Stone Industry Proposes Self-Policing as California Weighs Artificial Stone Ban
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"content": "\u003cp>Facing a proposal in California to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">ban the use of a popular countertop material\u003c/a> linked to a growing lung disease killing stonecutters, industry representatives said they are taking steps to self-police and tackle the crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone is linked to an aggressive form of silicosis among workers who have inhaled toxic silica dust generated when cutting and shaping slabs of the material, also known as engineered stone or quartz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The International Surface Fabricators Association, with support from large artificial stone manufacturers, has resurfaced plans to establish a private certification program overseen by the industry to ensure only fabrication shops following required safety measures handle the controversial slabs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group aims to begin piloting business certification in Southern California, the nation’s silicosis epicenter, as early as this summer, according to testimony by ISFA’s CEO Laurie Weber to California regulators on Thursday in Sacramento. The audit and training program, which would be expanded statewide later in the year, aims to protect workers without banning artificial stone, she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe that bans happen when systems fail, and we’re here to help fix the system,” Weber said. “We want an opportunity to sit at the table and talk about how to solve this together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Close to 500 stonecutters have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11969381/california-regulators-to-vote-on-emergency-rules-for-stonecutters-safety\">contracted the incurable disease\u003c/a> in California, including 54 who’ve undergone lung transplants and 27 who have died since 2019, according to tracking efforts by state health authorities. Nearly all those sick are Latino men, many of them immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064718\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photo of a pair lungs with silicosis used in a Cal/OSHA presentation slide about the disease, and rising number of cases in California, at a public meeting on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Museomed via Wikimedia Commons)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Occupational safety experts say mounting scientific evidence shows that engineered stone dust is much more dangerous than that released by marble and other natural stones, though large U.S. manufacturers of the factory-made material, such as Cambria, dispute that assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A medical association petitioned the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board last month to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">prohibit dust-producing tasks\u003c/a> on engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica, including slicing and polishing. According to the Western Occupational Environmental Medicine Association, a ban would encourage the use of safer substitutes now sold in the U.S. and Australia by some manufacturers, such as Caesarstone and Cosentino. Australia prohibited the sale of engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The clock is ticking as we discuss, as we try this and that. Why are we protecting this cosmetic material for which there is a particularly appropriate and excellent substitute?” Dr. Robert Blink, an occupational medicine doctor in San Francisco and the association’s former president, said during the board meeting in response to ISFA’s licensing plan. “Why are we doing this while we’re waiting for people to die?”[aside postID=news_12069714 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/StoneworkerGetty.jpg']The testimony came a day after Cambria and other beleaguered industry representatives testified before a U.S. House subcommittee in support of a bill that would \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069714/as-california-silicosis-cases-rise-engineered-stone-industry-seeks-immunity-in-dc\">immunize their companies\u003c/a> from hundreds of lawsuits by sick stoneworkers. \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5437/text\">H.R. 5437\u003c/a>, introduced by California Rep. Tom McClintock last September, would prohibit civil lawsuits against stone slab manufacturers or sellers for harm resulting from the alteration of their products and dismiss pending claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rebecca Schult, Cambria’s chief legal officer, traveled from the Washington, D.C., hearing to the board meeting in Sacramento. The Minnesota-based company accounts for 40-50% of artificial stone produced in the U.S., though most of the material is imported from other countries, she said. Cambria, which also owns fabrication shops, has not yet developed alternatives to its high-silica artificial stone products.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll do my very best to be here going forward as well so that we can work on this together,” Schult told the regulators. “Quartz slab products can be cut safely.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weber said the industry pushed for a licensing system to be included in a state bill that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033036/california-bill-moves-forward-protect-stonecutters-deadly-disease\">went into effect this year\u003c/a>, which reinforces workplace protections to prevent silicosis. She said it’s unclear why the bill’s final version did not include a certification initiative.\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>Two years ago, California approved the nation’s strictest rules to try to protect stonecutters. But the sophisticated measures, which prohibit the dry cutting of engineered stone to suppress dust and require employers to provide workers with respirators that can cost more than $1,000 each, are unfeasible for most fabrication businesses, according to employers and workplace regulators. About 95% of countertop fabrication shops that Cal/OSHA inspectors have visited were not following the required protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates who have surveyed and informed stonecutters about silica hazards in the Los Angeles area said they doubted an industry certification initiative would help protect many from the disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The challenge here is that the industry wants to essentially police itself under the proposal that they presented today,” Maegan Ortiz, who directs the Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California, said. “I think if history has shown us anything, big industries do not do very well at that.\u003cem>”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Silicosis has also been found among stoneworkers in Illinois, Colorado, Utah, Washington and other states where engineered stone is cut, though medical experts believe the illness is severely underreported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "As California regulators consider banning high-silica engineered stone linked to deadly silicosis, countertop manufacturers and industry groups are proposing a voluntary certification program to regulate fabrication shops and avoid stricter state action.",
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"title": "Stone Industry Proposes Self-Policing as California Weighs Artificial Stone Ban | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Facing a proposal in California to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">ban the use of a popular countertop material\u003c/a> linked to a growing lung disease killing stonecutters, industry representatives said they are taking steps to self-police and tackle the crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone is linked to an aggressive form of silicosis among workers who have inhaled toxic silica dust generated when cutting and shaping slabs of the material, also known as engineered stone or quartz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The International Surface Fabricators Association, with support from large artificial stone manufacturers, has resurfaced plans to establish a private certification program overseen by the industry to ensure only fabrication shops following required safety measures handle the controversial slabs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group aims to begin piloting business certification in Southern California, the nation’s silicosis epicenter, as early as this summer, according to testimony by ISFA’s CEO Laurie Weber to California regulators on Thursday in Sacramento. The audit and training program, which would be expanded statewide later in the year, aims to protect workers without banning artificial stone, she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe that bans happen when systems fail, and we’re here to help fix the system,” Weber said. “We want an opportunity to sit at the table and talk about how to solve this together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Close to 500 stonecutters have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11969381/california-regulators-to-vote-on-emergency-rules-for-stonecutters-safety\">contracted the incurable disease\u003c/a> in California, including 54 who’ve undergone lung transplants and 27 who have died since 2019, according to tracking efforts by state health authorities. Nearly all those sick are Latino men, many of them immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064718\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photo of a pair lungs with silicosis used in a Cal/OSHA presentation slide about the disease, and rising number of cases in California, at a public meeting on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Museomed via Wikimedia Commons)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Occupational safety experts say mounting scientific evidence shows that engineered stone dust is much more dangerous than that released by marble and other natural stones, though large U.S. manufacturers of the factory-made material, such as Cambria, dispute that assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A medical association petitioned the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board last month to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">prohibit dust-producing tasks\u003c/a> on engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica, including slicing and polishing. According to the Western Occupational Environmental Medicine Association, a ban would encourage the use of safer substitutes now sold in the U.S. and Australia by some manufacturers, such as Caesarstone and Cosentino. Australia prohibited the sale of engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The clock is ticking as we discuss, as we try this and that. Why are we protecting this cosmetic material for which there is a particularly appropriate and excellent substitute?” Dr. Robert Blink, an occupational medicine doctor in San Francisco and the association’s former president, said during the board meeting in response to ISFA’s licensing plan. “Why are we doing this while we’re waiting for people to die?”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The testimony came a day after Cambria and other beleaguered industry representatives testified before a U.S. House subcommittee in support of a bill that would \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069714/as-california-silicosis-cases-rise-engineered-stone-industry-seeks-immunity-in-dc\">immunize their companies\u003c/a> from hundreds of lawsuits by sick stoneworkers. \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5437/text\">H.R. 5437\u003c/a>, introduced by California Rep. Tom McClintock last September, would prohibit civil lawsuits against stone slab manufacturers or sellers for harm resulting from the alteration of their products and dismiss pending claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rebecca Schult, Cambria’s chief legal officer, traveled from the Washington, D.C., hearing to the board meeting in Sacramento. The Minnesota-based company accounts for 40-50% of artificial stone produced in the U.S., though most of the material is imported from other countries, she said. Cambria, which also owns fabrication shops, has not yet developed alternatives to its high-silica artificial stone products.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll do my very best to be here going forward as well so that we can work on this together,” Schult told the regulators. “Quartz slab products can be cut safely.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weber said the industry pushed for a licensing system to be included in a state bill that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033036/california-bill-moves-forward-protect-stonecutters-deadly-disease\">went into effect this year\u003c/a>, which reinforces workplace protections to prevent silicosis. She said it’s unclear why the bill’s final version did not include a certification initiative.\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>Two years ago, California approved the nation’s strictest rules to try to protect stonecutters. But the sophisticated measures, which prohibit the dry cutting of engineered stone to suppress dust and require employers to provide workers with respirators that can cost more than $1,000 each, are unfeasible for most fabrication businesses, according to employers and workplace regulators. About 95% of countertop fabrication shops that Cal/OSHA inspectors have visited were not following the required protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates who have surveyed and informed stonecutters about silica hazards in the Los Angeles area said they doubted an industry certification initiative would help protect many from the disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The challenge here is that the industry wants to essentially police itself under the proposal that they presented today,” Maegan Ortiz, who directs the Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California, said. “I think if history has shown us anything, big industries do not do very well at that.\u003cem>”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Silicosis has also been found among stoneworkers in Illinois, Colorado, Utah, Washington and other states where engineered stone is cut, though medical experts believe the illness is severely underreported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "who-will-labor-support-in-the-race-for-california-governor",
"title": "Who Will Labor Support in the Race for California Governor?",
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"headTitle": "Who Will Labor Support in the Race for California Governor? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>With less than five months until \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>’s primary election for governor, no candidate has emerged as the consensus choice of the most powerful force in state Democratic politics: organized labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attorney General Rob Bonta, a longtime labor ally, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069366/attorney-general-rob-bonta-announces-he-wont-run-for-governor\">announced this week\u003c/a> he would not run for governor, despite behind-the-scenes encouragement from many in the state’s labor movement. His decision increased the likelihood that no single candidate will be able to consolidate labor support, even as a handful of unions have already made early endorsements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is probably the least clear, most muddled gubernatorial primary field we’ve seen in California in more than half a century,” said Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at USC and UC Berkeley. “There are several candidates with solid labor credentials, but no one who stands out to a point where you see unions flocking to them the way you have in most past campaigns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions remain the lifeblood of Democratic campaigns in the state, Schnur said. The groups bankroll independent political committees that typically spend tens of millions of dollars on television ads and mailers, and their network of members provides favored candidates with a ready-made field operation to knock on doors and make phone calls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not since 1990, when Dianne Feinstein defeated John Van de Kamp in the Democratic primary, has labor’s chosen candidate for governor in California failed to make the general election. Union support was a key force in the competitive primary victories of Gray Davis in 1998, Phil Angelides in 2006 and Gavin Newsom in 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are eight high-profile Democrats and two Republicans vying in June’s primary, in which the top two finishers advance to November, regardless of party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12030712\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12030712 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) smiles as she prepares to address supporters at an election night party on March 5, 2024, in Long Beach, California. \u003ccite>(Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Many of the Democrats can already tout notable endorsements from unions and labor groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter has won the backing of the Teamsters, the United Auto Workers and the National Union of Healthcare Workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, is supported by the State Building and Construction Trades, California State Association of Electrical Workers, and the Peace Officers Research Association of California — which is also endorsing Republican Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, former Attorney General Xavier Becerra is endorsed by the California State Council of Laborers.[aside postID=news_12069366 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/RobBontaTrumpGetty.jpg']But many of the state’s largest and most powerful labor groups are still evaluating the field. That includes the California Labor Federation, SEIU, the California Teachers Association and the California Nurses Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think it’s possible to get that kind of coalescing behind one candidate,” said Lorena Gonzalez, president of the Labor Federation. “We have almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the current field of candidates … we have people who have had long relationships with organized labor.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Federation will hold an endorsement vote at its pre-primary convention in March. Large unions typically have an executive team or board of directors that vet candidates through interviews and written questionnaires, before making a recommendation to a larger body of delegates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Topping the wish list for many union leaders is a governor who will be willing to raise new revenue for the state through taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals. Democrats are divided over an effort by a health care workers’ union to place a measure on the November ballot that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070052/proposal-to-tax-billionaires-ignites-a-political-fight-in-california\">would enact a 5% tax\u003c/a> on Californians with more than $1 billion in assets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But holding union-friendly positions will only get the candidates so far. Labor leaders want to put their chips behind a candidate who can win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064925\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064925\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-70-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-70-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-70-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-70-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Eric Swalwell speaks during a press conference after a rally in support of Proposition 50 at IBEW Local 6 in San Francisco on Nov. 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The challenge is when there’s so many folks in it, a big part of our calculus always has to be the ability to run a campaign to differentiate yourself and make it into the runoff,” said David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No frontrunner has emerged in public polling to date. A \u003ca href=\"https://emersoncollegepolling.com/california-2026-new-poll/\">December poll\u003c/a> from Emerson College found Bianco, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, Republican commentator Steve Hilton and Porter closely bunched at the top of the field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the Labor Fed’s requirement of a supermajority vote among delegates for an endorsement, Gonzalez acknowledged the union could end up issuing a multi-candidate endorsement — or even agree to simply label some candidates “unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be who can win, who is open to discussions and working with the unions,” Gonzalez said. “And sometimes it’s just the old-school — who you’d rather have a beer with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976259\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976259\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/GettyImages-1679108716-scaled-e1762375365136.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1352\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lorena Gonzalez speaks on stage at the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Solidarity March and Rally on Sept. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(David Livingston/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At this point in the 2018 campaign, Newsom had already captured the support of many large unions. In the months leading up to the primary, teachers, nurses and state employee unions poured in about $8 million in outside spending to support Newsom in the face of an onslaught of pro-charter school spending backing Villaraigosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The universe of big political spenders who could line up against organized labor has only grown since that campaign, said Andrew Acosta, a Democratic strategist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot more groups these days that have the potential to [spend]: crypto, AI, all these other groups that really didn’t exist in 2018 that now have a pretty big footprint in California,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If no candidate is able to consolidate labor endorsements in the coming months, unions may instead focus their spending on competitive primaries for Congress and other statewide elections — or use their financial clout to attack any pro-business Democrats (such as San José Mayor Matt Mahan or Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso) who could enter the race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Maybe they all say, ‘We’re OK with these three [candidates] but this one we really don’t like,’” Acosta said. “But they have other priorities — they have ballot measures labor is pushing, so they don’t have an unlimited amount of money to play in all these things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Though a handful of unions have already made endorsements ahead of the June 2 primary, no candidate has emerged as the consensus choice of the most powerful force in state Democratic politics. ",
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"title": "Who Will Labor Support in the Race for California Governor? | KQED",
"description": "Though a handful of unions have already made endorsements ahead of the June 2 primary, no candidate has emerged as the consensus choice of the most powerful force in state Democratic politics. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>With less than five months until \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>’s primary election for governor, no candidate has emerged as the consensus choice of the most powerful force in state Democratic politics: organized labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attorney General Rob Bonta, a longtime labor ally, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069366/attorney-general-rob-bonta-announces-he-wont-run-for-governor\">announced this week\u003c/a> he would not run for governor, despite behind-the-scenes encouragement from many in the state’s labor movement. His decision increased the likelihood that no single candidate will be able to consolidate labor support, even as a handful of unions have already made early endorsements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is probably the least clear, most muddled gubernatorial primary field we’ve seen in California in more than half a century,” said Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at USC and UC Berkeley. “There are several candidates with solid labor credentials, but no one who stands out to a point where you see unions flocking to them the way you have in most past campaigns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions remain the lifeblood of Democratic campaigns in the state, Schnur said. The groups bankroll independent political committees that typically spend tens of millions of dollars on television ads and mailers, and their network of members provides favored candidates with a ready-made field operation to knock on doors and make phone calls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not since 1990, when Dianne Feinstein defeated John Van de Kamp in the Democratic primary, has labor’s chosen candidate for governor in California failed to make the general election. Union support was a key force in the competitive primary victories of Gray Davis in 1998, Phil Angelides in 2006 and Gavin Newsom in 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are eight high-profile Democrats and two Republicans vying in June’s primary, in which the top two finishers advance to November, regardless of party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12030712\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12030712 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/AP25069706250720-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) smiles as she prepares to address supporters at an election night party on March 5, 2024, in Long Beach, California. \u003ccite>(Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Many of the Democrats can already tout notable endorsements from unions and labor groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter has won the backing of the Teamsters, the United Auto Workers and the National Union of Healthcare Workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, is supported by the State Building and Construction Trades, California State Association of Electrical Workers, and the Peace Officers Research Association of California — which is also endorsing Republican Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, former Attorney General Xavier Becerra is endorsed by the California State Council of Laborers.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But many of the state’s largest and most powerful labor groups are still evaluating the field. That includes the California Labor Federation, SEIU, the California Teachers Association and the California Nurses Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think it’s possible to get that kind of coalescing behind one candidate,” said Lorena Gonzalez, president of the Labor Federation. “We have almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the current field of candidates … we have people who have had long relationships with organized labor.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Federation will hold an endorsement vote at its pre-primary convention in March. Large unions typically have an executive team or board of directors that vet candidates through interviews and written questionnaires, before making a recommendation to a larger body of delegates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Topping the wish list for many union leaders is a governor who will be willing to raise new revenue for the state through taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals. Democrats are divided over an effort by a health care workers’ union to place a measure on the November ballot that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070052/proposal-to-tax-billionaires-ignites-a-political-fight-in-california\">would enact a 5% tax\u003c/a> on Californians with more than $1 billion in assets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But holding union-friendly positions will only get the candidates so far. Labor leaders want to put their chips behind a candidate who can win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064925\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064925\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-70-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-70-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-70-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-70-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Eric Swalwell speaks during a press conference after a rally in support of Proposition 50 at IBEW Local 6 in San Francisco on Nov. 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The challenge is when there’s so many folks in it, a big part of our calculus always has to be the ability to run a campaign to differentiate yourself and make it into the runoff,” said David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No frontrunner has emerged in public polling to date. A \u003ca href=\"https://emersoncollegepolling.com/california-2026-new-poll/\">December poll\u003c/a> from Emerson College found Bianco, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, Republican commentator Steve Hilton and Porter closely bunched at the top of the field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the Labor Fed’s requirement of a supermajority vote among delegates for an endorsement, Gonzalez acknowledged the union could end up issuing a multi-candidate endorsement — or even agree to simply label some candidates “unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be who can win, who is open to discussions and working with the unions,” Gonzalez said. “And sometimes it’s just the old-school — who you’d rather have a beer with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976259\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976259\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/GettyImages-1679108716-scaled-e1762375365136.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1352\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lorena Gonzalez speaks on stage at the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Solidarity March and Rally on Sept. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(David Livingston/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At this point in the 2018 campaign, Newsom had already captured the support of many large unions. In the months leading up to the primary, teachers, nurses and state employee unions poured in about $8 million in outside spending to support Newsom in the face of an onslaught of pro-charter school spending backing Villaraigosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The universe of big political spenders who could line up against organized labor has only grown since that campaign, said Andrew Acosta, a Democratic strategist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot more groups these days that have the potential to [spend]: crypto, AI, all these other groups that really didn’t exist in 2018 that now have a pretty big footprint in California,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If no candidate is able to consolidate labor endorsements in the coming months, unions may instead focus their spending on competitive primaries for Congress and other statewide elections — or use their financial clout to attack any pro-business Democrats (such as San José Mayor Matt Mahan or Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso) who could enter the race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Maybe they all say, ‘We’re OK with these three [candidates] but this one we really don’t like,’” Acosta said. “But they have other priorities — they have ballot measures labor is pushing, so they don’t have an unlimited amount of money to play in all these things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "as-california-silicosis-cases-rise-engineered-stone-industry-seeks-immunity-in-dc",
"title": "As California Silicosis Cases Rise, Engineered Stone Industry Seeks Immunity in DC",
"publishDate": 1768498113,
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"headTitle": "As California Silicosis Cases Rise, Engineered Stone Industry Seeks Immunity in DC | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Facing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">hundreds of lawsuits by sick workers\u003c/a> in California, a major U.S. artificial stone manufacturer and other industry representatives testified in support of a bill in Congress that would immunize their companies from liability during a Republican-led hearing on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone is linked to an aggressive form of an incurable lung disease diagnosed in more than 480 California stonecutters who inhaled toxic silica dust released when slicing and polishing the popular kitchen countertop material. Dozens have undergone lung transplants and 27 people have died from silicosis since 2019, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">state health authorities\u003c/a>. Reported cases nationwide are expected to surge as awareness and surveillance increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5437/text\">H.R. 5437\u003c/a>, introduced by Republican Rep. Tom McClintock last September, would prohibit civil lawsuits against stone slab manufacturers or sellers for harm resulting from the alteration of their products, such as to make kitchen and bathroom countertops and other construction surfaces. The bill would also dismiss hundreds of pending lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry representatives, led by Minnesota-based Cambria, told lawmakers they are being unfairly targeted for damages they attribute to downstream employers at countertop fabrication shops that fail to follow required worker protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rather than hold the bad actors accountable, the lawsuits are being filed against dozens of innocent stone slab manufacturers,” Rebecca Schult, Cambria’s chief legal officer, said. “The wrong parties are being sued, and the lawsuits are overwhelming good companies throughout our industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republican members of the House Judiciary subcommittee seemed sympathetic to the companies’ plight. They denounced job safety regulators for insufficient enforcement and focused many of their questions on the impacts of mounting litigation and insurance costs for businesses, which jeopardize industry jobs.\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>Gary Talwar, vice president of Natural Stone Resources, said the Los Angeles area distribution company his family owns faces 65 silica lawsuits and higher insurance premiums. Many small operations are struggling to keep their doors open as well, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As far as a small business, I bring product in, I put it in a warehouse, and I ship it out. Once it leaves my warehouse, I don’t know who cuts it, how they cut it, or what happens,” Talwar said. “There’s hundreds of, maybe thousands of companies across the country, just like myself, that are being hammered with lawsuits. We’re fighting for our lives, and we can’t afford it anymore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the two-hour hearing, Democrats slammed H.R. 5437 as a proposal seeking special treatment for artificial stone manufacturers and distributors and preventing injured workers from accessing justice in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Congress would make a millionaire CEO’s problems go away just like that, while the workers who cut, grind, polish, and install this dangerous product struggle to make ends meet, struggle to stay alive,” said Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, referring to Cambria’s CEO, Marty Davis, whose campaign donations have benefitted President Donald Trump and GOP candidates.[aside postID=news_12066901 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-04-KQED-2.jpg']Artificial stone, also known as engineered stone or quartz, can contain more than 90% crystalline silica. Resins and other chemicals added to the factory-made slabs contribute to making engineered stone dust \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">more dangerous than dust from natural stones\u003c/a> such as granite or marble, according to doctors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cambria faces 400 lawsuits from stoneworkers for silica-related injuries, most of them in California, Schult said. Other major manufacturers facing lawsuits, such as Israel-based Caesarstone and Cosentino, headquartered in Spain, have developed low or no-crystalline silica alternatives. But Cambria, which owns a quartz mine that supplies its high-silica products, has not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said the courts should determine whether manufacturers have any responsibility for the impact of their products on stoneworkers. In one of the two cases against Cambria and other manufacturers that went to trial, the company was found \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-07/jury-finds-stone-companies-at-fault-in-suit-by-countertop-cutter-with-silicosis\">partially liable\u003c/a> in a $52.4 million verdict for failing to adequately warn of the hazards. Cambria appealed the jury decision. In a separate case, a jury ruled in favor of the defendant manufacturers, a decision that is also on appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You are looking for categorical absolute immunity in all of these cases,” Raskin said in a testy exchange with Schult. “On your definition, there’s no defect on the product, right? So how could you ever be held liable?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cambria has emerged as a vocal opponent of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">doctor’s petition\u003c/a> last month asking California to ban cutting and polishing of artificial stone. The Western Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association said such a ban would encourage the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-609.pdf\">use of safer substitutes\u003c/a> developed by some manufacturers for the Australian market. That country was the world’s first to prohibit the sale and use of high-silica artificial stone in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schult said Cambria’s own fabrication shops have cut artificial stone safely for more than 20 years, without a single silicosis case. A Cambria safety video played at the start of the hearing showed state-of-the-art facilities that use robotic machines to cut slabs in glass-enclosed areas. The company told KQED that Cambria’s fabrication practices include the use of handheld devices, but declined to specify how many of its cutting tasks are done by the robotic machines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067172\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067172\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone countertop fabricator wears a mask to help protect against airborne particles, which can contribute to silicosis, at a shop on Oct. 31, 2023, in Sun Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some silicosis experts and employers doubt the sophisticated and expensive measures needed to safely handle engineered stone are feasible or affordable for most fabrication shops, which are typically small businesses with fewer than 10 employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA inspectors have found that about 95% of the fabrication operations they’ve visited were not following all of the state’s safety rules. California’s regulations, the nation’s strictest, require artificial stone to be cut or polished with machines that cover the material’s surface in water to suppress dust. Employers must also provide workers with sophisticated respirators that can cost more than $1,000 each, and a ventilation system to clean the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James Nevin, an attorney at Brayton Purcell LLP representing hundreds of stonecutters, said that workers are contracting silicosis in even the most sophisticated fabrication facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This epidemic starts and stops with crystalline silica artificial stone. It is entirely the uniquely toxic product that is the problem, not ‘a few bad actors’ in the countertop fabrication process,” Nevin told KQED in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly all of the sick stoneworkers in California are Latino men, many of them undocumented immigrants. McClintock, whose district includes parts of California’s Central Valley, said fabrication shops that violate worker protections undercut law-abiding competitors while regulators fail to enforce existing rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12064718 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photo of a pair of lungs with silicosis used in a Cal/OSHA presentation slide about the disease, and rising numbers of cases in California, at a public meeting on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Museomed via Wikimedia Commons)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It appears they’re just turning a blind eye to law-breaking by sweatshops that are breaking our immigration laws, labor, health and safety laws, exposing their employees to the dust that causes silicosis,” McClintock told Schult. “And it appears that instead of enforcing the law against these illegal practices, the Democrats prefer to drive you out of business.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is not the only state facing a growing silicosis problem. Dozens of additional cases have been identified in Washington, Utah, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and other states where engineered stone is being cut. David Michaels, a former assistant secretary at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, believes thousands more silicosis cases across the country have not been reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lawsuits play an important role in public health protection. If lawsuits by workers with silicosis are prohibited, these manufacturers will make no effort to prevent more workers from dying or becoming disabled by silicosis,” Michaels, an epidemiologist and professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We shouldn’t be discussing immunity from litigation. We should be discussing banning this product to make it safe for workers, and that would protect the manufacturers and the distributors as well,” he added. “We should not allow the carnage to continue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, fabrication workers not yet diagnosed with silicosis sued Cambria and other major manufacturers and distributors in federal court in San Francisco, seeking to require the companies to pay for medical monitoring for all California workers exposed to artificial stone dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Artificial stone manufacturers, facing hundreds of silicosis lawsuits in California, urged lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to pass a bill shielding the industry from liability as cases rise nationwide among countertop fabrication workers.",
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"title": "As California Silicosis Cases Rise, Engineered Stone Industry Seeks Immunity in DC | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Facing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">hundreds of lawsuits by sick workers\u003c/a> in California, a major U.S. artificial stone manufacturer and other industry representatives testified in support of a bill in Congress that would immunize their companies from liability during a Republican-led hearing on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone is linked to an aggressive form of an incurable lung disease diagnosed in more than 480 California stonecutters who inhaled toxic silica dust released when slicing and polishing the popular kitchen countertop material. Dozens have undergone lung transplants and 27 people have died from silicosis since 2019, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">state health authorities\u003c/a>. Reported cases nationwide are expected to surge as awareness and surveillance increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5437/text\">H.R. 5437\u003c/a>, introduced by Republican Rep. Tom McClintock last September, would prohibit civil lawsuits against stone slab manufacturers or sellers for harm resulting from the alteration of their products, such as to make kitchen and bathroom countertops and other construction surfaces. The bill would also dismiss hundreds of pending lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry representatives, led by Minnesota-based Cambria, told lawmakers they are being unfairly targeted for damages they attribute to downstream employers at countertop fabrication shops that fail to follow required worker protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rather than hold the bad actors accountable, the lawsuits are being filed against dozens of innocent stone slab manufacturers,” Rebecca Schult, Cambria’s chief legal officer, said. “The wrong parties are being sued, and the lawsuits are overwhelming good companies throughout our industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republican members of the House Judiciary subcommittee seemed sympathetic to the companies’ plight. They denounced job safety regulators for insufficient enforcement and focused many of their questions on the impacts of mounting litigation and insurance costs for businesses, which jeopardize industry jobs.\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>Gary Talwar, vice president of Natural Stone Resources, said the Los Angeles area distribution company his family owns faces 65 silica lawsuits and higher insurance premiums. Many small operations are struggling to keep their doors open as well, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As far as a small business, I bring product in, I put it in a warehouse, and I ship it out. Once it leaves my warehouse, I don’t know who cuts it, how they cut it, or what happens,” Talwar said. “There’s hundreds of, maybe thousands of companies across the country, just like myself, that are being hammered with lawsuits. We’re fighting for our lives, and we can’t afford it anymore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the two-hour hearing, Democrats slammed H.R. 5437 as a proposal seeking special treatment for artificial stone manufacturers and distributors and preventing injured workers from accessing justice in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Congress would make a millionaire CEO’s problems go away just like that, while the workers who cut, grind, polish, and install this dangerous product struggle to make ends meet, struggle to stay alive,” said Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, referring to Cambria’s CEO, Marty Davis, whose campaign donations have benefitted President Donald Trump and GOP candidates.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Artificial stone, also known as engineered stone or quartz, can contain more than 90% crystalline silica. Resins and other chemicals added to the factory-made slabs contribute to making engineered stone dust \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">more dangerous than dust from natural stones\u003c/a> such as granite or marble, according to doctors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cambria faces 400 lawsuits from stoneworkers for silica-related injuries, most of them in California, Schult said. Other major manufacturers facing lawsuits, such as Israel-based Caesarstone and Cosentino, headquartered in Spain, have developed low or no-crystalline silica alternatives. But Cambria, which owns a quartz mine that supplies its high-silica products, has not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said the courts should determine whether manufacturers have any responsibility for the impact of their products on stoneworkers. In one of the two cases against Cambria and other manufacturers that went to trial, the company was found \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-07/jury-finds-stone-companies-at-fault-in-suit-by-countertop-cutter-with-silicosis\">partially liable\u003c/a> in a $52.4 million verdict for failing to adequately warn of the hazards. Cambria appealed the jury decision. In a separate case, a jury ruled in favor of the defendant manufacturers, a decision that is also on appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You are looking for categorical absolute immunity in all of these cases,” Raskin said in a testy exchange with Schult. “On your definition, there’s no defect on the product, right? So how could you ever be held liable?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cambria has emerged as a vocal opponent of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">doctor’s petition\u003c/a> last month asking California to ban cutting and polishing of artificial stone. The Western Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association said such a ban would encourage the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-609.pdf\">use of safer substitutes\u003c/a> developed by some manufacturers for the Australian market. That country was the world’s first to prohibit the sale and use of high-silica artificial stone in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schult said Cambria’s own fabrication shops have cut artificial stone safely for more than 20 years, without a single silicosis case. A Cambria safety video played at the start of the hearing showed state-of-the-art facilities that use robotic machines to cut slabs in glass-enclosed areas. The company told KQED that Cambria’s fabrication practices include the use of handheld devices, but declined to specify how many of its cutting tasks are done by the robotic machines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067172\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067172\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone countertop fabricator wears a mask to help protect against airborne particles, which can contribute to silicosis, at a shop on Oct. 31, 2023, in Sun Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some silicosis experts and employers doubt the sophisticated and expensive measures needed to safely handle engineered stone are feasible or affordable for most fabrication shops, which are typically small businesses with fewer than 10 employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA inspectors have found that about 95% of the fabrication operations they’ve visited were not following all of the state’s safety rules. California’s regulations, the nation’s strictest, require artificial stone to be cut or polished with machines that cover the material’s surface in water to suppress dust. Employers must also provide workers with sophisticated respirators that can cost more than $1,000 each, and a ventilation system to clean the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James Nevin, an attorney at Brayton Purcell LLP representing hundreds of stonecutters, said that workers are contracting silicosis in even the most sophisticated fabrication facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This epidemic starts and stops with crystalline silica artificial stone. It is entirely the uniquely toxic product that is the problem, not ‘a few bad actors’ in the countertop fabrication process,” Nevin told KQED in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly all of the sick stoneworkers in California are Latino men, many of them undocumented immigrants. McClintock, whose district includes parts of California’s Central Valley, said fabrication shops that violate worker protections undercut law-abiding competitors while regulators fail to enforce existing rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12064718 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photo of a pair of lungs with silicosis used in a Cal/OSHA presentation slide about the disease, and rising numbers of cases in California, at a public meeting on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Museomed via Wikimedia Commons)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It appears they’re just turning a blind eye to law-breaking by sweatshops that are breaking our immigration laws, labor, health and safety laws, exposing their employees to the dust that causes silicosis,” McClintock told Schult. “And it appears that instead of enforcing the law against these illegal practices, the Democrats prefer to drive you out of business.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is not the only state facing a growing silicosis problem. Dozens of additional cases have been identified in Washington, Utah, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and other states where engineered stone is being cut. David Michaels, a former assistant secretary at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, believes thousands more silicosis cases across the country have not been reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lawsuits play an important role in public health protection. If lawsuits by workers with silicosis are prohibited, these manufacturers will make no effort to prevent more workers from dying or becoming disabled by silicosis,” Michaels, an epidemiologist and professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We shouldn’t be discussing immunity from litigation. We should be discussing banning this product to make it safe for workers, and that would protect the manufacturers and the distributors as well,” he added. “We should not allow the carnage to continue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, fabrication workers not yet diagnosed with silicosis sued Cambria and other major manufacturers and distributors in federal court in San Francisco, seeking to require the companies to pay for medical monitoring for all California workers exposed to artificial stone dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Solano County Public Service Workers Launch 2-Day Strike",
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"content": "\u003cp>Thousands of Solano County workers launched a two-day strike Tuesday, after monthslong negotiations have yielded little progress on new labor agreements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 2,000 employees who walked off the job include social workers, engineers and administrative staff working under contracts that lapsed in October. They’re asking for higher wages and better benefits to ease what they say is a recruitment and retention crisis that’s harming both employees and residents in Solano County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside a county social services building in Fairfield on Tuesday morning, workers chanted and walked the picket lines. Among them was Richard Livingston Jr., a supervisor at Solano County Older and Disabled Adult Services who has worked for the county for 26 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While he’s been through contract fights before, Livingston noted that four unions have come together this time around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So you have workers, supervisors, managers; you have physicians; you have custodial; you have professional, technical; all these folks are here together,” Livingston said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you take care of the workers, the people that take care of the people, you’re taking care of the people,” he continued. “There’s a lot of people who work here in Solano County who said they can’t afford to live here now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069602\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069602\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_010-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_010-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_010-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_010-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters hold up signs calling for fully funded mental health services during a Solano County workers strike on Jan. 13, 2026, in Fairfield. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Linda Cheesman, a supervisor in Solano County’s General Services department, said in a statement that workers are stretched thin and services are delayed because of hundreds of vacant positions, adding that the county’s employees are under “serious strain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“County workers want to help build a Solano for all, but we need the county to meet us with a fair and equitable contract so we can attract and retain the staff our community relies on,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The workers represented by Service Employees International Union Local 1021, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39 and Union of American Physicians and Dentists are bargaining separate contracts, but social worker Elizabeth Harrison said many of their core demands are the same: better retention rates and recruitment efforts to ease chronic understaffing in county departments.[aside postID=news_12068383 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/04/001_KQED_Oakland_HighlandHospital_041152020-1020x680.jpg']“The bottom-line to that is … we’re talking about having a community that deserves fully staffed, safe and reliable public services,” Harrison, who is a member of SEIU Local 1021, said. “If we cannot get retention and recruitment under control, then what we have is as many people come in the front door to be hired as people go out the back door. They leave.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrison, who has been an adult protective services social worker in the county for 13 years, said that vacant positions in her department means she and other employees have unmanageable caseloads and rising rates of burnout, while some of their clients experience long wait times for care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we have positions like mine, or [in] public works or agriculture, the chronic understaffing puts all of us at risk,” she told KQED. “People have growing safety concerns for the workers and the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unions are asking for higher wages and better benefit coverage to encourage people to come to work for the county, and to stay for longer periods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069601\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069601\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_002-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_002-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_002-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_002-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Union members and supporters march through downtown Fairfield as Solano County workers went on strike after contract talks with the county stalled on Jan. 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s not primarily the wages and the benefits, but those things play a part in retention and recruitment which then plays a part in having high quality public services. It all ties together,” Harrison told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>Tazamisha Alexander, a benefits eligibility specialist for the county and a member of her union’s negotiating team, said Tuesday on the picket line that talks with the county have been difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The county hasn’t really negotiated anything,” Alexander said. “The previous contract, there was a back-and-forth. We talked about things. That’s why we didn’t have to go out. This time around, it’s just been a bunch of no.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county said it’s offered a proposal that includes salary increases, higher insurance contributions and additional benefits totalling over $90 million, and is weighing the union’s requests with its current fiscal outlook and “ongoing budget pressures.” In negotiations, officials have emphasized the “need to balance fair compensation with the County’s responsibility to maintain essential services and fiscal sustainability for the community,” the county said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Megan Richards, a management analyst in the Solano County Administrator’s Office, said the county is anticipating possible cost increases to run federal programs like Medicare or CalFresh, which are implementing new work requirements and other qualification restrictions and could shift additional administrative tasks to the county level. She also said Solano faces uncertainty in state and federal budget plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069600\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069600\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_001-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_001-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_001-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_001-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Akbar Bibb, a member of SEIU Local 1021, speaks to a crowd of county workers and supporters during a strike rally outside the Solano County Government Center on Jan. 13, 2026, in Fairfield. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The strike that began Tuesday is directly over the county’s approach to bargaining after the unions jointly filed unfair labor practices charges with the state over the issue in December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You go into a negotiation and you expect to have some movement back and forth, some real talks and real negotiations, but they’ve stalled,” Harrison said. “For lack of better words, it’s a waste of time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Workers formed strike lines beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday outside both the county’s Health and Social Services and administrative building in Fairfield, with others planned near county worksites in Vallejo, Vacaville and Cordelia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The action was expected to have rippling impacts on county services Tuesday and Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Health and Human Services said most of its divisions will be open for emergency response, but appointments will be rescheduled, and some services will be delayed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069632\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069632\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_Solano-County-Strike-_GH_017_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_Solano-County-Strike-_GH_017_qed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_Solano-County-Strike-_GH_017_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_Solano-County-Strike-_GH_017_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A striking Solano County worker leads Solano County workers through downtown Fairfield during a strike march over contract negotiations on Jan. 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lynch Canyon Open Space and Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space will both be closed, while other beaches and county parks remain open. The Fairfield Civic Center Library will remain open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., while other locations will be closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, other services could still be delayed, and closures could occur, the county said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contract negotiations are ongoing, and the parties could return to the bargaining table at any time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we’re looking to do is make sure that we have real movement and real respect at the bargaining table, and we have not experienced that from our employer here at Solano County,” said Harrison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rsgirldaisy/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Daisy Nguyen\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Thousands of Solano County workers launched a two-day strike Tuesday, after monthslong negotiations have yielded little progress on new labor agreements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 2,000 employees who walked off the job include social workers, engineers and administrative staff working under contracts that lapsed in October. They’re asking for higher wages and better benefits to ease what they say is a recruitment and retention crisis that’s harming both employees and residents in Solano County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside a county social services building in Fairfield on Tuesday morning, workers chanted and walked the picket lines. Among them was Richard Livingston Jr., a supervisor at Solano County Older and Disabled Adult Services who has worked for the county for 26 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While he’s been through contract fights before, Livingston noted that four unions have come together this time around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So you have workers, supervisors, managers; you have physicians; you have custodial; you have professional, technical; all these folks are here together,” Livingston said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you take care of the workers, the people that take care of the people, you’re taking care of the people,” he continued. “There’s a lot of people who work here in Solano County who said they can’t afford to live here now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069602\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069602\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_010-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_010-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_010-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_010-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters hold up signs calling for fully funded mental health services during a Solano County workers strike on Jan. 13, 2026, in Fairfield. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Linda Cheesman, a supervisor in Solano County’s General Services department, said in a statement that workers are stretched thin and services are delayed because of hundreds of vacant positions, adding that the county’s employees are under “serious strain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“County workers want to help build a Solano for all, but we need the county to meet us with a fair and equitable contract so we can attract and retain the staff our community relies on,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The workers represented by Service Employees International Union Local 1021, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39 and Union of American Physicians and Dentists are bargaining separate contracts, but social worker Elizabeth Harrison said many of their core demands are the same: better retention rates and recruitment efforts to ease chronic understaffing in county departments.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The bottom-line to that is … we’re talking about having a community that deserves fully staffed, safe and reliable public services,” Harrison, who is a member of SEIU Local 1021, said. “If we cannot get retention and recruitment under control, then what we have is as many people come in the front door to be hired as people go out the back door. They leave.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrison, who has been an adult protective services social worker in the county for 13 years, said that vacant positions in her department means she and other employees have unmanageable caseloads and rising rates of burnout, while some of their clients experience long wait times for care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we have positions like mine, or [in] public works or agriculture, the chronic understaffing puts all of us at risk,” she told KQED. “People have growing safety concerns for the workers and the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unions are asking for higher wages and better benefit coverage to encourage people to come to work for the county, and to stay for longer periods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069601\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069601\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_002-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_002-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_002-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_002-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Union members and supporters march through downtown Fairfield as Solano County workers went on strike after contract talks with the county stalled on Jan. 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s not primarily the wages and the benefits, but those things play a part in retention and recruitment which then plays a part in having high quality public services. It all ties together,” Harrison told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>Tazamisha Alexander, a benefits eligibility specialist for the county and a member of her union’s negotiating team, said Tuesday on the picket line that talks with the county have been difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The county hasn’t really negotiated anything,” Alexander said. “The previous contract, there was a back-and-forth. We talked about things. That’s why we didn’t have to go out. This time around, it’s just been a bunch of no.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county said it’s offered a proposal that includes salary increases, higher insurance contributions and additional benefits totalling over $90 million, and is weighing the union’s requests with its current fiscal outlook and “ongoing budget pressures.” In negotiations, officials have emphasized the “need to balance fair compensation with the County’s responsibility to maintain essential services and fiscal sustainability for the community,” the county said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Megan Richards, a management analyst in the Solano County Administrator’s Office, said the county is anticipating possible cost increases to run federal programs like Medicare or CalFresh, which are implementing new work requirements and other qualification restrictions and could shift additional administrative tasks to the county level. She also said Solano faces uncertainty in state and federal budget plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069600\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069600\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_001-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_001-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_001-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_SOLANO-COUNTY-STRIKE-_GH_001-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Akbar Bibb, a member of SEIU Local 1021, speaks to a crowd of county workers and supporters during a strike rally outside the Solano County Government Center on Jan. 13, 2026, in Fairfield. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The strike that began Tuesday is directly over the county’s approach to bargaining after the unions jointly filed unfair labor practices charges with the state over the issue in December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You go into a negotiation and you expect to have some movement back and forth, some real talks and real negotiations, but they’ve stalled,” Harrison said. “For lack of better words, it’s a waste of time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Workers formed strike lines beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday outside both the county’s Health and Social Services and administrative building in Fairfield, with others planned near county worksites in Vallejo, Vacaville and Cordelia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The action was expected to have rippling impacts on county services Tuesday and Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Health and Human Services said most of its divisions will be open for emergency response, but appointments will be rescheduled, and some services will be delayed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069632\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069632\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_Solano-County-Strike-_GH_017_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_Solano-County-Strike-_GH_017_qed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_Solano-County-Strike-_GH_017_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/011326_Solano-County-Strike-_GH_017_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A striking Solano County worker leads Solano County workers through downtown Fairfield during a strike march over contract negotiations on Jan. 13, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lynch Canyon Open Space and Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space will both be closed, while other beaches and county parks remain open. The Fairfield Civic Center Library will remain open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., while other locations will be closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, other services could still be delayed, and closures could occur, the county said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contract negotiations are ongoing, and the parties could return to the bargaining table at any time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we’re looking to do is make sure that we have real movement and real respect at the bargaining table, and we have not experienced that from our employer here at Solano County,” said Harrison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rsgirldaisy/?hl=en\">\u003cem>Daisy Nguyen\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Alex Alvarez said the whole event felt like a blur. On Dec. 4, the social worker was doing his typical rounds at Zuckerberg \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> General Hospital when he heard a commotion and saw the back of a man who appeared to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066248/stabbing-at-san-francisco-general-hospital-leaves-social-worker-in-critical-condition\">attacking his friend\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarez, who also goes by Alejandro, didn’t yet know the hooded attacker was a patient, the same one his colleagues had voiced safety concerns about multiple times after facing threats of violence. He didn’t yet know that the patient, who suffered from severe mental illness, was armed with a knife. He just knew he had to act quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just bolt out, and I pull the guy off of him because I noticed no one is doing anything. But that’s likely because everyone saw what was already unfolding, and I didn’t from my vantage point, holding him from the back of his shirt,” Alvarez recalled recently. “And there I am in the hallway, he’s holding him and then he drops him. Nothing was catching up to me when I saw what was actually happening. I just kind of was in shock. And it was at that moment that I realized, oh shoot, he wasn’t punching him, he was actually stabbing him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarez had pulled 34-year-old Wilfredo Tortolero-Arriechi off Alberto Rangel, a 51-year-old beloved social worker at Ward 86, the historic HIV/AIDS clinic located in San Francisco General. In the moments that followed, medical staff hurried to provide life-saving care. But Rangel died of his injuries within two days, setting off a fierce debate over the hospital’s safety protocols.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The aftermath of the tragedy has been a whirlwind for the close-knit staff of Ward 86. The fatal stabbing has reignited frustration and fears among workers who told KQED that reports were made to the Department of Public Health, which oversees the hospital, about Tortolero-Arriechi’s concerning behavior and threats of violence leading up to the event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066546\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066546\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial for social worker Alberto Rangel, who was fatally stabbed on Dec. 4 at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, outside the hospital on Dec. 9, 2025. Rangel, 51, died two days after the attack, sparking renewed calls for improved safety at the facility. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, workers say they’ve been doubly traumatized by public reports they say unfairly portray what happened that afternoon in Ward 86, alongside demands from hospital leadership for them to stay silent and return to work as usual amid an ongoing investigation about the incident and events that led up to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hospital leadership and security were notified at least two weeks in advance that the patient had exhibited escalating instability, threats to stab healthcare workers, and increasingly violent threats documented by multiple providers. Providers expressed explicit fears for their safety,” reads \u003ca href=\"https://upte.org/statement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a new collective statement\u003c/a> aimed at hospital leadership and law enforcement from a group of several dozen Ward 86 staff members that was shared with KQED. “Despite these warnings, no clinic-wide safety plan was communicated to Ward 86.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials at UC San Francisco, which runs the hospital with the Department of Public Health, did not respond to multiple requests for a response to the allegations.[aside postID=news_12066248 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/RS46625_009_SanFrancisco_Hospital_01142021-qut-1020x680.jpg']In a statement after the stabbing, the Sheriff’s Office said an on-site deputy “intervened immediately, restraining the suspect and securing the scene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union representing sheriff’s deputies went a step further, placing a sponsored post in all-capital letters on Instagram saying that a “deputy sheriff saved Ward 86 from a rapid mass casualty stabbing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is exactly what deputy sheriffs are supposed to do on high-risk units: be close enough to stop an attack in progress and protect frontline healthcare workers,” Ken Lomba, president of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Association, said in a press release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sheriff’s Office declined to comment for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarez, 32, said he sees the department’s sponsored post regularly, making it hard even to take a break from reality with a social media scroll. Both the post and the city’s official description feel like a blow on top of the trauma he’s still processing from that moment he jumped in to try to save Rangel, whom he looked up to as a fellow queer Latino on the ward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple Ward 86 social workers told KQED, some on the condition of anonymity, that Alvarez was the first person to intervene in the attack, and eyewitnesses said the suspect dropped the 5-inch knife after being pulled off Rangel, with a deputy intervening shortly afterward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068514\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068514\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-22-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-22-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-22-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-22-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Alvarez, a clinical social worker, stands on a parking garage at UCSF Parnassus campus in San Francisco on Dec. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Officials at UCSF directed Ward 86 staff not to discuss any aspects of the incident unless university legal counsel is present, according to an email reviewed by KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sheriff’s deputy did not intervene immediately during the attack. Ward 86 staff — not law enforcement — physically intervened to stop the assault,” reads the collective statement from staff. “The attacker remained unrestrained for several minutes after the assault ended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Staff had to repeatedly direct the deputy to remove the attacker from the scene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tortolero-Arriechi allegedly stabbed Rangel in the shoulder and neck. He has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal stabbing, according to the District Attorney’s office, and he is scheduled to enter a plea on Wednesday. After his arrest, he was hospitalized at San Francisco General and was recently discharged from the psychiatric ward and transferred to county jail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A life was lost, and that is never something we take lightly. I give my condolences to Mr. Rangel’s family, friends, and colleagues,” his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Sylvia Nguyen, said in an email. “Being a social worker — working behind the scenes in all aspects of medical care, serving residents who are most in need of resources and support — is often a thankless job that people do out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s clear he made an impact on so many lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066544\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12066544 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial for social worker Alberto Rangel, who was fatally stabbed on Dec. 4 at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, outside the hospital on Dec. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The hospital has increased security and law enforcement presence in the ward, which did not have metal detectors prior to the incident, by tightening control over access points and adding weapon-detection technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are implementing immediate security enhancements to protect staff and patients, while also advancing long-term structural changes to prevent future incidents,” a spokesperson for the Department of Public Health said in an email. “In addition, the city is engaging an independent security firm to objectively review the Ward 86 incident and our safety practices systemwide. These assessments will inform both immediate corrective actions and long-term investments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city reported the incident to the California Department of Public Health, Cal/OSHA and the Joint Commission, which evaluates and accredits healthcare organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One social worker said the hospital made some crisis counselors available and told workers they can visit San Francisco General’s trauma and recovery center for group processing sessions, but accessing those services has not been straightforward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, staff have been told to report back to work, with a welcome breakfast scheduled for this morning. Several said they still don’t feel safe enough to return yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068508\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068508\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-07-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-07-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-07-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-07-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lindsay Felten sits in her apartment on Dec. 20, 2025. Her colleague Alberto Rangel was fatally stabbed at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My colleagues and myself experienced a really traumatic incident that should have been prevented,” said Lindsay Felten, a clinical social worker at Ward 86. She said that the lack of support from management has felt like “adding salt to a wound.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Felten and other Ward 86 staff are calling for protected time off, as many are now navigating both the trauma of the event and paperwork for additional therapy needs and workers’ compensation. Others are dipping into their sick leave and vacation bank to give themselves more time to heal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re being told they did everything they could, that the sheriff saved the day, when the way we see it is like we showed up for ourselves,” Felten said. “We kept our other patients and colleagues safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarez is seeking workers’ compensation and has yet to return to the ward. “I’ve been too nervous to go back,” he said. “I will avoid the area. I don’t even drive by it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Threats and risky situations were not uncommon at San Francisco General before the incident last month. The hospital is known as a “safety net” for many of the city’s most vulnerable, and that often means taking in patients who are turned away from other places due to behavior, needs or because they are on Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068507\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-02-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-02-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-02-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-02-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An altar honoring Alberto Rangel sits in Lindsay Felten’s apartment on Dec. 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ward 86 started as the first-ever dedicated HIV/AIDS outpatient clinic in 1983, at a time when the government and many medical institutions turned a blind eye to the epidemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The clinic still performs essential HIV care, and over the years, the population it serves has grown increasingly complex. Many patients are extremely low-income and come in with dual diagnoses, including substance use disorder and other mental health challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fatal stabbing has intensified debate over hospital security for both workers and patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarez, who was in the midst of finals for pre-med classes he’s taking at City College at the time of the attack, wishes there was more he could do in Rangel’s final moments. He’s hoping to one day become a physician’s assistant or doctor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It cemented,” he said, “why I want to do this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Alex Alvarez said the whole event felt like a blur. On Dec. 4, the social worker was doing his typical rounds at Zuckerberg \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> General Hospital when he heard a commotion and saw the back of a man who appeared to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066248/stabbing-at-san-francisco-general-hospital-leaves-social-worker-in-critical-condition\">attacking his friend\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarez, who also goes by Alejandro, didn’t yet know the hooded attacker was a patient, the same one his colleagues had voiced safety concerns about multiple times after facing threats of violence. He didn’t yet know that the patient, who suffered from severe mental illness, was armed with a knife. He just knew he had to act quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just bolt out, and I pull the guy off of him because I noticed no one is doing anything. But that’s likely because everyone saw what was already unfolding, and I didn’t from my vantage point, holding him from the back of his shirt,” Alvarez recalled recently. “And there I am in the hallway, he’s holding him and then he drops him. Nothing was catching up to me when I saw what was actually happening. I just kind of was in shock. And it was at that moment that I realized, oh shoot, he wasn’t punching him, he was actually stabbing him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarez had pulled 34-year-old Wilfredo Tortolero-Arriechi off Alberto Rangel, a 51-year-old beloved social worker at Ward 86, the historic HIV/AIDS clinic located in San Francisco General. In the moments that followed, medical staff hurried to provide life-saving care. But Rangel died of his injuries within two days, setting off a fierce debate over the hospital’s safety protocols.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The aftermath of the tragedy has been a whirlwind for the close-knit staff of Ward 86. The fatal stabbing has reignited frustration and fears among workers who told KQED that reports were made to the Department of Public Health, which oversees the hospital, about Tortolero-Arriechi’s concerning behavior and threats of violence leading up to the event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066546\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066546\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial for social worker Alberto Rangel, who was fatally stabbed on Dec. 4 at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, outside the hospital on Dec. 9, 2025. Rangel, 51, died two days after the attack, sparking renewed calls for improved safety at the facility. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, workers say they’ve been doubly traumatized by public reports they say unfairly portray what happened that afternoon in Ward 86, alongside demands from hospital leadership for them to stay silent and return to work as usual amid an ongoing investigation about the incident and events that led up to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hospital leadership and security were notified at least two weeks in advance that the patient had exhibited escalating instability, threats to stab healthcare workers, and increasingly violent threats documented by multiple providers. Providers expressed explicit fears for their safety,” reads \u003ca href=\"https://upte.org/statement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a new collective statement\u003c/a> aimed at hospital leadership and law enforcement from a group of several dozen Ward 86 staff members that was shared with KQED. “Despite these warnings, no clinic-wide safety plan was communicated to Ward 86.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials at UC San Francisco, which runs the hospital with the Department of Public Health, did not respond to multiple requests for a response to the allegations.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In a statement after the stabbing, the Sheriff’s Office said an on-site deputy “intervened immediately, restraining the suspect and securing the scene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union representing sheriff’s deputies went a step further, placing a sponsored post in all-capital letters on Instagram saying that a “deputy sheriff saved Ward 86 from a rapid mass casualty stabbing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is exactly what deputy sheriffs are supposed to do on high-risk units: be close enough to stop an attack in progress and protect frontline healthcare workers,” Ken Lomba, president of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Association, said in a press release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sheriff’s Office declined to comment for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarez, 32, said he sees the department’s sponsored post regularly, making it hard even to take a break from reality with a social media scroll. Both the post and the city’s official description feel like a blow on top of the trauma he’s still processing from that moment he jumped in to try to save Rangel, whom he looked up to as a fellow queer Latino on the ward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple Ward 86 social workers told KQED, some on the condition of anonymity, that Alvarez was the first person to intervene in the attack, and eyewitnesses said the suspect dropped the 5-inch knife after being pulled off Rangel, with a deputy intervening shortly afterward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068514\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068514\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-22-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-22-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-22-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-22-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Alvarez, a clinical social worker, stands on a parking garage at UCSF Parnassus campus in San Francisco on Dec. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Officials at UCSF directed Ward 86 staff not to discuss any aspects of the incident unless university legal counsel is present, according to an email reviewed by KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sheriff’s deputy did not intervene immediately during the attack. Ward 86 staff — not law enforcement — physically intervened to stop the assault,” reads the collective statement from staff. “The attacker remained unrestrained for several minutes after the assault ended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Staff had to repeatedly direct the deputy to remove the attacker from the scene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tortolero-Arriechi allegedly stabbed Rangel in the shoulder and neck. He has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal stabbing, according to the District Attorney’s office, and he is scheduled to enter a plea on Wednesday. After his arrest, he was hospitalized at San Francisco General and was recently discharged from the psychiatric ward and transferred to county jail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A life was lost, and that is never something we take lightly. I give my condolences to Mr. Rangel’s family, friends, and colleagues,” his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Sylvia Nguyen, said in an email. “Being a social worker — working behind the scenes in all aspects of medical care, serving residents who are most in need of resources and support — is often a thankless job that people do out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s clear he made an impact on so many lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066544\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12066544 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-SFGENERALMEMORIAL-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial for social worker Alberto Rangel, who was fatally stabbed on Dec. 4 at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, outside the hospital on Dec. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The hospital has increased security and law enforcement presence in the ward, which did not have metal detectors prior to the incident, by tightening control over access points and adding weapon-detection technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are implementing immediate security enhancements to protect staff and patients, while also advancing long-term structural changes to prevent future incidents,” a spokesperson for the Department of Public Health said in an email. “In addition, the city is engaging an independent security firm to objectively review the Ward 86 incident and our safety practices systemwide. These assessments will inform both immediate corrective actions and long-term investments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city reported the incident to the California Department of Public Health, Cal/OSHA and the Joint Commission, which evaluates and accredits healthcare organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One social worker said the hospital made some crisis counselors available and told workers they can visit San Francisco General’s trauma and recovery center for group processing sessions, but accessing those services has not been straightforward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, staff have been told to report back to work, with a welcome breakfast scheduled for this morning. Several said they still don’t feel safe enough to return yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068508\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068508\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-07-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-07-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-07-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-07-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lindsay Felten sits in her apartment on Dec. 20, 2025. Her colleague Alberto Rangel was fatally stabbed at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My colleagues and myself experienced a really traumatic incident that should have been prevented,” said Lindsay Felten, a clinical social worker at Ward 86. She said that the lack of support from management has felt like “adding salt to a wound.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Felten and other Ward 86 staff are calling for protected time off, as many are now navigating both the trauma of the event and paperwork for additional therapy needs and workers’ compensation. Others are dipping into their sick leave and vacation bank to give themselves more time to heal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re being told they did everything they could, that the sheriff saved the day, when the way we see it is like we showed up for ourselves,” Felten said. “We kept our other patients and colleagues safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarez is seeking workers’ compensation and has yet to return to the ward. “I’ve been too nervous to go back,” he said. “I will avoid the area. I don’t even drive by it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Threats and risky situations were not uncommon at San Francisco General before the incident last month. The hospital is known as a “safety net” for many of the city’s most vulnerable, and that often means taking in patients who are turned away from other places due to behavior, needs or because they are on Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068507\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-02-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-02-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-02-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251230-SFSocialWorker-02-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An altar honoring Alberto Rangel sits in Lindsay Felten’s apartment on Dec. 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ward 86 started as the first-ever dedicated HIV/AIDS outpatient clinic in 1983, at a time when the government and many medical institutions turned a blind eye to the epidemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The clinic still performs essential HIV care, and over the years, the population it serves has grown increasingly complex. Many patients are extremely low-income and come in with dual diagnoses, including substance use disorder and other mental health challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fatal stabbing has intensified debate over hospital security for both workers and patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarez, who was in the midst of finals for pre-med classes he’s taking at City College at the time of the attack, wishes there was more he could do in Rangel’s final moments. He’s hoping to one day become a physician’s assistant or doctor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It cemented,” he said, “why I want to do this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "South Bay Lawmaker Slams Trump Admin’s $1.6 Million Hepatitis B Study in West Africa",
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"content": "\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/zoe-lofgren\">Bay Area lawmaker\u003c/a> slammed a Trump administration plan to conduct research on the Hepatitis B vaccine on infants in Guinea-Bissau, where nearly one in five adults lives with the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> The grant, awarded to a group of Danish scientists with ties to the anti-vaccine movement, will fund a five-year randomized control trial in the West African nation. According to the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, 14,000 newborns will either receive the vaccine at birth or after a six-week delay to compare health outcomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>South Bay Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San José) called the decision to approve the $1.6 million dollar study — which followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rollback of newborn Hepatitis B vaccine recommendations last week — “deplorable” and a “new low.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement released Friday, Lofgren alleged the study is being used to promote U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “anti-vaccine agenda.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To withhold a lifesaving vaccine from babies across the globe to promote your anti-vaccine agenda at home is deplorable,” Lofgren said. “How has it come to this? RFK Jr. must be stopped.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 1991, the CDC recommended newborns receive the Hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11901022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11901022\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. \u003ccite>(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In an email, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Emily G. Hilliard defended the award as an independent study designed to fill “evidence gaps” regarding the “broader health effects” of the vaccine. Hilliard noted that because Guinea-Bissau does not plan to officially introduce the birth dose until 2027, the infants not receiving the shot are still receiving the “current standard of care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local medical experts, however, say the science behind the birth dose is already settled. Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University, said waiting six weeks to vaccinate newborns in a region where Hepatitis B is common will lead to “preventable infections.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Scott, infants infected at birth have about a 90% chance of developing chronic hepatitis, which can lead to liver failure and cancer. He said the administration is attempting to “manufacture doubt” to justify the recent rollbacks.[aside postID=news_12068383 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/04/001_KQED_Oakland_HighlandHospital_041152020-1020x680.jpg']“They’re doing that to generate evidence for a policy they have already implemented,” Scott said. “It’s clearly going to cause far more harm than any benefits.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott estimated that if the birth dose is successfully rolled back on a larger scale, it could lead to 1,400 additional chronic pediatric infections and nearly 500 preventable deaths annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to background information from the House Science Committee staff, the research group did not apply for an award through a standard competitive process; instead, staff said Kennedy specifically sought out the researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The typical way of going about it is to put out a request for proposal … and fund the most rigorous study,” Arthur Reingold, a former professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeley and a former Chief of the Respiratory Diseases Branch at the CDC, said. “Obviously, that was not done in this case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reingold added that without a detailed study protocol, it is impossible to know if the trial can actually measure the “broader health effects” HHS claims to be looking for. He warned that if a study lacks the statistical power to answer important questions, it is a “waste of money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The House Science Committee stated it is considering all oversight options, though staff noted their authority is currently limited by their status in the Minority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/zoe-lofgren\">Bay Area lawmaker\u003c/a> slammed a Trump administration plan to conduct research on the Hepatitis B vaccine on infants in Guinea-Bissau, where nearly one in five adults lives with the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> The grant, awarded to a group of Danish scientists with ties to the anti-vaccine movement, will fund a five-year randomized control trial in the West African nation. According to the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, 14,000 newborns will either receive the vaccine at birth or after a six-week delay to compare health outcomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>South Bay Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San José) called the decision to approve the $1.6 million dollar study — which followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rollback of newborn Hepatitis B vaccine recommendations last week — “deplorable” and a “new low.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement released Friday, Lofgren alleged the study is being used to promote U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “anti-vaccine agenda.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To withhold a lifesaving vaccine from babies across the globe to promote your anti-vaccine agenda at home is deplorable,” Lofgren said. “How has it come to this? RFK Jr. must be stopped.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 1991, the CDC recommended newborns receive the Hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11901022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11901022\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/GettyImages-1341705981-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. \u003ccite>(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In an email, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Emily G. Hilliard defended the award as an independent study designed to fill “evidence gaps” regarding the “broader health effects” of the vaccine. Hilliard noted that because Guinea-Bissau does not plan to officially introduce the birth dose until 2027, the infants not receiving the shot are still receiving the “current standard of care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local medical experts, however, say the science behind the birth dose is already settled. Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University, said waiting six weeks to vaccinate newborns in a region where Hepatitis B is common will lead to “preventable infections.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Scott, infants infected at birth have about a 90% chance of developing chronic hepatitis, which can lead to liver failure and cancer. He said the administration is attempting to “manufacture doubt” to justify the recent rollbacks.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“They’re doing that to generate evidence for a policy they have already implemented,” Scott said. “It’s clearly going to cause far more harm than any benefits.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott estimated that if the birth dose is successfully rolled back on a larger scale, it could lead to 1,400 additional chronic pediatric infections and nearly 500 preventable deaths annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to background information from the House Science Committee staff, the research group did not apply for an award through a standard competitive process; instead, staff said Kennedy specifically sought out the researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The typical way of going about it is to put out a request for proposal … and fund the most rigorous study,” Arthur Reingold, a former professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeley and a former Chief of the Respiratory Diseases Branch at the CDC, said. “Obviously, that was not done in this case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reingold added that without a detailed study protocol, it is impossible to know if the trial can actually measure the “broader health effects” HHS claims to be looking for. He warned that if a study lacks the statistical power to answer important questions, it is a “waste of money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The House Science Committee stated it is considering all oversight options, though staff noted their authority is currently limited by their status in the Minority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In anticipation of the Trump administration’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047647/trumps-health-law-spurs-big-medi-cal-changes-what-californians-need-to-know\">major cuts to Medicaid\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/healthnews\">the Alameda Health System\u003c/a>, which runs public hospitals and clinics throughout the East Bay, is planning to lay off nearly 300 people in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s one of many healthcare systems around the state and nation threatened as a result of significant expected losses in revenue from Medicaid, the nation’s insurance system for lower-income people, known as Medi-Cal in California. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, some union employees of the health system have said layoff notices, which are expected on Jan. 6, are premature, as the financial impacts of the cuts have yet to be felt. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think they’re bowing to pressures before those pressures have actually come into play,” Reilly Gardine, a clinical dietitian at Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus in Oakland, told KQED on Monday. “And I think they’re not being creative enough in figuring out alternative ways for funding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The health system, in an emailed statement to KQED, said it expects to lose “more than $100 million annually by 2030,” due to H.R. 1, the tax and spending bill President Donald Trump refers to as “Big” and “Beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891411\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891411\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Monish Ullal speaks with patient Jay Flohr at Highland Hospital in Oakland on Oct. 6, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The total annual budget for AHS is roughly $1.4 billion, according to its budget documents. The system could face an additional potential $60 million in cuts annually in the coming years due to cuts to federal funding that allows states to pay hospitals who treat a large share of Medi-Cal patients, officials said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“AHS projects that cash will run out by approximately August of 2026 without immediate action,” the statement said. “In order to be proactive and ensure that AHS can continue to provide a range of emergency and comprehensive care, AHS has made the painful decision to reduce some services, reduce its workforce, and eliminate certain programs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veronica Palacios, an eligibility specialist, and a chapter leader with labor union SEIU 1021, said workers have not been given a clear reason why the cuts need to be made now. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because if it’s being done right now and it’s not necessarily needed at this point, it sounds like you’re purposely cutting services to the community. Why do that?” Palacios said.[aside postID=news_12067733 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1262848052-1020x680.jpg']The cuts were initially planned to go out on Dec. 24, which Gardine called “insulting,” and which Palacios said sows chaos among workers when they should be spending time with family during the holidays. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In what appeared to be a response to pressure from union members, the health system said late Monday it would delay the notices until Jan. 6. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Palacios said the layoff notices will send workers into “damage-control” mode. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How am I going to support my family, how am I going to survive? Can I get another job if this is happening with our health care system? Is this happening throughout the state of California?” she said, reflecting her colleagues’ concerns. “They’re stressed out, they’re worried, they’re afraid of what the what ifs.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The health system said the 296 people it needs to lay off will be from “departments and disciplines across the system including management, support and administrative services, and clinical care,” and that those that are affected will have access to job search assistance and resume writing guidance. Some will receive severance packages. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“AHS leadership continues to pursue multiple strategies to restore funding and strengthen sustainability,” the agency’s statement said. “We are working in partnership with federal, state and county leaders to hopefully mitigate these adverse conditions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gardine said before resorting to layoffs, executives at AHS should take pay cuts, and explore other options, such as ending leases at pricey office buildings in downtown and the Jack London areas of Oakland. The system should also consider hiring more permanent staff instead of relying on traveling contractors. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The resources are there, the state of California is an incredibly wealthy state. So, the fact that we are cutting essential services for our most vulnerable communities is completely outrageous,” Gardine said. “I think we have a huge fight ahead and that I think there’s a lot of us who are ready to start fighting.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think they’re bowing to pressures before those pressures have actually come into play,” Reilly Gardine, a clinical dietitian at Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus in Oakland, told KQED on Monday. “And I think they’re not being creative enough in figuring out alternative ways for funding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The health system, in an emailed statement to KQED, said it expects to lose “more than $100 million annually by 2030,” due to H.R. 1, the tax and spending bill President Donald Trump refers to as “Big” and “Beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891411\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891411\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/RS51824_066_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Monish Ullal speaks with patient Jay Flohr at Highland Hospital in Oakland on Oct. 6, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The total annual budget for AHS is roughly $1.4 billion, according to its budget documents. The system could face an additional potential $60 million in cuts annually in the coming years due to cuts to federal funding that allows states to pay hospitals who treat a large share of Medi-Cal patients, officials said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“AHS projects that cash will run out by approximately August of 2026 without immediate action,” the statement said. “In order to be proactive and ensure that AHS can continue to provide a range of emergency and comprehensive care, AHS has made the painful decision to reduce some services, reduce its workforce, and eliminate certain programs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veronica Palacios, an eligibility specialist, and a chapter leader with labor union SEIU 1021, said workers have not been given a clear reason why the cuts need to be made now. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because if it’s being done right now and it’s not necessarily needed at this point, it sounds like you’re purposely cutting services to the community. Why do that?” Palacios said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The cuts were initially planned to go out on Dec. 24, which Gardine called “insulting,” and which Palacios said sows chaos among workers when they should be spending time with family during the holidays. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In what appeared to be a response to pressure from union members, the health system said late Monday it would delay the notices until Jan. 6. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Palacios said the layoff notices will send workers into “damage-control” mode. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How am I going to support my family, how am I going to survive? Can I get another job if this is happening with our health care system? Is this happening throughout the state of California?” she said, reflecting her colleagues’ concerns. “They’re stressed out, they’re worried, they’re afraid of what the what ifs.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The health system said the 296 people it needs to lay off will be from “departments and disciplines across the system including management, support and administrative services, and clinical care,” and that those that are affected will have access to job search assistance and resume writing guidance. Some will receive severance packages. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“AHS leadership continues to pursue multiple strategies to restore funding and strengthen sustainability,” the agency’s statement said. “We are working in partnership with federal, state and county leaders to hopefully mitigate these adverse conditions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gardine said before resorting to layoffs, executives at AHS should take pay cuts, and explore other options, such as ending leases at pricey office buildings in downtown and the Jack London areas of Oakland. The system should also consider hiring more permanent staff instead of relying on traveling contractors. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The resources are there, the state of California is an incredibly wealthy state. So, the fact that we are cutting essential services for our most vulnerable communities is completely outrageous,” Gardine said. “I think we have a huge fight ahead and that I think there’s a lot of us who are ready to start fighting.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California Delays Plan to Reissue Commercial Licenses, Drivers Mired in Uncertainty",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> has paused its plan to resume issuing contested commercial driver’s licenses under pressure from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/donald-trump\">Trump\u003c/a> administration, according to state transportation officials, leaving thousands of immigrant truck and bus drivers uncertain if they can keep their jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The delay is the latest twist in a monthslong dispute between California and the federal government over non-domiciled commercial drivers’ licenses for noncitizens who are authorized to work but lack permanent residency (or a green card).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At stake is more than $150 million in federal highway funding that the U.S. Department of Transportation threatened to withhold from California unless the state fixes problems with its non-domiciled CDL program, including licenses that expired at a later date than the driver’s work permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a state review found more than 20,000 licenses had incorrect expiration dates, due to Department of Motor Vehicles clerical errors, the agency sent those drivers 60-day cancellation notices. The licenses of most of these drivers, 17,000, are now set to be rescinded on Jan. 5. Many of them are Sikh truckers, with roots in Punjab, India, who said they have valid work permits and the revocations threaten their livelihoods and families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are going to lose out. Most of these guys have homes, families, businesses,” said Rajinder Singh Tanda, president at Global Truck Permits near Stockton, who has heard from many concerned truckers who could lose their license. “This will be a disaster in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For weeks, several unions and other driver advocates pushed the state to allow eligible drivers to renew their licenses. This week, the DMV said it planned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067557/california-plans-to-reissue-contested-drivers-licenses-to-thousands-of-immigrants\">begin reissuing\u003c/a> these documents on Dec. 17, as the agency believed it met all conditions to fix earlier problems. But the federal government notified the DMV on Dec. 16 that it may not issue these licenses yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068050\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12068050 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_revoke-of-commercial-drivers-licenses_December_GH-16_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_revoke-of-commercial-drivers-licenses_December_GH-16_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_revoke-of-commercial-drivers-licenses_December_GH-16_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_revoke-of-commercial-drivers-licenses_December_GH-16_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A long-haul truck driver holds a letter from the California Department of Motor Vehicles notifying him of the cancellation of his commercial driver’s license on Dec. 16, 2025, in Livermore, California. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“DMV stands ready to resume issuing commercial driver’s licenses, including corrected licenses to eligible drivers,” Eva Spiegel, Deputy Director of the Office of Public Affairs at the DMV, said in a statement. “Given we are in compliance with federal regulations and state law, this delay by the federal government not only hurts our trucking industry, but it also leaves eligible drivers in the cold without any resolution during this holiday season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are hopeful the federal government will do the right thing and allow California to reissue these commercial driver’s licenses promptly,” Spiegel added. “Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy — our supply chains don’t move and our communities don’t stay connected without them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been reviewing whether the state is complying with federal guidelines. In a Nov. 13 letter to Steve Gordon, California DMV director, the agency warned it could penalize the state by withholding not just funding but also its authority to issue all commercial drivers’ licenses.[aside postID=news_12067557 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_REVOKE-OF-COMMERCIAL-DRIVERS-LICENSES_DECEMBER_GH-5-KQED.jpg']About 700,000 drivers have commercial licenses in California to operate large vehicles such as school buses, garbage trucks and big rigs, according to the DMV.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The back and forth comes as the Trump administration tried to exclude most asylum seekers, refugees and other immigrants from holding non-domiciled CDLs through an interim rule it issued in September. The emergency regulation, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-takes-emergency-action-protect-americas-roads\">announced by\u003c/a> U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, aimed to improve safety on the roads after a series of deadly crashes involving immigrant truck drivers in Florida and other states. Trucking industry experts, however, doubted that any reliable evidence links safe driving to immigration status.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A federal court in Washington, DC put that regulation on hold on Nov. 10, which meant the 20,000 immigrant drivers with cancellation notices in California could be eligible again to renew licenses. But now those drivers will have to wait longer for a resolution, even though the state’s program is in compliance, said Shane Gusman, legislative director for Teamsters California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re very disappointed,” said Gusman, whose union represents truck drivers who could lose their jobs. “There’s absolutely no legitimate reason why the federal government stepped in and said, ‘hold off.’ And it’s really disappointing for folks right before the holiday who thought their license issues were going to be fixed. And now it’s kind of left in the world of the unknown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bhupinder Kaur, director of operations for United Sikhs, said the nonprofit organization is encouraging hundreds of impacted drivers, including through a WhatsApp chat group, to stay hopeful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We always strive to fight for what is right,” Kaur said. “United Sikhs will continue fighting for the right of these drivers to pursue their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> has paused its plan to resume issuing contested commercial driver’s licenses under pressure from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/donald-trump\">Trump\u003c/a> administration, according to state transportation officials, leaving thousands of immigrant truck and bus drivers uncertain if they can keep their jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The delay is the latest twist in a monthslong dispute between California and the federal government over non-domiciled commercial drivers’ licenses for noncitizens who are authorized to work but lack permanent residency (or a green card).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At stake is more than $150 million in federal highway funding that the U.S. Department of Transportation threatened to withhold from California unless the state fixes problems with its non-domiciled CDL program, including licenses that expired at a later date than the driver’s work permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a state review found more than 20,000 licenses had incorrect expiration dates, due to Department of Motor Vehicles clerical errors, the agency sent those drivers 60-day cancellation notices. The licenses of most of these drivers, 17,000, are now set to be rescinded on Jan. 5. Many of them are Sikh truckers, with roots in Punjab, India, who said they have valid work permits and the revocations threaten their livelihoods and families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are going to lose out. Most of these guys have homes, families, businesses,” said Rajinder Singh Tanda, president at Global Truck Permits near Stockton, who has heard from many concerned truckers who could lose their license. “This will be a disaster in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For weeks, several unions and other driver advocates pushed the state to allow eligible drivers to renew their licenses. This week, the DMV said it planned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067557/california-plans-to-reissue-contested-drivers-licenses-to-thousands-of-immigrants\">begin reissuing\u003c/a> these documents on Dec. 17, as the agency believed it met all conditions to fix earlier problems. But the federal government notified the DMV on Dec. 16 that it may not issue these licenses yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068050\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12068050 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_revoke-of-commercial-drivers-licenses_December_GH-16_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_revoke-of-commercial-drivers-licenses_December_GH-16_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_revoke-of-commercial-drivers-licenses_December_GH-16_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_revoke-of-commercial-drivers-licenses_December_GH-16_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A long-haul truck driver holds a letter from the California Department of Motor Vehicles notifying him of the cancellation of his commercial driver’s license on Dec. 16, 2025, in Livermore, California. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“DMV stands ready to resume issuing commercial driver’s licenses, including corrected licenses to eligible drivers,” Eva Spiegel, Deputy Director of the Office of Public Affairs at the DMV, said in a statement. “Given we are in compliance with federal regulations and state law, this delay by the federal government not only hurts our trucking industry, but it also leaves eligible drivers in the cold without any resolution during this holiday season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are hopeful the federal government will do the right thing and allow California to reissue these commercial driver’s licenses promptly,” Spiegel added. “Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy — our supply chains don’t move and our communities don’t stay connected without them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been reviewing whether the state is complying with federal guidelines. In a Nov. 13 letter to Steve Gordon, California DMV director, the agency warned it could penalize the state by withholding not just funding but also its authority to issue all commercial drivers’ licenses.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>About 700,000 drivers have commercial licenses in California to operate large vehicles such as school buses, garbage trucks and big rigs, according to the DMV.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The back and forth comes as the Trump administration tried to exclude most asylum seekers, refugees and other immigrants from holding non-domiciled CDLs through an interim rule it issued in September. The emergency regulation, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-takes-emergency-action-protect-americas-roads\">announced by\u003c/a> U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, aimed to improve safety on the roads after a series of deadly crashes involving immigrant truck drivers in Florida and other states. Trucking industry experts, however, doubted that any reliable evidence links safe driving to immigration status.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A federal court in Washington, DC put that regulation on hold on Nov. 10, which meant the 20,000 immigrant drivers with cancellation notices in California could be eligible again to renew licenses. But now those drivers will have to wait longer for a resolution, even though the state’s program is in compliance, said Shane Gusman, legislative director for Teamsters California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re very disappointed,” said Gusman, whose union represents truck drivers who could lose their jobs. “There’s absolutely no legitimate reason why the federal government stepped in and said, ‘hold off.’ And it’s really disappointing for folks right before the holiday who thought their license issues were going to be fixed. And now it’s kind of left in the world of the unknown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bhupinder Kaur, director of operations for United Sikhs, said the nonprofit organization is encouraging hundreds of impacted drivers, including through a WhatsApp chat group, to stay hopeful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We always strive to fight for what is right,” Kaur said. “United Sikhs will continue fighting for the right of these drivers to pursue their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Last week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055977/ousd-just-got-control-of-its-finances-back-from-the-state-its-already-in-major-trouble\">tensions in Oakland’s school district\u003c/a> over how to stave off a massive budget shortfall came to a head when the district’s top financial officer abruptly resigned, and its chief of staff was terminated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lisa Grant-Dawson, who was brought into the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-unified-school-district\">Oakland Unified School District\u003c/a> in 2020 to lead it out of two decades under state oversight, submitted her resignation on Friday, she told KQED. That same day, Chief of Staff Dan Bellino, who’s been with the district since July, was released by interim Superintendent Denise Saddler without warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Bellino confirmed he’d not been given cause for the termination, Grant-Dawson said her decision to leave came after she and Bellino, with other colleagues, led a weekslong budget planning effort to right a $102 million budget deficit projected next year, and planned to present last Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two days before the presentation, she said, Saddler revealed a different plan, crafted without the budget chief’s knowledge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I learned on Monday morning that the superintendent sought to lead in a different direction with the budget scenarios that were ultimately presented to the board. And opted to not inform me and other colleagues in advance of her decision,” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I don’t participate in is side-swiping.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12029339 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One parent comforts another as she becomes emotional while making a public comment to the Oakland Unified School District Board about a proposed merger during a meeting at La Escuelita Elementary School in Oakland, California, on Dec. 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement shared with OUSD families, Saddler said she planned to bring on a team of external fiscal experts as the district prepares next year’s budget. Former Oakland City Councilmember Lynette McElhaney will take over as chief of staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As superintendent, it is my job to ensure the district has the right leadership structure, alignment and urgency to meet the work that lies ahead of us,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement on social media, Board Vice President Valarie Bachelor said she supported Saddler’s decision, and “her need to develop a Senior Leadership Team that can support our district through the next phase of the work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The major leadership shakeup comes after months of tension between Oakland’s school leaders.[aside postID=news_12064579 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241009-OAKLAND-YOUTH-VOTE-MD-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Earlier this year, a teachers union-backed board majority overrode adopted budget cuts in favor of a proposal that was ultimately reversed after it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041279/ousd-cancels-controversial-after-school-cuts-but-deep-divisions-within-school-board-remain\">threatened to cancel some after-school programs\u003c/a>. In April, the same cohort \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037315/oakland-school-board-votes-remove-superintendent-sparking-worries-instability\">ousted longtime Superintendent\u003c/a> Kyla Johnson-Trammel. And throughout the year, the board majority has sparred with district staff about how to address a structural funding shortfall and years of declining enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That conflict \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059238/alameda-county-to-oakland-schools-reduce-costs-or-lose-financial-independence-again\">escalated in October\u003c/a>, when the board requested staff bring forward two budget proposals to cut $100 million in ongoing expenditures without closing or merging schools, or directly affecting students at school sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An initial proposal presented by Grant-Dawson last month identified \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064579/oaklands-school-district-must-cut-100-million-its-proposed-plan-doesnt-get-close\">$21 million in cuts\u003c/a> within those bounds. To reach the $100 million figure, though, she said campuses would need to be impacted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a school district. And a school district’s majority of its funds are in schools,” Grant-Dawson said at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since that initial proposal, Grant-Dawson said the senior leadership team had spent many long days developing two plans to realize the other $80 million in cuts necessary to stay solvent next year. She and Bellino had been the main editors of those documents, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037460\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified School District parents, students and supporters attend a board meeting at Metwest High School in Oakland on April 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We submitted the version we were working on. The whole team saw it and knew it was being submitted,” she told KQED. “I was notified that there was a change made the next day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal that Saddler ultimately presented on Wednesday promises $102 million in cuts through major school site and administrative reductions. But Grant-Dawson said it lacks a roadmap that proves it can be implemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no math or evidence behind it,” she said, adding that she believes ultimately, the superintendent presented a plan that “she felt the board wanted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It accounts for a $20 million boost in revenue from growing attendance in each of the next two years. While the district has seen a 1.8% growth this year so far, it can’t guarantee efforts to recruit students will yield those results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the $21 million in administrative cuts laid out last month, the proposal also recommends slashing another 15-20% of central office spending, and between 7.5-10% from each campus budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12056738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12056738 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified students and parents make signs to support teachers at a ‘solidarity school’ in Diamond Park, Oakland, on May 11, 2023, during an Oakland Unified School District teachers’ strike. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To make such large reductions at school sites would likely require cutting programs or staff funded by restricted sources earmarked for specific purposes, which wouldn’t yield savings that can be reappropriated wherever the district sees fit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another line item reduces special education funding by “restructuring and reducing outside contracts, management, and programmatic elements,” but there is no description of what services and contracts OUSD could reduce while meeting its legal mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality,” Grant-Dawson said, is “you don’t have a list of $100 million that’s legit[imate].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make such large cuts to school site budgets, both Saddler and Grant-Dawson have said the district will have to rethink how many schools it operates.[aside postID=news_12040189 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/Photo3_qed-1020x680.jpg']“From where I sit, there is no feasible or reasonable alternative,” Saddler wrote in her proposal. “The District must be restructured — schools and central offices. If the Board makes a commitment to truly restructure OUSD, it must see it through this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not clear that savings from that effort could be realized by next fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t just flip a switch, especially when you’re trying to drive that magnitude of the change, in one year,” Grant-Dawson said. “We’ve said that if we’re going to do any restructuring work, it takes at least a year to even plan, engage and all those things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal Grant-Dawson said her team had submitted, which was not presented on Wednesday, but was included in the documents given to the board ahead of the vote, suggested that the district might need to borrow money from an external source to bridge the gap as it does that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also remains to be seen whether the school board will follow through on a plan to close schools. In recent years, OUSD’s board has made \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017719/oaklands-school-merger-plan-stalled-districts-huge-deficit-remains\">multiple commitments to do so\u003c/a> that haven’t come to fruition. In 2022, the board approved 11 campus consolidations, but reversed them before they took effect the following year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant-Dawson said she doesn’t believe the board has the appetite to take up that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reading the tea leaves, what I said to the district was, ‘You asked me to help support leading you out of receivership, but I don’t lead people back in,’” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two days before the presentation, she said, Saddler revealed a different plan, crafted without the budget chief’s knowledge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I learned on Monday morning that the superintendent sought to lead in a different direction with the budget scenarios that were ultimately presented to the board. And opted to not inform me and other colleagues in advance of her decision,” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I don’t participate in is side-swiping.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12029339 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One parent comforts another as she becomes emotional while making a public comment to the Oakland Unified School District Board about a proposed merger during a meeting at La Escuelita Elementary School in Oakland, California, on Dec. 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement shared with OUSD families, Saddler said she planned to bring on a team of external fiscal experts as the district prepares next year’s budget. Former Oakland City Councilmember Lynette McElhaney will take over as chief of staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As superintendent, it is my job to ensure the district has the right leadership structure, alignment and urgency to meet the work that lies ahead of us,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement on social media, Board Vice President Valarie Bachelor said she supported Saddler’s decision, and “her need to develop a Senior Leadership Team that can support our district through the next phase of the work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The major leadership shakeup comes after months of tension between Oakland’s school leaders.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Earlier this year, a teachers union-backed board majority overrode adopted budget cuts in favor of a proposal that was ultimately reversed after it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041279/ousd-cancels-controversial-after-school-cuts-but-deep-divisions-within-school-board-remain\">threatened to cancel some after-school programs\u003c/a>. In April, the same cohort \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037315/oakland-school-board-votes-remove-superintendent-sparking-worries-instability\">ousted longtime Superintendent\u003c/a> Kyla Johnson-Trammel. And throughout the year, the board majority has sparred with district staff about how to address a structural funding shortfall and years of declining enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That conflict \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059238/alameda-county-to-oakland-schools-reduce-costs-or-lose-financial-independence-again\">escalated in October\u003c/a>, when the board requested staff bring forward two budget proposals to cut $100 million in ongoing expenditures without closing or merging schools, or directly affecting students at school sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An initial proposal presented by Grant-Dawson last month identified \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064579/oaklands-school-district-must-cut-100-million-its-proposed-plan-doesnt-get-close\">$21 million in cuts\u003c/a> within those bounds. To reach the $100 million figure, though, she said campuses would need to be impacted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a school district. And a school district’s majority of its funds are in schools,” Grant-Dawson said at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since that initial proposal, Grant-Dawson said the senior leadership team had spent many long days developing two plans to realize the other $80 million in cuts necessary to stay solvent next year. She and Bellino had been the main editors of those documents, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037460\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified School District parents, students and supporters attend a board meeting at Metwest High School in Oakland on April 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We submitted the version we were working on. The whole team saw it and knew it was being submitted,” she told KQED. “I was notified that there was a change made the next day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal that Saddler ultimately presented on Wednesday promises $102 million in cuts through major school site and administrative reductions. But Grant-Dawson said it lacks a roadmap that proves it can be implemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no math or evidence behind it,” she said, adding that she believes ultimately, the superintendent presented a plan that “she felt the board wanted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It accounts for a $20 million boost in revenue from growing attendance in each of the next two years. While the district has seen a 1.8% growth this year so far, it can’t guarantee efforts to recruit students will yield those results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the $21 million in administrative cuts laid out last month, the proposal also recommends slashing another 15-20% of central office spending, and between 7.5-10% from each campus budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12056738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12056738 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified students and parents make signs to support teachers at a ‘solidarity school’ in Diamond Park, Oakland, on May 11, 2023, during an Oakland Unified School District teachers’ strike. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To make such large reductions at school sites would likely require cutting programs or staff funded by restricted sources earmarked for specific purposes, which wouldn’t yield savings that can be reappropriated wherever the district sees fit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another line item reduces special education funding by “restructuring and reducing outside contracts, management, and programmatic elements,” but there is no description of what services and contracts OUSD could reduce while meeting its legal mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality,” Grant-Dawson said, is “you don’t have a list of $100 million that’s legit[imate].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make such large cuts to school site budgets, both Saddler and Grant-Dawson have said the district will have to rethink how many schools it operates.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“From where I sit, there is no feasible or reasonable alternative,” Saddler wrote in her proposal. “The District must be restructured — schools and central offices. If the Board makes a commitment to truly restructure OUSD, it must see it through this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not clear that savings from that effort could be realized by next fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t just flip a switch, especially when you’re trying to drive that magnitude of the change, in one year,” Grant-Dawson said. “We’ve said that if we’re going to do any restructuring work, it takes at least a year to even plan, engage and all those things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal Grant-Dawson said her team had submitted, which was not presented on Wednesday, but was included in the documents given to the board ahead of the vote, suggested that the district might need to borrow money from an external source to bridge the gap as it does that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also remains to be seen whether the school board will follow through on a plan to close schools. In recent years, OUSD’s board has made \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017719/oaklands-school-merger-plan-stalled-districts-huge-deficit-remains\">multiple commitments to do so\u003c/a> that haven’t come to fruition. In 2022, the board approved 11 campus consolidations, but reversed them before they took effect the following year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant-Dawson said she doesn’t believe the board has the appetite to take up that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reading the tea leaves, what I said to the district was, ‘You asked me to help support leading you out of receivership, but I don’t lead people back in,’” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"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. ",
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"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.",
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"mindshift": {
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"order": 12
},
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"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?",
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},
"perspectives": {
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"order": 14
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"order": 5
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
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