargaining agreements every few years and if negotiations are coming up at your workplace, remote working options could be something you tell your union that you’re interested in being considered for negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Returning to the office “absolutely something that could be collectively bargained,” Gonzalez said. “It’s usually up to the union and the membership of the union what the priorities are at the bargaining table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even if contract negotiations are not scheduled for the near future, she stressed the support that a union can offer its members in these kinds of labor matters. She points to the organizing and legal efforts led by SEIU Local 1000, which represents tens of thousands of state employees, \u003ca href=\"https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/state-workers-protest-newsom-return-to-office-order/103-29575fa6-02d2-4d35-959c-872e2b8e05ec#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%2C%20Calif.,they%20call%20an%20unfair%20mandate.\">as they push back \u003c/a>against Gov. Newsom’s return-to-office mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we work collectively with the union, we’re able to have a much stronger voice,” Gonzalez said — “and we’re able to force employers to deal with issues that otherwise they would like to just mandate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>\u003ca id=\"A\">\u003c/a>Tell us: How has a return-to-office mandate affected you?\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Do you work for an employer that “went remote” during the height of the pandemic but has since requested that employees return to in-person work?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you’ve experienced a return-to-office mandate, we’d like to hear from you. How did having to work in the office more days a week affect your daily life, your family or your commute — and how do you feel about it all? What positive effects, if any, has returning to the office had for you, personally or professionally? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Also, if you feel like you’ve finally made in-person work for you again, we’d like to hear your advice. How would you recommend others adapt to the shift away from remote work and back to the office? And if you worked out an understanding with your employer concerning a return-to-office mandate, what strategies worked for you?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can use the form below to share your thoughts with us, and what you tell us could be shared in a future KQED story. You don’t have to name your employer if you don’t want to, but it will be helpful to hear about when your employer began mandating more days in the office, where your office is based and where you live.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We may use any contact information you provide to get in touch with you to ask a few follow-up questions, but we’ll never share your information outside of KQED without your permission. We won’t be able to reply to everyone who submits a question, but what you tell us will make our reporting stronger on KQED.org, KQED Public Radio and our social media channels.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeF6RelNW1w7veJkDblmQFXeX-eeH4PiQGGHdodqSbAWHmqfw/viewform?embedded=true\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Five years ago this month, millions of Americans began\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101876368/working-from-home-in-the-coronavirus-era\"> working from home\u003c/a> as companies adapted to the sudden realities of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200312-coronavirus-covid-19-update-work-from-home-in-a-pandemic\"> COVID-19 pandemic\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the coronavirus spread nationwide, individual states — \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2020/03/california-essential-worker-coronavirus-lockdown/\">including California\u003c/a> — ordered residents to stay in their homes to minimize infections. And while some exceptions were made for workers considered “essential,” by April 2020, a Gallup poll found that 62% of employed Americans had begun \u003ca href=\"https://news.gallup.com/poll/306695/workers-discovering-affinity-remote-work.aspx\">working from home\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"#A\">Tell us: How has a return-to-office mandate affected you?\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>However, even as remote work swiftly became a new normal for many employees, the shift to widespread “working from home” was not permanent. As soon as the strictest\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11874669/californias-june-15-reopening-will-scrap-social-distancing-and-capacity-requirements\"> public health restrictions \u003c/a>were lifted, some companies around the country began calling their employees back to the office, while others instituted hybrid schedules where staff could mix in-office work with remote work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now, in recent months, several major employers are changing or abandoning those hybrid schedules completely — with companies like Meta, Amazon, Salesforce and JPMorgan ordering their staff to increase their\u003ca href=\"https://www.axios.com/2025/01/01/back-to-work-office-companies\"> in-office attendance\u003c/a>. On March 3, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/RTO-EO-3.3.25_-GGN-signed.pdf\">executive order (PDF)\u003c/a> ordering most state employees to work in-person at least four days a week starting July 1, stating that “When we work together, collaboration improves, innovation thrives, and accountability increases.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, going into the office more often can be a major adjustment for many reasons. These include the length — and expense — of commuting and losing flexibility that remote work can afford people with personal responsibilities like raising a child, taking care of a loved one or dealing with their own health issues. This flexibility, advocates say, has allowed working mothers to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/12/business/women-work-remote-flexible-careers.html\">more involved in their careers \u003c/a>while they balance child-raising and granted more job opportunities to folks living with\u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/30/return-to-office-inequity/\"> disabilities and chronic health conditions\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if your employer suddenly demands that you increase your in-office hours, what can you do — and what rights do employees even have when it comes to return-to-office mandates? We spoke to several legal experts who focus on employment law to understand what options remote or hybrid employees have in 2025 if they are asked to come to the office more — and how to best advocate for your particular needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>When it comes to return-to-office mandates, your employer has the upper hand\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“The employer always has the right to set the terms and conditions of employment,” said Christine Long, partner at Berliner Cohen, a San José-based law firm that provides employers with legal representation — “as long as the employee is given notice in advance of those things.” Adequate notice, Long said, “is usually considered a pay period in advance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you moved to another region — or even another state — during the pandemic, your employer can still require that you come into the office any number of days during the week. And if you were hired during the pandemic \u003cem>while\u003c/em> you were living in another state, it’s likely your employer can also ask for you to move to California. The employer usually has the right to change the terms of employment, Long told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ella Zheng, managing partner at the San Francisco and Palo Alto offices of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight — a firm that offers legal services to workers — agrees that businesses have the upper hand here. Ultimately, “the employer has the discretion to set how many days they require their employees to go back to work,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zheng acknowledges that going to the office more could absolutely make it harder for employees to maintain a work-life balance — particularly caregivers. “If they’re raising a child, especially a young child,” she said, “If the employee is caring for an elder at home potentially with medical conditions, they would have concerns about returning to work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, at the state level, there is still no law in place that requires employers to set up hybrid work schedules for parents or caregivers. During the pandemic, Long said, “there was no order that said ‘you must work from home.’ The order was that you are not to be out unless you’re performing essential services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is one state law that does allow employees to request accommodations, including working from home in very specific circumstances. In 1959, California passed the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/FairEmploymentAct\">Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)\u003c/a>, which states that employers cannot discriminate against employees based on several factors, including a medical condition or a physical or mental disability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Being a parent or a caregiver, however, is not one of these factors — and “just getting your kid to and from school or needing child care in the afternoon, those are not accommodations,” Long said. (In San Francisco, however, employees who are parents or caregivers \u003cem>are \u003c/em>afforded some additional protections thanks to the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--family-friendly-workplace-ordinance\">Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance [FFWO]\u003c/a> — more on that in the next section.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you do plan to request certain accommodations from your employer due to your health or disability, keep in mind that while your employer is not allowed to ask for a diagnosis, they can ask you for a medical note from your healthcare provider confirming that you have a disability and listing the ways in which it limits you. You can contact\u003ca href=\"https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/FairEmploymentAct\"> California’s Department of Rehabilitation \u003c/a>to better understand which disabilities and health conditions are included under FEHA\u003ca href=\"https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/FairEmploymentAct\">.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you are granted accommodations under FEHA, Zheng said that your employer needs to make sure you will not be adversely impacted in the workplace as a result. Employees, she said, “should not get excluded from important projects or assignments and not be retaliated against because they have this reasonable accommodation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12034008\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1989px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12034008\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1989\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed.jpg 1989w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed-800x536.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed-1020x684.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed-1536x1029.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/bartnostrike20130804_qed-1920x1287.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1989px) 100vw, 1989px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bay Area Rapid Transit commuters stand on the platform as a train pulls into the Powell Street station in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>If you work in San Francisco, you may have more ability to push back against return-to-work mandates\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 2022, San Francisco expanded its \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--family-friendly-workplace-ordinance\">Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance\u003c/a> (FFWO), which sets up rules for SF-based employers with 20 or more employees. “The ordinance allows people to make requests of their employer to help them with parenting, family caregiving or caring for an older adult in their family,” said Katherine Wutchiett, senior staff attorney at Legal Aid at Work, a San Francisco-based legal aid office that offers services across California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People can request things like adjusting their schedule to make it possible to do daycare pickup, or requesting to be on projects that have more predictable hours,” she said. “There’s not a set list of what people can ask for, but it’s just changes that would allow them to be able to take care of their family.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To qualify for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/Family%20Friendly%20Workplace%20Poster%202022_0.pdf\">accommodations under FFWO\u003c/a>, you must:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>work in San Francisco, or be assigned to your employer’s San Francisco office (you don’t need to live in San Francisco);\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>work for a company that has at least 20 or more employees;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>work with this employer at least eight hours per week on a regular basis, for at least six months;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>be responsible for the care of either a child (your own or a child you’re a guardian of), a family member with a serious health condition, or a family member 65 or older.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>You must submit the FFWO request for accommodations to your employer in writing. If you’re unsure how to get started, San Francisco city officials have created \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/FFWO%20Sample%20Request%20Form%20-%20August%202022%20%28English%29.pdf\">a sample FFWO form (PDF) \u003c/a>that you can complete yourself and submit to your employer.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Using the [sample] form can be a great way to make the request because there are some employers that don’t know that this law exists,” Wutchiett said. “It educates the employer that this is actually a San Francisco city ordinance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An employer \u003cem>can\u003c/em> deny your request, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/Family%20Friendly%20Workplace%20Poster%202022_0.pdf\">according to city notices (PDF)\u003c/a>, your employer can only deny your request once they have met with you to discuss alternatives — and they must also show that accommodating your request would cause them \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/reports--may-2023--reasonable-accommodation-policy\">“undue hardship.”\u003c/a> Your employer must provide you an explanation in writing and you have the right to file a complaint with the city’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you believe that your employer has ignored your request — or is not following the terms of the FFWO — \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--contact-office-labor-standards-enforcement\">you can contact OLSE directly\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>You can still try to advocate for yourself in the face of an employer’s return-to-office announcement\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you don’t work in San Francisco and aren’t therefore covered by the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--family-friendly-workplace-ordinance\">Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance\u003c/a>, you frankly have fewer options available to push back against an employer who’s demanding that you come into the office more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even though it’s possible to still talk to your employer to propose alternatives, the legal experts KQED spoke to recommend that you exercise a degree of caution when trying this — to make sure you don’t accidentally jeopardize your job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People can certainly talk to their employer about standards and ask questions,” said Wutchiett from Legal Aid at Work. But, “they should be careful knowing that if they say to their employer, ‘I absolutely cannot come to work more than two days a week in person,’ and their employer wants to set a four day in-person requirement, that might make it difficult for them to continue in their job,” she warned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You also want to be proactive in initiating any conversation like this with your employer, recommended Zheng from Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight. “As soon as [employees] learn about the change in the in-office workday policy, they should start thinking about raising the accommodation request with the employer, and they need to do that as soon as possible,” she said. “They can’t be sitting on the policy for a long time and not say anything until the last minute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make sure you know the right person to talk about your company’s policies, Zheng adds — whether that’s your direct supervisor or the human resources department — and then communicate with that person in writing, whether that’s email or text. If you end up having an in-person conversation, make sure to send an email or another type of written message to who you met — confirming what you discussed and potentially agreed to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That way it’s very clear as to who said what, and it’s really the best way for employees to protect themselves,” Zheng said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When talking to your employer, Wutchiett also suggests highlighting how remote working or a hybrid schedule has helped you become a more productive worker — ideally with concrete examples.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One thing we learned from the pandemic is that a lot of people are able to work really successfully from home,” she said. “Think through the ways that you’ve been successful over the last couple of years, how you’ve been able to accomplish your employer’s needs while still working from your home and being able to point out that in the ways it benefits both the employer and yourself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That can be a way to have a friendlier conversation about what that transition to go back might look like,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’re planning to request for an accommodation under California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/FairEmploymentAct\">Fair Employment and Housing Act\u003c/a> (FEHA), remember that there is a process both you and your employer must follow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once you make that [FEHA] request, your employer has an obligation to engage in a good faith interactive process with you, to determine how they can accommodate you,” Wutchiett said. Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations that would allow you to fulfill your essential functions at work, she explained, unless they can show that it would cause them “an undue hardship.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>If you’re part of a union, check in with them about your employer’s return-to-office mandate ASAP\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to 2023 data from UC Berkeley’s Labor Center, 16.2% of working Californians form \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/California-Union-Membership-and-Coverage-2023-Chartboook.pdf\">part of a labor union (PDF)\u003c/a>. If you’re one of them, your union could well be an additional resource when talking with your employer about returning to the office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is always important to seek out your shop steward, your union leadership, and try to get the help that they can provide for you,” said Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation. She adds that union leadership can walk you through the finer details of the collective bargaining agreement that exists between workers, the union and the employer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you have a collective bargaining agreement with your employer, it’s really important to know the conditions of it,” she said. “Some things were bargained for during and after COVID that have to be taken into consideration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions and employers re-negotiate their collective bargaining agreements every few years and if negotiations are coming up at your workplace, remote working options could be something you tell your union that you’re interested in being considered for negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Returning to the office “absolutely something that could be collectively bargained,” Gonzalez said. “It’s usually up to the union and the membership of the union what the priorities are at the bargaining table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even if contract negotiations are not scheduled for the near future, she stressed the support that a union can offer its members in these kinds of labor matters. She points to the organizing and legal efforts led by SEIU Local 1000, which represents tens of thousands of state employees, \u003ca href=\"https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/state-workers-protest-newsom-return-to-office-order/103-29575fa6-02d2-4d35-959c-872e2b8e05ec#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%2C%20Calif.,they%20call%20an%20unfair%20mandate.\">as they push back \u003c/a>against Gov. Newsom’s return-to-office mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we work collectively with the union, we’re able to have a much stronger voice,” Gonzalez said — “and we’re able to force employers to deal with issues that otherwise they would like to just mandate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>\u003ca id=\"A\">\u003c/a>Tell us: How has a return-to-office mandate affected you?\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Do you work for an employer that “went remote” during the height of the pandemic but has since requested that employees return to in-person work?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you’ve experienced a return-to-office mandate, we’d like to hear from you. How did having to work in the office more days a week affect your daily life, your family or your commute — and how do you feel about it all? What positive effects, if any, has returning to the office had for you, personally or professionally? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Also, if you feel like you’ve finally made in-person work for you again, we’d like to hear your advice. How would you recommend others adapt to the shift away from remote work and back to the office? And if you worked out an understanding with your employer concerning a return-to-office mandate, what strategies worked for you?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can use the form below to share your thoughts with us, and what you tell us could be shared in a future KQED story. You don’t have to name your employer if you don’t want to, but it will be helpful to hear about when your employer began mandating more days in the office, where your office is based and where you live.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We may use any contact information you provide to get in touch with you to ask a few follow-up questions, but we’ll never share your information outside of KQED without your permission. We won’t be able to reply to everyone who submits a question, but what you tell us will make our reporting stronger on KQED.org, KQED Public Radio and our social media channels.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe\n src='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeF6RelNW1w7veJkDblmQFXeX-eeH4PiQGGHdodqSbAWHmqfw/viewform?embedded=true?embedded=true'\n title='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeF6RelNW1w7veJkDblmQFXeX-eeH4PiQGGHdodqSbAWHmqfw/viewform?embedded=true'\n width='760' height='500'\n frameborder='0'\n marginheight='0' marginwidth='0'>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "nearly-60000-uc-workers-hit-picket-lines-in-3rd-statewide-strike-in-recent-months",
"title": "UC Workers Hit Picket Lines in Third Statewide Strike in Recent Months",
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"content": "\u003cp>Tens of thousands of workers in health care, service, research and other roles at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12027153/uc-workers-vote-to-strike-amid-federal-funding-threats\">University of California\u003c/a> walked off the job on Tuesday for the third time in five months as contentious contract negotiations drag on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor experts said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12028446/tens-of-thousands-uc-workers-strike-disrupting-campuses-hospitals-labs\">yet another strike\u003c/a> across all UC campuses, hospitals and laboratories — this one limited to a single day — points to a high level of frustration with the state’s second-largest employer as workers push for improved wages and staffing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These workers — who are community members but also patients in the health care system — are determined to make sure that these jobs are sustainable and that they can remain in these jobs,” said Rebecca Givan, a professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University who has followed the health care industry for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s walkout over UC’s alleged unfair labor practices was initiated by the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), which represents about 20,000 physician assistants, pharmacists, IT analysts and others. An additional 37,000 patient care, technical and service workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) joined the strike in solidarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both unions have repeatedly gone to state regulators to accuse the UC system of unlawful bad-faith bargaining, which the university strongly denies. The California Public Employment Relations Board is investigating the allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At UC Berkeley on Tuesday, a long line of workers marched around campus, holding signs that read “For our patients, for our research, for our students,” and “On Strike,” before a midday rally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12032232 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2201544551-1020x729.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All we want is to be able to have adequate staffing, to have enough co-workers to accomplish whatever our mission is at our worksite,” said Catherine Callaway, a UC Berkeley museum scientist and UPTE worksite representative. “What it feels like day to day is looking at all the things that you can’t possibly get done, watching your co-workers slowly burn out, watching people leave before they should really have to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UPTE members \u003ca href=\"https://upte.org/ucstrike\">argue that the university’s plans\u003c/a> to increase their health care costs without bargaining over the changes will exacerbate a recruitment and retention crisis that is hurting patient care and research. The university denies that a staffing crisis is taking place, \u003ca href=\"https://labor.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/upte-2025-fact-sheet.pdf\">pointing (PDF)\u003c/a> to lower turnover rates and increasing headcounts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, UC President Michael Drake announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032232/head-of-ucs-largest-union-blasts-top-brass-for-hiring-freeze-amid-massive-vacancy-crisis\">a systemwide hiring freeze\u003c/a> and other cost-saving measures as the university faces threats to its federal and state funding. Since contract negotiations with AFSCME and UPTE began in January and June 2024, respectively, UC has offered “generous wage increases,” expanded sick leave and other benefits to try to avoid strike disruptions, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/statement-april-1-upte-and-afscme-strike\">statement\u003c/a> by the university.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These strikes cost the University system millions of dollars, at a time when federal and state funding is uncertain,” the UC statement read. “UPTE and AFSCME are not being forthright in their characterizations, which is upsetting since we’ve made sincere efforts to find mutually beneficial solutions. Regardless, we are hopeful AFSCME and UPTE will make meaningful efforts to settle these contracts soon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12034103\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12034103\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the University Professional and Technical Employees Local 9119 and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 strike at the UC Mission Bay Campus in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The unions argue that even if budget reductions are necessary, the cuts should not be disproportionately shouldered by their members’ paychecks and working conditions. They have noted that the university approved big raises for campus chancellors last year and continued to invest in new hospital buildings and other large capital projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AFSCME and UC representatives are scheduled to meet in the coming weeks, according to a university spokesperson. State regulators have intervened in the UPTE negotiations after that union declared in January that talks with UC broke down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strikes by UPTE and AFSCME, including for a few days in November and February, have been the largest in the country in 2024 and so far this year, according to Johnnie Kallas, who directs the \u003ca href=\"https://striketracker.ilr.cornell.edu/\">Labor Action Tracker\u003c/a>, a project by Cornell University and the University of Illinois.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In health care, education and other settings, limited-duration strikes are much more common than indefinite walkouts, which tend to be more disruptive for employers as well as workers who forgo their paychecks, Kallas added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Workers and their representatives in the unions are very frustrated that UC hasn’t — at least in their mind — meaningfully come to the table to resolve their outstanding issues,” he said. “But it hasn’t reached the point where, for a variety of reasons, the union and the workers have decided they want to go on an even longer strike, which would be even more disruptive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/bkrans\">\u003cem>Brian Krans\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Tens of thousands of workers in health care, service, research and other roles at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12027153/uc-workers-vote-to-strike-amid-federal-funding-threats\">University of California\u003c/a> walked off the job on Tuesday for the third time in five months as contentious contract negotiations drag on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor experts said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12028446/tens-of-thousands-uc-workers-strike-disrupting-campuses-hospitals-labs\">yet another strike\u003c/a> across all UC campuses, hospitals and laboratories — this one limited to a single day — points to a high level of frustration with the state’s second-largest employer as workers push for improved wages and staffing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These workers — who are community members but also patients in the health care system — are determined to make sure that these jobs are sustainable and that they can remain in these jobs,” said Rebecca Givan, a professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University who has followed the health care industry for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s walkout over UC’s alleged unfair labor practices was initiated by the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), which represents about 20,000 physician assistants, pharmacists, IT analysts and others. An additional 37,000 patient care, technical and service workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) joined the strike in solidarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both unions have repeatedly gone to state regulators to accuse the UC system of unlawful bad-faith bargaining, which the university strongly denies. The California Public Employment Relations Board is investigating the allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At UC Berkeley on Tuesday, a long line of workers marched around campus, holding signs that read “For our patients, for our research, for our students,” and “On Strike,” before a midday rally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All we want is to be able to have adequate staffing, to have enough co-workers to accomplish whatever our mission is at our worksite,” said Catherine Callaway, a UC Berkeley museum scientist and UPTE worksite representative. “What it feels like day to day is looking at all the things that you can’t possibly get done, watching your co-workers slowly burn out, watching people leave before they should really have to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UPTE members \u003ca href=\"https://upte.org/ucstrike\">argue that the university’s plans\u003c/a> to increase their health care costs without bargaining over the changes will exacerbate a recruitment and retention crisis that is hurting patient care and research. The university denies that a staffing crisis is taking place, \u003ca href=\"https://labor.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/upte-2025-fact-sheet.pdf\">pointing (PDF)\u003c/a> to lower turnover rates and increasing headcounts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, UC President Michael Drake announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032232/head-of-ucs-largest-union-blasts-top-brass-for-hiring-freeze-amid-massive-vacancy-crisis\">a systemwide hiring freeze\u003c/a> and other cost-saving measures as the university faces threats to its federal and state funding. Since contract negotiations with AFSCME and UPTE began in January and June 2024, respectively, UC has offered “generous wage increases,” expanded sick leave and other benefits to try to avoid strike disruptions, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/statement-april-1-upte-and-afscme-strike\">statement\u003c/a> by the university.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These strikes cost the University system millions of dollars, at a time when federal and state funding is uncertain,” the UC statement read. “UPTE and AFSCME are not being forthright in their characterizations, which is upsetting since we’ve made sincere efforts to find mutually beneficial solutions. Regardless, we are hopeful AFSCME and UPTE will make meaningful efforts to settle these contracts soon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12034103\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12034103\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250226-UC-STRIKE-MD-12_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the University Professional and Technical Employees Local 9119 and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 strike at the UC Mission Bay Campus in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The unions argue that even if budget reductions are necessary, the cuts should not be disproportionately shouldered by their members’ paychecks and working conditions. They have noted that the university approved big raises for campus chancellors last year and continued to invest in new hospital buildings and other large capital projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AFSCME and UC representatives are scheduled to meet in the coming weeks, according to a university spokesperson. State regulators have intervened in the UPTE negotiations after that union declared in January that talks with UC broke down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strikes by UPTE and AFSCME, including for a few days in November and February, have been the largest in the country in 2024 and so far this year, according to Johnnie Kallas, who directs the \u003ca href=\"https://striketracker.ilr.cornell.edu/\">Labor Action Tracker\u003c/a>, a project by Cornell University and the University of Illinois.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In health care, education and other settings, limited-duration strikes are much more common than indefinite walkouts, which tend to be more disruptive for employers as well as workers who forgo their paychecks, Kallas added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Workers and their representatives in the unions are very frustrated that UC hasn’t — at least in their mind — meaningfully come to the table to resolve their outstanding issues,” he said. “But it hasn’t reached the point where, for a variety of reasons, the union and the workers have decided they want to go on an even longer strike, which would be even more disruptive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/bkrans\">\u003cem>Brian Krans\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "uber-lyft-withheld-billions-in-pay-california-alleges-settlement-talks-are-underway",
"title": "Uber, Lyft Withheld Billions in Pay, Drivers Say. California Settlement Talks Are Underway",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 12 p.m. Monday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly half a decade after public officials sued Uber and Lyft, alleging that the companies were withholding what drivers say could amount to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002988/some-gig-workers-say-they-are-seeing-little-of-prop-22-promises-and-lack-of-enforcement-from-state\">billions of dollars\u003c/a> in wages and compensation, negotiations with the state are set to begin Monday and continue for two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers are demanding that the state push for a settlement that adequately recoups what they say are years of lost wages, improves workplace conditions — such as protections against drivers being deactivated from the apps — and raises wages moving forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 250,000 drivers who worked with Uber and Lyft between 2016 and 2020 could be eligible for the settlement, according to Rideshare Drivers United, an organization based in California. Roughly 5,000 drivers filed claims with the state labor commissioner’s office in 2020, alleging that they were denied overtime, mileage reimbursement and other benefits employees are entitled to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, then-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the city attorneys of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego sued Uber and Lyft for misclassifying drivers as independent contractors. The labor commissioner’s office also sued the companies, alleging wage theft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two actions, in addition to several others filed on behalf of individual drivers, were combined into a single joint case before the San Francisco Superior Court. A closed-door mediation session with Uber is scheduled for Monday, while separate talks with Lyft are set to take place on April 8.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997574\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997574\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Rideshare Drivers United organization protest against Uber and Lyft during a demonstration in Los Angeles, California, on Feb.14, 2024. \u003ccite>(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The lawsuits and subsequent negotiations cover a period of time before California voters passed Proposition 22, a ballot initiative that allowed Uber, Lyft and other gig companies to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11997373/california-supreme-court-upholds-keeping-gig-drivers-as-independent-contractors\">classify their drivers as independent contractors\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposition, which received more than $200 million in backing from gig companies, including Uber and Lyft, promised that independent workers would receive better wages and treatment, a stipulation that some drivers allege was not met.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber and Lyft “have been doing what they want. They take more than half of our paycheck and then leave us in bad condition and deactivate us unfairly,” said Ibrahim Diallo, a San Francisco resident who started driving for Uber in 2015 before his account was deactivated in 2023. “More than half of the Uber drivers have to drive 12 hours six days a week, sometimes even seven days, to be able to meet the bills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers don’t get paid enough to make ends meet, and they also have to deal with maintenance costs, registration fees and paying for gas, Diallo said, adding that the ride-hailing companies are paying their drivers less and less each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12033549 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240617-VTAfile-22-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Uber and Lyft are useful, but we can do better,” he said. “We have to treat people with dignity. They have to get good pay to allow them to take weekends, at least spend time with their wife, with their children, and be happy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Uber, drivers earn at least 120% of minimum wage during active hours. The company also said it has invested more than $1 billion into direct benefits, including health care plans and accident insurance for workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Drivers come to Uber precisely because of the unique flexibility that it provides,” an Uber spokesperson said in an email. “Prop 22 safeguarded their choice to work independently while ensuring important new protections. The voters of California have spoken — overwhelmingly — and we look forward to putting these years-old matters behind us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Veena Dubal, a law professor at UC Irvine who researches the ride-hailing industry and has been critical of Uber and Lyft, studies show drivers are making less money than they did before Proposition 22. Researchers at the UC Berkeley Labor Center \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/gig-passenger-and-delivery-driver-pay-in-five-metro-areas/\">found\u003c/a> last year that ride-hail drivers in the San Francisco Bay, Los Angeles and three other metro areas made an hourly average wage of $5.97 without tips and $7.63 with tips, after taking into account expenses and wait times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, Dubal said it’s unlikely that the companies will concede much in terms of future protections for workers because of how much they invested in Proposition 22.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers “deserve every penny of the billions of dollars that are owed to them,” she said. “It’s tragic that this is primarily about getting workers what they were owed 10 years ago and not ensuring that workers today are at least protected by the minimum wage, at least protected by unemployment insurance. Proposition 22 really precluded all of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Years after lawsuits alleging massive wage theft and worker misclassification, Uber and Lyft drivers want the state to take their demands into account during closed-door mediations.\r\n",
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"title": "Uber, Lyft Withheld Billions in Pay, Drivers Say. California Settlement Talks Are Underway | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 12 p.m. Monday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly half a decade after public officials sued Uber and Lyft, alleging that the companies were withholding what drivers say could amount to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002988/some-gig-workers-say-they-are-seeing-little-of-prop-22-promises-and-lack-of-enforcement-from-state\">billions of dollars\u003c/a> in wages and compensation, negotiations with the state are set to begin Monday and continue for two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers are demanding that the state push for a settlement that adequately recoups what they say are years of lost wages, improves workplace conditions — such as protections against drivers being deactivated from the apps — and raises wages moving forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 250,000 drivers who worked with Uber and Lyft between 2016 and 2020 could be eligible for the settlement, according to Rideshare Drivers United, an organization based in California. Roughly 5,000 drivers filed claims with the state labor commissioner’s office in 2020, alleging that they were denied overtime, mileage reimbursement and other benefits employees are entitled to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, then-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the city attorneys of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego sued Uber and Lyft for misclassifying drivers as independent contractors. The labor commissioner’s office also sued the companies, alleging wage theft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two actions, in addition to several others filed on behalf of individual drivers, were combined into a single joint case before the San Francisco Superior Court. A closed-door mediation session with Uber is scheduled for Monday, while separate talks with Lyft are set to take place on April 8.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997574\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997574\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-2003719181-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Rideshare Drivers United organization protest against Uber and Lyft during a demonstration in Los Angeles, California, on Feb.14, 2024. \u003ccite>(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The lawsuits and subsequent negotiations cover a period of time before California voters passed Proposition 22, a ballot initiative that allowed Uber, Lyft and other gig companies to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11997373/california-supreme-court-upholds-keeping-gig-drivers-as-independent-contractors\">classify their drivers as independent contractors\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposition, which received more than $200 million in backing from gig companies, including Uber and Lyft, promised that independent workers would receive better wages and treatment, a stipulation that some drivers allege was not met.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber and Lyft “have been doing what they want. They take more than half of our paycheck and then leave us in bad condition and deactivate us unfairly,” said Ibrahim Diallo, a San Francisco resident who started driving for Uber in 2015 before his account was deactivated in 2023. “More than half of the Uber drivers have to drive 12 hours six days a week, sometimes even seven days, to be able to meet the bills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers don’t get paid enough to make ends meet, and they also have to deal with maintenance costs, registration fees and paying for gas, Diallo said, adding that the ride-hailing companies are paying their drivers less and less each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Uber and Lyft are useful, but we can do better,” he said. “We have to treat people with dignity. They have to get good pay to allow them to take weekends, at least spend time with their wife, with their children, and be happy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Uber, drivers earn at least 120% of minimum wage during active hours. The company also said it has invested more than $1 billion into direct benefits, including health care plans and accident insurance for workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Drivers come to Uber precisely because of the unique flexibility that it provides,” an Uber spokesperson said in an email. “Prop 22 safeguarded their choice to work independently while ensuring important new protections. The voters of California have spoken — overwhelmingly — and we look forward to putting these years-old matters behind us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Veena Dubal, a law professor at UC Irvine who researches the ride-hailing industry and has been critical of Uber and Lyft, studies show drivers are making less money than they did before Proposition 22. Researchers at the UC Berkeley Labor Center \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/gig-passenger-and-delivery-driver-pay-in-five-metro-areas/\">found\u003c/a> last year that ride-hail drivers in the San Francisco Bay, Los Angeles and three other metro areas made an hourly average wage of $5.97 without tips and $7.63 with tips, after taking into account expenses and wait times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, Dubal said it’s unlikely that the companies will concede much in terms of future protections for workers because of how much they invested in Proposition 22.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers “deserve every penny of the billions of dollars that are owed to them,” she said. “It’s tragic that this is primarily about getting workers what they were owed 10 years ago and not ensuring that workers today are at least protected by the minimum wage, at least protected by unemployment insurance. Proposition 22 really precluded all of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>President Trump has signed \u003ca href=\"https://chcoc.gov/content/guidance-executive-order-exclusions-federal-labor-management-programs\">an executive order ending collective bargaining\u003c/a> for wide swaths of federal employees, as part of his broader campaign to reshape the U.S. government’s workforce. The largest federal employee union says the order affects over 1 million workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-exempts-agencies-with-national-security-missions-from-federal-collective-bargaining-requirements/\">a fact sheet\u003c/a>, the White House says the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) gives him the authority to halt collective bargaining at agencies with national security missions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This provision has traditionally applied to certain employees at agencies such as the CIA, the FBI or the National Security Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Trump’s order, signed late Thursday, is more far-reaching, and includes employees whose jobs touch on national defense, border security, foreign relations, energy security, pandemic preparedness, the economy, public safety and cybersecurity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It notably excludes law enforcement. “Police and firefighters will continue to collectively bargain,” the White House fact sheet states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions are roundly condemning the move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This administration’s latest executive order is union busting, pure and simple,” said Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse at a veterans hospital in Augusta, Ga., who spoke in her capacity as chair of Veterans Affairs for National Nurses United.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union represents nurses caring for patients’ physical and mental health at veterans facilities around the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=forum_2010101909033 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2025/02/GettyImages-2201345449-1-1020x574.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to feel free as unionized nurses to speak up about patient safety issues,” said Westmoreland. “Veterans deserve nurses who are free to advocate for their care without fear of discipline or losing our jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump had previously issued executive actions eroding employee rights under union contracts. For example, one directive sought to invalidate collectively bargained telework provisions, declaring that they were in conflict with management rights. He’s also taken aim at the amount of time employees serving in union leadership positions could spend on collective bargaining and other union-related business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The administration had also already ended collective bargaining rights for Transportation Security Administration officers who run airport checkpoints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The executive order signed Thursday night covers all or some unionized employees at around 20 agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, State, Justice, Energy, Interior, Treasury, Defense and others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions point out that the CSRA granted federal workers collective bargaining rights in order to provide them a way to address workplace issues without disrupting government operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Labor organizations and collective bargaining in the civil service are in the public interest,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASAM/legacy/files/Civil-Service-Reform-Act-1978.pdf\">the CSRA states (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its fact sheet, the White House made clear it thought unions were standing in its way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Certain Federal unions have declared war on President Trump’s agenda,” the fact sheet states. “The CSRA enables hostile Federal unions to obstruct agency management.”[aside postID=news_12031166 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-1020x664.jpg']Federal employee unions have sued the Trump administration to block a number of its actions, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/02/27/nx-s1-5311445/federal-employees-firing-court-judge\">the mass firings of probationary employees\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/02/06/g-s1-46885/usaid-cuts-state-department-trump-rubio\">the dismantling of USAID\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/nx-s1-5339842/doge-data-access-privacy-act-social-security-treasury-opm-lawsuit\">access to sensitive data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions have also pushed back on the administration’s return-to-office demands, citing provisions in their contracts allowing for some telework, and were prepared to bargain over procedures related to upcoming reductions-in-force as their contracts allowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, labor leaders are calling Trump’s new executive order a “retaliatory attack.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“President Trump’s latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants — nearly one-third of whom are veterans — simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies,” wrote Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AFGE, which represents 800,000 civil servants, has vowed “immediate” legal action to fight it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“AFGE isn’t going anywhere,” wrote Kelley. “Our members have bravely served this nation, often putting themselves in harm’s way, and they deserve far better than this blatant attempt at political punishment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Have information you want to share about ongoing changes across the federal government? NPR’s Andrea Hsu can be contacted through encrypted communications on Signal at andreahsu.08.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Trump’s order, signed late Thursday, is more far-reaching, and includes employees whose jobs touch on national defense, border security, foreign relations, energy security, pandemic preparedness, the economy, public safety and cybersecurity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It notably excludes law enforcement. “Police and firefighters will continue to collectively bargain,” the White House fact sheet states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions are roundly condemning the move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This administration’s latest executive order is union busting, pure and simple,” said Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse at a veterans hospital in Augusta, Ga., who spoke in her capacity as chair of Veterans Affairs for National Nurses United.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union represents nurses caring for patients’ physical and mental health at veterans facilities around the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to feel free as unionized nurses to speak up about patient safety issues,” said Westmoreland. “Veterans deserve nurses who are free to advocate for their care without fear of discipline or losing our jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump had previously issued executive actions eroding employee rights under union contracts. For example, one directive sought to invalidate collectively bargained telework provisions, declaring that they were in conflict with management rights. He’s also taken aim at the amount of time employees serving in union leadership positions could spend on collective bargaining and other union-related business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The administration had also already ended collective bargaining rights for Transportation Security Administration officers who run airport checkpoints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The executive order signed Thursday night covers all or some unionized employees at around 20 agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, State, Justice, Energy, Interior, Treasury, Defense and others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions point out that the CSRA granted federal workers collective bargaining rights in order to provide them a way to address workplace issues without disrupting government operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Labor organizations and collective bargaining in the civil service are in the public interest,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASAM/legacy/files/Civil-Service-Reform-Act-1978.pdf\">the CSRA states (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its fact sheet, the White House made clear it thought unions were standing in its way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Certain Federal unions have declared war on President Trump’s agenda,” the fact sheet states. “The CSRA enables hostile Federal unions to obstruct agency management.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Federal employee unions have sued the Trump administration to block a number of its actions, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/02/27/nx-s1-5311445/federal-employees-firing-court-judge\">the mass firings of probationary employees\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/02/06/g-s1-46885/usaid-cuts-state-department-trump-rubio\">the dismantling of USAID\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/nx-s1-5339842/doge-data-access-privacy-act-social-security-treasury-opm-lawsuit\">access to sensitive data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions have also pushed back on the administration’s return-to-office demands, citing provisions in their contracts allowing for some telework, and were prepared to bargain over procedures related to upcoming reductions-in-force as their contracts allowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, labor leaders are calling Trump’s new executive order a “retaliatory attack.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“President Trump’s latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants — nearly one-third of whom are veterans — simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies,” wrote Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AFGE, which represents 800,000 civil servants, has vowed “immediate” legal action to fight it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“AFGE isn’t going anywhere,” wrote Kelley. “Our members have bravely served this nation, often putting themselves in harm’s way, and they deserve far better than this blatant attempt at political punishment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Have information you want to share about ongoing changes across the federal government? NPR’s Andrea Hsu can be contacted through encrypted communications on Signal at andreahsu.08.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Less than two days after a judge\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033248/vta-strike-will-end-after-judges-order\"> issued an injunction to force striking transit workers back to their jobs\u003c/a> with Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, bus service in the region has fully resumed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immediately following the court ruling, the agency said it might only be able to offer partial bus service by Friday, but VTA Spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross said all bus routes are now running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency’s largest labor group, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 – which represents more than 1,500 bus drivers, train operators and maintenance workers – was on strike for 17 days over contract disputes, leaving tens of thousands of riders without critical public transit service, until the Wednesday injunction ended the work stoppage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for light rail trains, the agency expects at least partial service will be up and running by Monday, but more time may be needed for inspection and repairs to the system of tracks and overhead power cables before all three lines are back in operation, Hendler Ross said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Copper wire that’s integral to the operation of the trains appears to have been stolen from different sections of all three VTA light rail lines, but the green line that runs from Santa Clara to Campbell was hit the hardest, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032416\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hundreds of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority workers and represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, raise fists during a second-day strike, in front of the VTA headquarters, on North First Street, in San José, demanding a better contract and an increase in wages, on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“As our crews continue to inspect the light rail system, they’re looking for any problems that may have arisen because we weren’t running service over the last two weeks and they’re checking the tracks and they are checking other equipment near the system,” Hendler Ross said Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crews found “increased incidences of copper wire missing in multiple locations along the system,” she said, which are under investigation. “We are working to replace that copper wire because the trains can’t run without it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the few days a ride-hailing voucher program was active from Monday night through Thursday night, Hendler Ross said 6,130 trips were taken with Uber between VTA transit stops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program was a partnership between VTA and Uber, with the transit agency paying up to $5 per ride in the form of vouchers to help ease the burden on riders who were without bus and train service. The total cost to the agency was $30,405, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12033248 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While service has resumed, the agency and ATU still have not hammered out a new contract, despite more than six months of negotiations and ongoing mediation and swapping of proposals during the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Negotiations can start any time ATU is willing to come back to the table with something that can help resolve the conflict,” Hendler Ross said. “So in the meantime, we’re focused on getting service back to our customers. But that doesn’t impede getting back to the negotiating table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raj Singh, the president of ATU Local 265, didn’t respond to calls for comment. The union said in a statement after the injunction was issued that the group intends to appeal the decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jean Cohen, the executive officer of the South Bay Labor Council, which has been helping ATU with negotiations, said in a statement that the council and ATU Local 265 “remain committed to negotiating with VTA management in good faith to secure a contract that guarantees transit workers a fair wage, as well as the dignity, due process and safety they deserve.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will continue to put pressure on VTA Board members who engage in regressive bargaining or who retaliate against workers for exercising their constitutionally-protected rights,” Cohen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Full bus service has resumed across Santa Clara County as VTA drivers returned to work after a judge ended their strike, but light rail service won’t begin until Monday. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Less than two days after a judge\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033248/vta-strike-will-end-after-judges-order\"> issued an injunction to force striking transit workers back to their jobs\u003c/a> with Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, bus service in the region has fully resumed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immediately following the court ruling, the agency said it might only be able to offer partial bus service by Friday, but VTA Spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross said all bus routes are now running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency’s largest labor group, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 – which represents more than 1,500 bus drivers, train operators and maintenance workers – was on strike for 17 days over contract disputes, leaving tens of thousands of riders without critical public transit service, until the Wednesday injunction ended the work stoppage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for light rail trains, the agency expects at least partial service will be up and running by Monday, but more time may be needed for inspection and repairs to the system of tracks and overhead power cables before all three lines are back in operation, Hendler Ross said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Copper wire that’s integral to the operation of the trains appears to have been stolen from different sections of all three VTA light rail lines, but the green line that runs from Santa Clara to Campbell was hit the hardest, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032416\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hundreds of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority workers and represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, raise fists during a second-day strike, in front of the VTA headquarters, on North First Street, in San José, demanding a better contract and an increase in wages, on March 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“As our crews continue to inspect the light rail system, they’re looking for any problems that may have arisen because we weren’t running service over the last two weeks and they’re checking the tracks and they are checking other equipment near the system,” Hendler Ross said Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crews found “increased incidences of copper wire missing in multiple locations along the system,” she said, which are under investigation. “We are working to replace that copper wire because the trains can’t run without it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the few days a ride-hailing voucher program was active from Monday night through Thursday night, Hendler Ross said 6,130 trips were taken with Uber between VTA transit stops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program was a partnership between VTA and Uber, with the transit agency paying up to $5 per ride in the form of vouchers to help ease the burden on riders who were without bus and train service. The total cost to the agency was $30,405, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While service has resumed, the agency and ATU still have not hammered out a new contract, despite more than six months of negotiations and ongoing mediation and swapping of proposals during the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Negotiations can start any time ATU is willing to come back to the table with something that can help resolve the conflict,” Hendler Ross said. “So in the meantime, we’re focused on getting service back to our customers. But that doesn’t impede getting back to the negotiating table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raj Singh, the president of ATU Local 265, didn’t respond to calls for comment. The union said in a statement after the injunction was issued that the group intends to appeal the decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jean Cohen, the executive officer of the South Bay Labor Council, which has been helping ATU with negotiations, said in a statement that the council and ATU Local 265 “remain committed to negotiating with VTA management in good faith to secure a contract that guarantees transit workers a fair wage, as well as the dignity, due process and safety they deserve.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will continue to put pressure on VTA Board members who engage in regressive bargaining or who retaliate against workers for exercising their constitutionally-protected rights,” Cohen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-bill-moves-forward-protect-stonecutters-deadly-disease",
"title": "California Bill Moves Forward to Protect Stonecutters From Deadly Disease",
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"content": "\u003cp>A California bill aimed at preventing more stonecutters from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11969381/california-regulators-to-vote-on-emergency-rules-for-stonecutters-safety\">contracting a deadly lung disease\u003c/a> on the job cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed law, SB 20, seeks to expand regulations to protect workers from inhaling toxic silica particles while power-cutting and polishing slabs of artificial stone for kitchen and bathroom countertops and other products.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone countertops have exploded in popularity because they are cheaper and easier to clean than natural stone. However, cutting the factory-made slabs without proper protective equipment is linked to a more aggressive form of silicosis, a disease historically associated with miners and stonecutters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone is now the top countertop material in the U.S., with a market size of \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/OSHSB/documents/Respirable-Crystalline-Silica-Emergency-FOE.pdf\">$17.7 billion\u003c/a>, according to a report by state workplace safety regulators. Critics argue that SB 20 won’t be enough to stem a growing public health crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, health authorities have \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">tracked\u003c/a> about 260 silicosis cases among mostly Latino countertop fabrication workers since 2019, with Los Angeles County’s San Fernando Valley as the epicenter of the outbreak. At least 15 people have died. Dozens underwent lung transplants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley) introduced SB 20.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033047\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033047\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone fabricator places his hand on a table that he cut at his home in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We need to do better to protect these individuals,” Menjivar told the Senate’s Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee at Wednesday’s hearing. “I’ve met someone who was in his early 30s who had a double lung transplant. This is no inexpensive disease. This is life threatening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone, also known as quartz or engineered stone, is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11956246/california-fast-tracks-rules-to-protect-stonecutters-from-horrible-deaths\">uniquely hazardous to stonecutters\u003c/a> because it can contain up to 93% silica — significantly more than natural alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California workplace regulators \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11969846/california-regulators-approve-emergency-rules-to-protect-stonecutters-from-deadly-disease\">approved emergency rules\u003c/a> in December 2023 banning the dry cutting of engineered stone. Fabrication shops must use wet-cutting saws and other tools that submerge slabs under water to suppress dust. Those Cal/OSHA rules \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2024/2024-111.html#:~:text=Sacramento%E2%80%94The%20Occupational%20Safety%20and%20Health%20Standards%20Board,stone%20containing%20more%20than%2010%%20crystalline%20silica.\">became permanent\u003c/a> a year later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 20 would go further by establishing certification and training requirements for fabrication shops to operate safely while also prohibiting the supply of artificial stone to unlicensed businesses or people after January 2027. The bill, which the labor committee advanced with a unanimous vote, would also require the state to create a public online database that tracks enforcement actions against fabrication businesses. SB 20 heads next to a hearing at the Senate Health Committee.[aside postID=news_11969381 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-016-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Judy Yee, a legislative advocate with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, said many fabrication shops in Los Angeles County are unregulated, often operating out of garages or the backs of trailers. The businesses employ mostly non-unionized undocumented immigrants, who may fear speaking up about unsafe workplace practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without proper training, tracking and prevention efforts, the state will continue to see a rise in silicosis cases and deaths, according to Yee and other supporters of Menjivar’s bill at the hearing. Representatives for industry groups and Cosentino, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of engineered stone, also attended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe SB 20 represents a critical step toward complementing California’s recently adopted silica regulations with a well-structured certification program for artificial stone fabricators,” Eric Rose, a spokesperson with the Stone Coalition, which represents manufacturers, distributors and fabricators, said in a statement. “A certification framework — paired with robust oversight and enforcement — will help ensure that all fabricators, particularly bad actors, are held to consistent health and safety standards.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hundreds of silicosis patients in California are suing the largest engineered stone manufacturers — Cosentino, Caesarstone and Cambria — arguing that the companies failed to adequately label and warn of the hazards of their products, according to James Nevin, one of the attorneys representing workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11964918\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11964918\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holds a phone showing the photo of a stone fireplace.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone fabrication worker shares a photo on his phone of stonecutting work from his job at his home in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nevin and other critics of SB 20 doubt a licensing process will protect most stonecutters. According to Nevin, many fabrication shops will continue operating without certification because they can’t afford the expensive equipment needed to comply with Cal/OSHA rules to handle the material safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco resident Jorge Estrella Moreno, one of the workers suing the manufacturers, was diagnosed with silicosis about two years ago. His symptoms — feeling like he can’t get enough air when talking or walking uphill — have worsened, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The long-time stonecutter, who prides himself in having raised three kids in the U.S. with the job, continues to work at a fabrication shop that cuts artificial stone slabs dry, exposing him and others to dust clouds, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t have another option. I have to pay bills and rent, and if I don’t work, I don’t have enough to eat,” Estrella Moreno, 49, told KQED in Spanish.[aside postID=news_12022784 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250117_Safeway-Injuries_DMB_00163-1020x680.jpg']Maegan Ortiz, who directs a labor center that educates countertop fabrication workers in the San Fernando Valley on work hazards, worried that SB 20 would further drive small fabrication shops underground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only way to deal with the silicosis crisis is to actually stop the usage of this artificial stone with the high silica content,” said Ortiz, executive director at Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California. “Basically, all that this bill does is ensure that big companies and big shops have the above-ground market of artificial stone … As far as we are concerned, SB 20 is a gift to the industry and not a gift to workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Australia became the first country to \u003ca href=\"https://www.dewr.gov.au/engineeredstone\">ban the use\u003c/a>, supply and manufacture of engineered stone last year due to a rising silicosis epidemic. Top engineered stone manufacturers hope to avoid that fate in California, where Cal/OSHA officials have suggested a ban may be needed if widespread noncompliance with safety rules continues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Manufacturers maintain that the material is used safely to produce countertops when appropriate measures are followed and that a ban would unnecessarily decimate jobs. Representatives for Cosentino, a company based in Spain, and the Israel-based Caesarstone, told Cal/OSHA in 2023 that they would support creating a licensing program to sell artificial stone only to fabrication shops equipped to handle it safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 20 is nearly identical to a bill Menjivar co-authored last year. That bill’s main author, former Assemblymember Luz Rivas, who was elected to Congress in November, pulled \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB3043\">AB 3043\u003c/a>, arguing that state regulators were “not receptive to creating a tracking system to identify licensed fabrication shops.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Estrella Moreno said he would prefer to use safer stone alternatives at work and believes the most effective way to protect workers like himself would be for state regulators to prohibit the use and sale of artificial stone altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A ban would be the best thing for everyone,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Critics question the effectiveness of the bill in combating the silicosis crisis that has affected mostly Latino countertop fabrication workers in California.",
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"title": "California Bill Moves Forward to Protect Stonecutters From Deadly Disease | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A California bill aimed at preventing more stonecutters from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11969381/california-regulators-to-vote-on-emergency-rules-for-stonecutters-safety\">contracting a deadly lung disease\u003c/a> on the job cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed law, SB 20, seeks to expand regulations to protect workers from inhaling toxic silica particles while power-cutting and polishing slabs of artificial stone for kitchen and bathroom countertops and other products.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone countertops have exploded in popularity because they are cheaper and easier to clean than natural stone. However, cutting the factory-made slabs without proper protective equipment is linked to a more aggressive form of silicosis, a disease historically associated with miners and stonecutters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone is now the top countertop material in the U.S., with a market size of \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/OSHSB/documents/Respirable-Crystalline-Silica-Emergency-FOE.pdf\">$17.7 billion\u003c/a>, according to a report by state workplace safety regulators. Critics argue that SB 20 won’t be enough to stem a growing public health crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, health authorities have \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">tracked\u003c/a> about 260 silicosis cases among mostly Latino countertop fabrication workers since 2019, with Los Angeles County’s San Fernando Valley as the epicenter of the outbreak. At least 15 people have died. Dozens underwent lung transplants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley) introduced SB 20.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033047\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033047\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone fabricator places his hand on a table that he cut at his home in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We need to do better to protect these individuals,” Menjivar told the Senate’s Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee at Wednesday’s hearing. “I’ve met someone who was in his early 30s who had a double lung transplant. This is no inexpensive disease. This is life threatening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone, also known as quartz or engineered stone, is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11956246/california-fast-tracks-rules-to-protect-stonecutters-from-horrible-deaths\">uniquely hazardous to stonecutters\u003c/a> because it can contain up to 93% silica — significantly more than natural alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California workplace regulators \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11969846/california-regulators-approve-emergency-rules-to-protect-stonecutters-from-deadly-disease\">approved emergency rules\u003c/a> in December 2023 banning the dry cutting of engineered stone. Fabrication shops must use wet-cutting saws and other tools that submerge slabs under water to suppress dust. Those Cal/OSHA rules \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2024/2024-111.html#:~:text=Sacramento%E2%80%94The%20Occupational%20Safety%20and%20Health%20Standards%20Board,stone%20containing%20more%20than%2010%%20crystalline%20silica.\">became permanent\u003c/a> a year later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 20 would go further by establishing certification and training requirements for fabrication shops to operate safely while also prohibiting the supply of artificial stone to unlicensed businesses or people after January 2027. The bill, which the labor committee advanced with a unanimous vote, would also require the state to create a public online database that tracks enforcement actions against fabrication businesses. SB 20 heads next to a hearing at the Senate Health Committee.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Judy Yee, a legislative advocate with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, said many fabrication shops in Los Angeles County are unregulated, often operating out of garages or the backs of trailers. The businesses employ mostly non-unionized undocumented immigrants, who may fear speaking up about unsafe workplace practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without proper training, tracking and prevention efforts, the state will continue to see a rise in silicosis cases and deaths, according to Yee and other supporters of Menjivar’s bill at the hearing. Representatives for industry groups and Cosentino, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of engineered stone, also attended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe SB 20 represents a critical step toward complementing California’s recently adopted silica regulations with a well-structured certification program for artificial stone fabricators,” Eric Rose, a spokesperson with the Stone Coalition, which represents manufacturers, distributors and fabricators, said in a statement. “A certification framework — paired with robust oversight and enforcement — will help ensure that all fabricators, particularly bad actors, are held to consistent health and safety standards.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hundreds of silicosis patients in California are suing the largest engineered stone manufacturers — Cosentino, Caesarstone and Cambria — arguing that the companies failed to adequately label and warn of the hazards of their products, according to James Nevin, one of the attorneys representing workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11964918\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11964918\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holds a phone showing the photo of a stone fireplace.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-003-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone fabrication worker shares a photo on his phone of stonecutting work from his job at his home in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nevin and other critics of SB 20 doubt a licensing process will protect most stonecutters. According to Nevin, many fabrication shops will continue operating without certification because they can’t afford the expensive equipment needed to comply with Cal/OSHA rules to handle the material safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco resident Jorge Estrella Moreno, one of the workers suing the manufacturers, was diagnosed with silicosis about two years ago. His symptoms — feeling like he can’t get enough air when talking or walking uphill — have worsened, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The long-time stonecutter, who prides himself in having raised three kids in the U.S. with the job, continues to work at a fabrication shop that cuts artificial stone slabs dry, exposing him and others to dust clouds, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t have another option. I have to pay bills and rent, and if I don’t work, I don’t have enough to eat,” Estrella Moreno, 49, told KQED in Spanish.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Maegan Ortiz, who directs a labor center that educates countertop fabrication workers in the San Fernando Valley on work hazards, worried that SB 20 would further drive small fabrication shops underground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only way to deal with the silicosis crisis is to actually stop the usage of this artificial stone with the high silica content,” said Ortiz, executive director at Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California. “Basically, all that this bill does is ensure that big companies and big shops have the above-ground market of artificial stone … As far as we are concerned, SB 20 is a gift to the industry and not a gift to workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Australia became the first country to \u003ca href=\"https://www.dewr.gov.au/engineeredstone\">ban the use\u003c/a>, supply and manufacture of engineered stone last year due to a rising silicosis epidemic. Top engineered stone manufacturers hope to avoid that fate in California, where Cal/OSHA officials have suggested a ban may be needed if widespread noncompliance with safety rules continues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Manufacturers maintain that the material is used safely to produce countertops when appropriate measures are followed and that a ban would unnecessarily decimate jobs. Representatives for Cosentino, a company based in Spain, and the Israel-based Caesarstone, told Cal/OSHA in 2023 that they would support creating a licensing program to sell artificial stone only to fabrication shops equipped to handle it safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 20 is nearly identical to a bill Menjivar co-authored last year. That bill’s main author, former Assemblymember Luz Rivas, who was elected to Congress in November, pulled \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB3043\">AB 3043\u003c/a>, arguing that state regulators were “not receptive to creating a tracking system to identify licensed fabrication shops.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Estrella Moreno said he would prefer to use safer stone alternatives at work and believes the most effective way to protect workers like himself would be for state regulators to prohibit the use and sale of artificial stone altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A ban would be the best thing for everyone,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "vta-strike-will-end-after-judges-order",
"title": "Historic VTA Strike Will End After Judge’s Order, Some Service to Resume by Friday",
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"headTitle": "Historic VTA Strike Will End After Judge’s Order, Some Service to Resume by Friday | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 6 p.m. Wednesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032851/transit-standoff-continues-union-vta-blame-each-other-as-riders-struggle\">historic strike\u003c/a> by South Bay transit workers that has affected tens of thousands of people who rely on public transportation will come to an end after a Santa Clara County Judge issued a preliminary injunction to halt it Wednesday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The injunction, signed by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya in a San José courtroom, means Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority employees will need to return to work immediately, but it wasn’t clear how long it would take for all transit services to resume.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leaders of the union representing the workers, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, said they were disappointed in the outcome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ll determine what happens tomorrow shortly, but we believe that the judge got this wrong,” ATU President Raj Singh said outside a downtown courthouse on Wednesday. “At the end of the day, the workers lost today.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>VTA spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross said the agency is pleased with the outcome for riders and for workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are appreciative of this ruling so that our employees can get back to work. They’ve been two weeks without paychecks and tens of thousands of people have been two weeks without affordable transportation,” Hendler Ross said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033241\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033241\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya listens to an attorney speak during a hearing in San José on March 26, 2025. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority asked the court to halt a strike by workers represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hendler Ross said Nishigaya’s injunction means striking VTA workers need to return to work right away. She said workers would be required to report to work on Thursday, and partial bus service would resume by Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t immediately clear when light rail trains will begin rolling again, as Hendler Ross said the tracks and overhead lines would need to be inspected before service can start.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The VTA initiated the legal process on March 10, the first day of the strike, by filing a complaint asking for an injunction and a temporary restraining order to halt the strike, claiming it violated a “no-strike clause” of a collective bargaining agreement between the agency and the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nishigaya, on March 17, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031632/vtas-legal-challenge-ongoing-transit-strike-hits-snag\">denied the agency’s request for a restraining order\u003c/a> but required the parties to come back to court on Wednesday so ATU could argue why its strike was not a violation of the contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12032851 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/VTA-Day-15-Singh_qed-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency’s attorneys alleged in court filings that the union never gave VTA proper notice that it wanted to end or change the agreement and said the no-strike conditions remain in “full force and effect” for another year while negotiations for a new contract continue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement — which expired on March 3 — said the contract continues from “year to year” after its expiration and requires the two sides “continue to negotiate until there is a successor agreement,” the agency said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The court does believe that there is at least a reasonable interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement that would lead to the conclusion that the agreement, including the no-strike provision, remains in full force in effect until agreement is reached,” Nishigaya said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ATU countered that the contract rules were no longer applicable because bargaining for a new contract had ended, and the union declared an impasse a few days before the strike began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union also pointed to instances in which the agency’s officials seemed to telegraph the potential for a strike, like in a Feb. 27, 2025, memo to employees from the VTA’s Chief People Officer Sonya Morrison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Attorneys for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, Xudong (Brian) Fan (left) and Benjamin K. Lunch. Right: Ruth M. Bond, an attorney for Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, are seen during a hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court in San José on March 26, 2025. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Morrison’s memo said if a contract agreement was not reached by the expiration, “‘there is the potential for a work stoppage,’” the union’s attorneys wrote. “VTA thus acknowledged to all of its employees that the union may go on strike.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“None of that would be necessary if VTA truly believed the contract was not expiring,” Benjamin Lunch, an attorney for the union, said to Nishigaya during the hearing. “For them to then turn around and say that the contract somehow did not expire, is a wild about-face for the agency to take.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The VTA claimed Morrison’s statements do not change the rules of the contract agreement and disagrees that the two sides have reached an impasse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenica Maldonado, an attorney for VTA, emphasized to Nishigaya that there was no impasse but noted that any impasse “would have evaporated by virtue of the fact that the parties continued to meet for bargaining sessions all last week to make additional proposals, and the union took votes on those proposals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lunch also argued that VTA’s interpretation of how the contract should be enforced would take away the union’s right to strike and would create “an indefinite contract.” The agency has consistently pushed back on that claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While issuing his ruling, Nishigaya underscored that, in this case, it’s not the court’s role to litigate the entire case. His decision was based on the “reasonable probability of success” VTA has with its claim that the union is in breach of contract with its strike, and considering the harm that would occur if he did not issue the injunction, weighed against the harm to the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is not a final decision on the merits of any claims or lawsuits, but only to determine whether there is at least a colorable and reasonable probability that plaintiffs’ claims have merit,” Nishigaya said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033237\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Deputy General Manager Greg Richardson is seen during a hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court in San José on March 26, 2025. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The ruling comes two days after ATU members \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032851/transit-standoff-continues-union-vta-blame-each-other-as-riders-struggle\">roundly rejected\u003c/a> the latest contract offer from the VTA, with more than 80% of those who voted shooting it down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That contract offer was finalized in a special closed-session meeting by the VTA board of directors on Sunday and included an 11% raise for the union members over three years while also asking for some concessions from workers, such as potential restrictions on overtime pay in certain circumstances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Singh previously said Monday afternoon that VTA’s “aggressive bargaining” is part of why that offer was voted down, including the agency’s refusal to drop its lawsuit to stop the strike and to guarantee workers wouldn’t be disciplined for striking after returning to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The injunction represents a success for VTA, which has pursued multiple concurrent avenues to try and end the strike, including the legal challenge, as well as asking for the governor’s intervention and offering revised contract deals to the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency also announced late Monday a deal with Uber, in which people ordering rides between transit stops through the Uber app would get a $5 voucher during the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency said the voucher would be paid for by VTA, up to two per day per person, and was aimed at reducing the cost of car transportation while transit services were unavailable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was unfortunate that lawyers had to get involved because we were doing this on behalf of the tens of thousands of people who rely on public transportation,” Hendler Ross said. “They need public transportation, there are so many people who have no other option.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The order means South Bay transit workers must return to work immediately — but it’s unclear how long it will take for all transit services to resume.",
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"title": "Historic VTA Strike Will End After Judge’s Order, Some Service to Resume by Friday | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 6 p.m. Wednesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032851/transit-standoff-continues-union-vta-blame-each-other-as-riders-struggle\">historic strike\u003c/a> by South Bay transit workers that has affected tens of thousands of people who rely on public transportation will come to an end after a Santa Clara County Judge issued a preliminary injunction to halt it Wednesday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The injunction, signed by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya in a San José courtroom, means Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority employees will need to return to work immediately, but it wasn’t clear how long it would take for all transit services to resume.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leaders of the union representing the workers, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, said they were disappointed in the outcome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ll determine what happens tomorrow shortly, but we believe that the judge got this wrong,” ATU President Raj Singh said outside a downtown courthouse on Wednesday. “At the end of the day, the workers lost today.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>VTA spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross said the agency is pleased with the outcome for riders and for workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are appreciative of this ruling so that our employees can get back to work. They’ve been two weeks without paychecks and tens of thousands of people have been two weeks without affordable transportation,” Hendler Ross said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033241\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033241\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-09-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya listens to an attorney speak during a hearing in San José on March 26, 2025. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority asked the court to halt a strike by workers represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hendler Ross said Nishigaya’s injunction means striking VTA workers need to return to work right away. She said workers would be required to report to work on Thursday, and partial bus service would resume by Friday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t immediately clear when light rail trains will begin rolling again, as Hendler Ross said the tracks and overhead lines would need to be inspected before service can start.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The VTA initiated the legal process on March 10, the first day of the strike, by filing a complaint asking for an injunction and a temporary restraining order to halt the strike, claiming it violated a “no-strike clause” of a collective bargaining agreement between the agency and the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nishigaya, on March 17, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031632/vtas-legal-challenge-ongoing-transit-strike-hits-snag\">denied the agency’s request for a restraining order\u003c/a> but required the parties to come back to court on Wednesday so ATU could argue why its strike was not a violation of the contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency’s attorneys alleged in court filings that the union never gave VTA proper notice that it wanted to end or change the agreement and said the no-strike conditions remain in “full force and effect” for another year while negotiations for a new contract continue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement — which expired on March 3 — said the contract continues from “year to year” after its expiration and requires the two sides “continue to negotiate until there is a successor agreement,” the agency said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The court does believe that there is at least a reasonable interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement that would lead to the conclusion that the agreement, including the no-strike provision, remains in full force in effect until agreement is reached,” Nishigaya said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ATU countered that the contract rules were no longer applicable because bargaining for a new contract had ended, and the union declared an impasse a few days before the strike began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union also pointed to instances in which the agency’s officials seemed to telegraph the potential for a strike, like in a Feb. 27, 2025, memo to employees from the VTA’s Chief People Officer Sonya Morrison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-14-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Attorneys for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, Xudong (Brian) Fan (left) and Benjamin K. Lunch. Right: Ruth M. Bond, an attorney for Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, are seen during a hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court in San José on March 26, 2025. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Morrison’s memo said if a contract agreement was not reached by the expiration, “‘there is the potential for a work stoppage,’” the union’s attorneys wrote. “VTA thus acknowledged to all of its employees that the union may go on strike.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“None of that would be necessary if VTA truly believed the contract was not expiring,” Benjamin Lunch, an attorney for the union, said to Nishigaya during the hearing. “For them to then turn around and say that the contract somehow did not expire, is a wild about-face for the agency to take.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The VTA claimed Morrison’s statements do not change the rules of the contract agreement and disagrees that the two sides have reached an impasse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenica Maldonado, an attorney for VTA, emphasized to Nishigaya that there was no impasse but noted that any impasse “would have evaporated by virtue of the fact that the parties continued to meet for bargaining sessions all last week to make additional proposals, and the union took votes on those proposals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lunch also argued that VTA’s interpretation of how the contract should be enforced would take away the union’s right to strike and would create “an indefinite contract.” The agency has consistently pushed back on that claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While issuing his ruling, Nishigaya underscored that, in this case, it’s not the court’s role to litigate the entire case. His decision was based on the “reasonable probability of success” VTA has with its claim that the union is in breach of contract with its strike, and considering the harm that would occur if he did not issue the injunction, weighed against the harm to the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is not a final decision on the merits of any claims or lawsuits, but only to determine whether there is at least a colorable and reasonable probability that plaintiffs’ claims have merit,” Nishigaya said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033237\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250326-VTACOURT.-JG-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Deputy General Manager Greg Richardson is seen during a hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court in San José on March 26, 2025. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The ruling comes two days after ATU members \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032851/transit-standoff-continues-union-vta-blame-each-other-as-riders-struggle\">roundly rejected\u003c/a> the latest contract offer from the VTA, with more than 80% of those who voted shooting it down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That contract offer was finalized in a special closed-session meeting by the VTA board of directors on Sunday and included an 11% raise for the union members over three years while also asking for some concessions from workers, such as potential restrictions on overtime pay in certain circumstances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Singh previously said Monday afternoon that VTA’s “aggressive bargaining” is part of why that offer was voted down, including the agency’s refusal to drop its lawsuit to stop the strike and to guarantee workers wouldn’t be disciplined for striking after returning to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The injunction represents a success for VTA, which has pursued multiple concurrent avenues to try and end the strike, including the legal challenge, as well as asking for the governor’s intervention and offering revised contract deals to the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency also announced late Monday a deal with Uber, in which people ordering rides between transit stops through the Uber app would get a $5 voucher during the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency said the voucher would be paid for by VTA, up to two per day per person, and was aimed at reducing the cost of car transportation while transit services were unavailable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was unfortunate that lawyers had to get involved because we were doing this on behalf of the tens of thousands of people who rely on public transportation,” Hendler Ross said. “They need public transportation, there are so many people who have no other option.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The strike by South Bay transit workers will continue for a 16th consecutive day on Tuesday, after Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 members voted down the latest contract offer from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara-valley-transportation-authority\">Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contract proposal, which included an 11 percent wage increase over three years, was rejected by more than 80%, according to union officials who said 1,117 votes were cast with 919 members turning it down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our members want to get back to work. The service our members provide this community is invaluable, and our customers have suffered greatly these past two weeks,” Raj Singh, president of the union, said Monday afternoon outside the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds building where ATU members cast their votes. “Our members will only return to work with a fair contract, one that guarantees their rights, their dignity and their safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has been a difficult time and a difficult vote.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The historic strike by more than 1,500 bus drivers, light rail train operators, maintenance workers and dispatchers represented by ATU has halted transit for tens of thousands of daily riders in Santa Clara County, forcing many to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030951/vta-strike-underscores-silicon-valleys-widening-income-inequality\">find alternate transportation\u003c/a>, sometimes at an increased cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rejection comes one day after VTA’s Board of Directors held a special meeting to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032652/vta-slightly-boosts-raise-offer-union-says-it-falls-far-short\">up their wage offer\u003c/a> to the union members while also including some concessions, such as potential restrictions on overtime pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a more than fair proposal for employees and we at this point are very concerned about the tens of thousands of riders who are not getting to their minimum wage jobs and we need people to come back to work,” Stacey Hendler Ross, a VTA spokesperson, said Monday after the results of the vote were announced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Singh said the offer was likely rejected, in part, because of what he called the agency’s “aggressive bargaining,” including that the VTA declined to guarantee workers wouldn’t be disciplined for striking after returning to work, refused to drop its lawsuit to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031632/vtas-legal-challenge-ongoing-transit-strike-hits-snag\">stop the strike\u003c/a>, as well as overtime restrictions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Had they not done that, we might have had a different outcome,” Singh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12030671\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12030671\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Baypointe light rail platform in San José has been vacant since March 10, 2025, the first day of a strike by the union representing VTA’s bus drivers and light rail train operators. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The two sides continued to blame one another for the lack of a resolution and said new offers could be made to help resume negotiations. When asked about his message to riders who have been struggling without transit for more than two weeks, Singh pointed the finger at VTA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The agency has continued to play games and not put forth a serious effort in resolving things,” he said. “They are the ones that continue to stall these conversations instead of trying to come to an agreement and get service restored as soon as possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hendler Ross said the agency is “not interested in negotiating the contract in the media,” and added that “negotiations remain open for ATU to come to the table.”[aside postID=news_12031632 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-4.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the vote, the agency said in a statement that its most recent offer provides “stability and opportunity” to its workers in an uncertain time across many industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“VTA’s latest proposal reflects our commitment to our workforce, and we urge our employees to embrace this chance to secure their future and return to work,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency said about 100,000 riders use bus and light rail services every weekday, a large proportion of whom earn lower incomes and are students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>VTA sued the union on the first day of the strike, alleging that the work stoppage violated a no-strike clause in the bargaining agreement between the agency and ATU.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A county judge rejected VTA’s request for a temporary restraining order to halt the strike on March 17, but asked ATU to come back to court on Wednesday to argue why the strike is not a violation of the agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Tens of thousands of transit riders will remain without bus and light rail service as unionized workers rejected the latest contract offer from the VTA, vowing to continue their strike. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The strike by South Bay transit workers will continue for a 16th consecutive day on Tuesday, after Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 members voted down the latest contract offer from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara-valley-transportation-authority\">Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contract proposal, which included an 11 percent wage increase over three years, was rejected by more than 80%, according to union officials who said 1,117 votes were cast with 919 members turning it down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our members want to get back to work. The service our members provide this community is invaluable, and our customers have suffered greatly these past two weeks,” Raj Singh, president of the union, said Monday afternoon outside the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds building where ATU members cast their votes. “Our members will only return to work with a fair contract, one that guarantees their rights, their dignity and their safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has been a difficult time and a difficult vote.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The historic strike by more than 1,500 bus drivers, light rail train operators, maintenance workers and dispatchers represented by ATU has halted transit for tens of thousands of daily riders in Santa Clara County, forcing many to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030951/vta-strike-underscores-silicon-valleys-widening-income-inequality\">find alternate transportation\u003c/a>, sometimes at an increased cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rejection comes one day after VTA’s Board of Directors held a special meeting to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032652/vta-slightly-boosts-raise-offer-union-says-it-falls-far-short\">up their wage offer\u003c/a> to the union members while also including some concessions, such as potential restrictions on overtime pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a more than fair proposal for employees and we at this point are very concerned about the tens of thousands of riders who are not getting to their minimum wage jobs and we need people to come back to work,” Stacey Hendler Ross, a VTA spokesperson, said Monday after the results of the vote were announced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Singh said the offer was likely rejected, in part, because of what he called the agency’s “aggressive bargaining,” including that the VTA declined to guarantee workers wouldn’t be disciplined for striking after returning to work, refused to drop its lawsuit to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031632/vtas-legal-challenge-ongoing-transit-strike-hits-snag\">stop the strike\u003c/a>, as well as overtime restrictions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Had they not done that, we might have had a different outcome,” Singh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12030671\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12030671\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250220-VTASTRIKED1.-JG-3-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Baypointe light rail platform in San José has been vacant since March 10, 2025, the first day of a strike by the union representing VTA’s bus drivers and light rail train operators. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The two sides continued to blame one another for the lack of a resolution and said new offers could be made to help resume negotiations. When asked about his message to riders who have been struggling without transit for more than two weeks, Singh pointed the finger at VTA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The agency has continued to play games and not put forth a serious effort in resolving things,” he said. “They are the ones that continue to stall these conversations instead of trying to come to an agreement and get service restored as soon as possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hendler Ross said the agency is “not interested in negotiating the contract in the media,” and added that “negotiations remain open for ATU to come to the table.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the vote, the agency said in a statement that its most recent offer provides “stability and opportunity” to its workers in an uncertain time across many industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“VTA’s latest proposal reflects our commitment to our workforce, and we urge our employees to embrace this chance to secure their future and return to work,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency said about 100,000 riders use bus and light rail services every weekday, a large proportion of whom earn lower incomes and are students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>VTA sued the union on the first day of the strike, alleging that the work stoppage violated a no-strike clause in the bargaining agreement between the agency and ATU.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A county judge rejected VTA’s request for a temporary restraining order to halt the strike on March 17, but asked ATU to come back to court on Wednesday to argue why the strike is not a violation of the agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "santa-clara-county-medical-workers-begin-3-day-strike",
"title": "Santa Clara County Medical Workers Begin 3-Day Strike",
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"content": "\u003cp>After months of negotiations over a new contract \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031392/south-bay-public-medical-workers-planning-strike-over-contract-talks\">failed to produce a deal\u003c/a>, a group of Santa Clara County medical workers began a three-day strike on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of employees of the county’s hospital and public health system started picketing outside of Valley Medical Center in San José early Monday morning, chanting and waving signs as traffic whizzed by on Bascom Avenue, with some drivers offering up honks of support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The workers are part of a group of roughly 200 striking clinical lab scientists, microbiologists and medical lab technicians represented by the Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20. The union’s members work at the Santa Clara County-run Valley Medical Center and O’Connor Hospital in San José, as well as St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy and county public health labs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m proud that we’ve come together to fight for our rights,” Jenny Gargarita, a clinical laboratory scientist, said Monday while picketing outside the hospital. She said her group doesn’t feel seen or heard and is disappointed negotiations have reached this point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was really hoping that our union and the county could come to a fair agreement,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032772\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032772\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jenny Gargarita, a clinical lab scientist, poses for a photo at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San José on March 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Union leaders said they are holding the unfair labor practice strike because the county is negotiating in “bad faith” during months-long talks that began in July. Their previous contract expired in September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are dedicated public servants who provide critical, laboratory-related services primarily for our hospital system. And we look forward to being able to reach an agreement with them,” County Executive James Williams said Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county and union have agreed to many items of the contract so far, but the two parties are divided over two key issues, including whether the union will be allowed to hold any future “sympathy strikes” in solidarity with other unions that might go on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union officials said the county wants to strip that right from them and has proposed a broader array of “management rights” that workers are worried would allow the county to shift workers from one location to another without their input.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032774\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12032774 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roughly 200 lab techs and other medical workers in the South Bay began a three-day strike over stalled contract negotiations at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San José on March 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The county has not been clear about what their intentions are with management rights,” Loan Yumul, a nuclear medicine technologist, said Monday. “And our concern is being transferred from one facility to the next and not having proper training or different equipment … So if we’re unfamiliar with it, it could be a detriment to our patients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams said the county has “not made a proposal to float or shift staff from one facility to another” and that his team welcomes the union’s engagement on any specific concerns they have over the language being proposed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All we’re seeking is very routine standard management rights and no-strikes language that ESC itself has agreed to with many, many, other public and private hospital systems,” Williams said Monday.[aside postID=news_12032652 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250311_VTAStrikeDay2_GC-6_qed-1020x680.jpg']“Our hospitals provide essential life-saving services and it’s vital that we have assurance that when entering into a contract with our labor partner that we know that there’s going to be labor peace for the duration of that contract,” Williams said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest public offer from the county is from December, which was rejected by the union. It included a total 15.85% wage increase for the union members over a four-year contract term, with 5% in the first year, followed by 4% in the second year, and 3% in each of the last two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jay Sandhu, a clinical laboratory scientist and a part of the union’s negotiating team, said the county has tied its current wage increase proposals to the proposed changes about strikes and management rights, pushing the union into its first strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been going back and forth, back and forth with the county. And we just want to have a fair negotiation,” Sandhu said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union and the county have, as recently as last week, been in confidential mediation for the ongoing negotiations, but both Williams and union representatives said Monday they are waiting for the other side to restart negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032773\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032773\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Santa Clara Valley Medical Center campus in San José on March 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The first day of the strike for county medical workers also marked the beginning of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030951/vta-strike-underscores-silicon-valleys-widening-income-inequality\">third straight week of a strike by transit workers\u003c/a> employed by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority over stalled contract negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams declined to comment on whether the VTA strike has affected the way his team is handling negotiations with the medical workers group, noting that union and labor negotiation situations are unique.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandhu said he hopes the strike his union is holding right now will help the county see how crucial employees like him are to the overall health care system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We may be a small group,” Sandhu said, “but what we do touches every aspect of patient care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After months of negotiations over a new contract \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031392/south-bay-public-medical-workers-planning-strike-over-contract-talks\">failed to produce a deal\u003c/a>, a group of Santa Clara County medical workers began a three-day strike on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of employees of the county’s hospital and public health system started picketing outside of Valley Medical Center in San José early Monday morning, chanting and waving signs as traffic whizzed by on Bascom Avenue, with some drivers offering up honks of support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The workers are part of a group of roughly 200 striking clinical lab scientists, microbiologists and medical lab technicians represented by the Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20. The union’s members work at the Santa Clara County-run Valley Medical Center and O’Connor Hospital in San José, as well as St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy and county public health labs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m proud that we’ve come together to fight for our rights,” Jenny Gargarita, a clinical laboratory scientist, said Monday while picketing outside the hospital. She said her group doesn’t feel seen or heard and is disappointed negotiations have reached this point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was really hoping that our union and the county could come to a fair agreement,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032772\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032772\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-17-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jenny Gargarita, a clinical lab scientist, poses for a photo at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San José on March 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Union leaders said they are holding the unfair labor practice strike because the county is negotiating in “bad faith” during months-long talks that began in July. Their previous contract expired in September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are dedicated public servants who provide critical, laboratory-related services primarily for our hospital system. And we look forward to being able to reach an agreement with them,” County Executive James Williams said Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county and union have agreed to many items of the contract so far, but the two parties are divided over two key issues, including whether the union will be allowed to hold any future “sympathy strikes” in solidarity with other unions that might go on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union officials said the county wants to strip that right from them and has proposed a broader array of “management rights” that workers are worried would allow the county to shift workers from one location to another without their input.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032774\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12032774 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-35-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roughly 200 lab techs and other medical workers in the South Bay began a three-day strike over stalled contract negotiations at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San José on March 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The county has not been clear about what their intentions are with management rights,” Loan Yumul, a nuclear medicine technologist, said Monday. “And our concern is being transferred from one facility to the next and not having proper training or different equipment … So if we’re unfamiliar with it, it could be a detriment to our patients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams said the county has “not made a proposal to float or shift staff from one facility to another” and that his team welcomes the union’s engagement on any specific concerns they have over the language being proposed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All we’re seeking is very routine standard management rights and no-strikes language that ESC itself has agreed to with many, many, other public and private hospital systems,” Williams said Monday.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Our hospitals provide essential life-saving services and it’s vital that we have assurance that when entering into a contract with our labor partner that we know that there’s going to be labor peace for the duration of that contract,” Williams said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest public offer from the county is from December, which was rejected by the union. It included a total 15.85% wage increase for the union members over a four-year contract term, with 5% in the first year, followed by 4% in the second year, and 3% in each of the last two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jay Sandhu, a clinical laboratory scientist and a part of the union’s negotiating team, said the county has tied its current wage increase proposals to the proposed changes about strikes and management rights, pushing the union into its first strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been going back and forth, back and forth with the county. And we just want to have a fair negotiation,” Sandhu said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union and the county have, as recently as last week, been in confidential mediation for the ongoing negotiations, but both Williams and union representatives said Monday they are waiting for the other side to restart negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032773\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032773\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20240324_SANTACLARAMEDICALSTRIKE_GC-20-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Santa Clara Valley Medical Center campus in San José on March 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The first day of the strike for county medical workers also marked the beginning of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030951/vta-strike-underscores-silicon-valleys-widening-income-inequality\">third straight week of a strike by transit workers\u003c/a> employed by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority over stalled contract negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams declined to comment on whether the VTA strike has affected the way his team is handling negotiations with the medical workers group, noting that union and labor negotiation situations are unique.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandhu said he hopes the strike his union is holding right now will help the county see how crucial employees like him are to the overall health care system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We may be a small group,” Sandhu said, “but what we do touches every aspect of patient care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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},
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"here-and-now": {
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
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