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"content": "\u003cp>Cecilia Luna Ojeda lives with chronic pain after injuries she said she sustained working the assembly lines for popular organic meal producer Amy’s Kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Almost every day I’m working with pain, and almost every day I have to take pain-relievers,” said Luna Ojeda, 39, in Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ergonomic hazards, production speeds that turned too fast, and management that didn’t prioritize safety pushed her and numerous other co-workers to get hurt and even require surgeries, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are already many people injured and others working with pain,” said Ojeda, who officially complained to state safety and health regulators about the company’s Santa Rosa plant in January of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s why I’m speaking up, because I’m not afraid anymore,” she said. “We shouldn’t be afraid to defend one’s rights as a worker, as a person.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stories like Ojeda’s and that of other \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amys-kitchen-says-food-made-love-factory-say-job-left-injured-rcna8189\">workers who allege they were injured working for Amy’s Kitchen\u003c/a> have hit the company’s socially responsible image. And in recent months, the organization has responded with a greater emphasis on safety measures, according to employees of the frozen meal producer, one of the top in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This comes as Amy’s Kitchen, a 35-year-old family-owned business that pledges goodness to people and the planet, now faces a nascent consumer boycott, a workforce debating whether to unionize, and a California Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) investigation prompted by three complaints about the Santa Rosa plant earlier this year, including Luna Ojeda’s.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Lauren Ornelas, founder, Food Empowerment Project\"]‘This is a company that has claimed to care about their workers. But it’s in stark contrast to the environment that they’ve created for the workers as well as the health of the workers.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency is expected to release its findings — and any citations if violations were found — in coming weeks, after visiting the facility for what company staffers described as a “six-day, wall-to-wall” inspection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amy’s Kitchen representatives have mostly denied the injury allegations, and insist that the company has always been committed to workers’ safety. But employees said the plant has made recent improvements aimed at preventing repetitive motion injuries on meal assembly lines, a main focus of the complaints to Cal/OSHA.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Workers notice recent changes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11915232\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11915232\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"People wearing white coats, goggles, face masks and gloves standing over a food assembly line in a factory.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Employees at Amy’s Kitchen in Santa Rosa fold bean-and-cheese burritos on May 16, 2022. \u003ccite>(Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For one thing, according to workers, the pace of work is slower, and production speeds are frequently monitored during each shift. Most employees are also now rotated on a daily basis among different assembly lines — from red rice and vegetable plates to ravioli bowls, for example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly 680 people are employed at the Amy’s Kitchen plant in Santa Rosa. On a recent morning, nearly two dozen women on the burrito line folded tortillas with bean-and-cheese filling, and placed them on conveyor belts. Most of them were first-generation Latina immigrants, and chatted amiably while working at an impressive speed for this home cook: up to 10 burritos per minute per person, according to the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The number of required movements for each worker and the tasks themselves were designed with occupational therapists and ergonomic specialists, as well as worker input,” said Paul Schiefer, senior director of sustainability and communications for Amy’s Kitchen. Employees also take hourly breaks to stretch and move positions along the assembly line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have studied this work closely, not just ourselves, but with outside experts, and really believe it to be safe and appropriate and actually better than how most companies would operate a line like this,” said Schiefer, who has worked at the company for 15 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s our safety record that we should be judged on,” Schiefer added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite the relative calm on the burrito line, several employees are laboring through pain in their hands, according to workers. Some have been reassigned elsewhere because of injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Amy’s safety record\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.osha.gov/Establishment-Specific-Injury-and-Illness-Data\">One way to assess the injury rate at Amy’s Kitchen\u003c/a> is to review statistics kept by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Those suggest the company’s injury rate is half that of its industry, which is frozen specialty food manufacturing. The figures are not always reliable, however, as they depend on businesses self-reporting work-related injuries to federal and state regulators. Media investigations have revealed that some companies, like \u003ca href=\"https://revealnews.org/article/tesla-says-its-factory-is-safer-but-it-left-injuries-off-the-books/\">Tesla\u003c/a>, underreported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worker accidents at the Amy’s Kitchen Santa Rosa plant between 2016 and 2019 led Cal/OSHA to \u003ca href=\"https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.search?p_logger=1&establishment=Amy%27s+Kitchen&State=CA&officetype=all&Office=all&sitezip=95407&p_case=all&p_violations_exist=all&startmonth=05&startday=03&startyear=2015&endmonth=05&endday=03&endyear=2022\">issue fines of nearly $106,000\u003c/a> in initial penalties, which the company contested. In one of those accidents, an employee’s finger was amputated on a food packaging line; in another, a worker sustained third-degree burns to their foot and ankle when they spilled hot soy milk used to make tofu, according to Cal/OSHA inspection reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company is scheduled for a settlement conference on June 22 to discuss most of the citations, according to a Cal/OSHA spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11915233\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11915233\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"People wearing white coats, goggles, face masks and gloves standing over a vegetable assembly line in a factory.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers assemble ‘Greek Inspired Red Rice & Veggies’ frozen meals at the Amy’s Kitchen plant in Santa Rosa on May 16, 2022. \u003ccite>(Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Schiefer characterized the accidents as “isolated incidents,” and said the company has taken decisive corrective actions to ensure they don’t happen again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We as a company deeply believe in getting rid of every risk we can and doing our absolute best to make this the safest place possible,” said Schiefer. “But there is an inherent risk in any type of physical work, and I think it’s something that’s just important to remember as we enjoy meals or anything that’s the byproduct of human work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An industry leader\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Amy’s Kitchen co-founders Andy and Rachel Berliner tapped into a growing market for ready-made vegetarian and vegan dishes. The couple started selling home-cooked pot pies in Sonoma County in 1987. Their business has since become the sixth-largest frozen entrée company in the U.S., with nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2020/11/05/Amy-s-Kitchen-gears-up-to-open-new-plant-predicts-revenues-will-approach-600m-in-2020#:~:text=Amy's%20Kitchen%20%E2%80%93%20maker%20of%20frozen,%2C%20CA%2C%20early%20next%20year.\">$600 million in revenue in 2020\u003c/a> and more than 2,700 employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The self-described values-led company is still owned by the Berliners, and sells hundreds of products made at production plants in Santa Rosa, San Jose, Idaho and Oregon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CEO Andy Berliner has famously said that employees are essential to the company’s success and are treated “like family.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You spend most of your life at work. We want people to be happy,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGZu9hcXgxI\">Berliner told a business podcast last year\u003c/a>. “We couldn’t own a company where people aren’t happy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet Luna Ojeda described her experience at Amy’s Kitchen as far from happy. The 17-year veteran of the organization said it wasn’t uncommon for her and others to be assigned a week at a time on the same assembly line for burritos and pies, run with ergonomically problematic machinery only recently replaced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As recently as February 2019, Ojeda reported to her supervisor that one of her shoulders hurt because the pie line was going too fast. She’d already injured the other shoulder at work, she said, so she asked her supervisor to change her to a different task, and give her arms a break. But the supervisor sent her back to the line, she said, arguing she didn’t have a doctor’s note.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Ojeda took her case to the human resources department at the plant, she was reassigned, to weighing food plates over and over for weeks. The pain in her shoulders and hands resurfaced. Finally, in April, two months after she first alerted supervisors she was in pain, a doctor put her hand in a brace that immobilized her arm, and the company sent her home to rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, Ojeda has been assigned to different meal assembly lines, but she still has to go to doctor visits to manage the pain. Her right wrist developed carpal tunnel syndrome, she said, stemming from an earlier injury she sustained in 2006 while manning the company’s soup canning line. The tendon in her wrist had basically broken, she said, and she underwent a surgery to repair it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a mother of four, Ojeda said she regrets that the pain she’s lived with now for years has prevented her from being able to pick up her kids when they were toddlers, or play ball with them at the beach as they got older. “It’s sad not being able to do activities with my children because I’m injured. It’s like, they robbed me of moments with my family,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The consumer boycott\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The stories of Ojeda and other \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amys-kitchen-says-food-made-love-factory-say-job-left-injured-rcna8189\">employees who have spoken publicly\u003c/a> about their experience with safety problems at Amy’s Kitchen has spurred a months-long consumer boycott encouraged by vegan groups such as \u003ca href=\"https://foodispower.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjwp7eUBhBeEiwAZbHwkfguIbjSOMP93Wij5RSUGC-4YziYZ_jKGjhfl2JYLvCOnMGErTfpShoC4y4QAvD_BwE\">Food Empowerment Project\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.veggiemijas.com/\">Veggie Mijas\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A handful of worker-owned grocery stores have dropped Amy’s Kitchen products from their shelves, including Mandela Grocery Cooperative in Oakland and People’s Food Co-op in Portland, Oregon. Coven Market in Hamilton, Ontario, joined the boycott last week, said Lauren Ornelas, founder of Food Empowerment Project, which is based in San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ornelas acknowledged their efforts are unlikely to make much of a dent in the company’s profits, as it continues to sell its products at large grocery chain stores like Costco and Safeway. The biggest impact has been to Amy’s Kitchen’s reputation, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The company is not living up to the reputation that they’ve created for themselves,” said Ornelas, adding that she became a vegan 30 years ago because she cares about the way food is produced. “This is a company that has claimed to care about their workers. But it’s in stark contrast to the environment that they’ve created for the workers as well as the health of the workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union organizers with Teamsters Local 665 said that Amy’s Kitchen employees reached out to them late last year to begin conversations about organizing. Shortly after, the company hired Quest Consulting, a bilingual firm with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/union-organizers-and-workers-decry-union-busting-consulting-firms-hired-b/\">“union busting” reputation\u003c/a> among labor organizers, who say the consultants’ goal is to discourage workers from unionizing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The consultants told employees that the union would charge membership dues but may not keep their promises,” said Luna Ojeda. That narrative is consistent with previous \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amys-kitchen-says-food-made-love-factory-say-job-left-injured-rcna8189\">media reports\u003c/a> based on recordings of those meetings. While Amy’s representatives acknowledged they would rather not have a unionized workforce, they countered that Quest’s job was only to educate workers and train managers to answer questions about unions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11915234\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11915234\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Frozen meal packaging shows bowls of pasta.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amy’s Kitchen products are displayed at the company’s facilities in Santa Rosa, on May 16, 2022. \u003ccite>(Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We would prefer to maintain the direct relationship that we’ve always had. A lot of good has come out of it,” said Schiefer. “But at the end of the day, our employees’ choice is what matters the most. And we would honor whatever choice they make.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ojeda said that while she is glad about the recent safety improvements, they should be enshrined in a union contract that discourages managers from increasing production speeds again later on. “I would like for these small changes to improve and be permanent so that we can avoid other people getting hurt,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tony Delorio, secretary-treasurer at Teamsters Local 665, assisted Ojeda in filing her complaint with Cal/OSHA. He also submitted a challenge to the business’ B Corp status, certified for high social and environmental performance, which he said is yet to be decided.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not every worker favors a union. Margarita Vazquez Zamudio came out of meetings with Quest consultants convinced she doesn’t want to pay union membership dues for services she said are not needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vazquez Zamudio believes the safety of workers is a top priority for the company’s owner, Andy Berliner, and in her 26 years making enchiladas, lasagna and burritos at Amy’s Kitchen, management has been responsive to her concerns, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even Vazquez Zamudio applauded that the pace of production — and the number of repetitive motions she and others must make — has slowed down in the last two months, she said. Berliner ordered the change after employees told him directly that faster speeds were putting them at risk, she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The owner told them to slow it down,” said Vazquez Zamudio, 60, who regularly wears protective wristbands at work. “Why do we want a union if the company listens to us?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement responding to worker reports of changes at the Santa Rosa plant, Schiefer said that production quotas are based on factors such as staffing and safety, as well as the availability of ingredients and equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Over the last few months, Amy’s Kitchen has been able to return to more normal plant operations as the impacts of COVID and the nation’s labor shortage have lessened,” wrote Schiefer. “Now that we’re experiencing more consistent staffing, we’re pleased to learn that many workers feel that the lines are moving more slowly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Cecilia Luna Ojeda lives with chronic pain after injuries she said she sustained working the assembly lines for popular organic meal producer Amy’s Kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Almost every day I’m working with pain, and almost every day I have to take pain-relievers,” said Luna Ojeda, 39, in Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ergonomic hazards, production speeds that turned too fast, and management that didn’t prioritize safety pushed her and numerous other co-workers to get hurt and even require surgeries, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are already many people injured and others working with pain,” said Ojeda, who officially complained to state safety and health regulators about the company’s Santa Rosa plant in January of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s why I’m speaking up, because I’m not afraid anymore,” she said. “We shouldn’t be afraid to defend one’s rights as a worker, as a person.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stories like Ojeda’s and that of other \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amys-kitchen-says-food-made-love-factory-say-job-left-injured-rcna8189\">workers who allege they were injured working for Amy’s Kitchen\u003c/a> have hit the company’s socially responsible image. And in recent months, the organization has responded with a greater emphasis on safety measures, according to employees of the frozen meal producer, one of the top in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This comes as Amy’s Kitchen, a 35-year-old family-owned business that pledges goodness to people and the planet, now faces a nascent consumer boycott, a workforce debating whether to unionize, and a California Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) investigation prompted by three complaints about the Santa Rosa plant earlier this year, including Luna Ojeda’s.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency is expected to release its findings — and any citations if violations were found — in coming weeks, after visiting the facility for what company staffers described as a “six-day, wall-to-wall” inspection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amy’s Kitchen representatives have mostly denied the injury allegations, and insist that the company has always been committed to workers’ safety. But employees said the plant has made recent improvements aimed at preventing repetitive motion injuries on meal assembly lines, a main focus of the complaints to Cal/OSHA.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Workers notice recent changes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11915232\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11915232\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"People wearing white coats, goggles, face masks and gloves standing over a food assembly line in a factory.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2491-burrito-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Employees at Amy’s Kitchen in Santa Rosa fold bean-and-cheese burritos on May 16, 2022. \u003ccite>(Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For one thing, according to workers, the pace of work is slower, and production speeds are frequently monitored during each shift. Most employees are also now rotated on a daily basis among different assembly lines — from red rice and vegetable plates to ravioli bowls, for example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly 680 people are employed at the Amy’s Kitchen plant in Santa Rosa. On a recent morning, nearly two dozen women on the burrito line folded tortillas with bean-and-cheese filling, and placed them on conveyor belts. Most of them were first-generation Latina immigrants, and chatted amiably while working at an impressive speed for this home cook: up to 10 burritos per minute per person, according to the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The number of required movements for each worker and the tasks themselves were designed with occupational therapists and ergonomic specialists, as well as worker input,” said Paul Schiefer, senior director of sustainability and communications for Amy’s Kitchen. Employees also take hourly breaks to stretch and move positions along the assembly line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have studied this work closely, not just ourselves, but with outside experts, and really believe it to be safe and appropriate and actually better than how most companies would operate a line like this,” said Schiefer, who has worked at the company for 15 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s our safety record that we should be judged on,” Schiefer added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite the relative calm on the burrito line, several employees are laboring through pain in their hands, according to workers. Some have been reassigned elsewhere because of injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Amy’s safety record\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.osha.gov/Establishment-Specific-Injury-and-Illness-Data\">One way to assess the injury rate at Amy’s Kitchen\u003c/a> is to review statistics kept by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Those suggest the company’s injury rate is half that of its industry, which is frozen specialty food manufacturing. The figures are not always reliable, however, as they depend on businesses self-reporting work-related injuries to federal and state regulators. Media investigations have revealed that some companies, like \u003ca href=\"https://revealnews.org/article/tesla-says-its-factory-is-safer-but-it-left-injuries-off-the-books/\">Tesla\u003c/a>, underreported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worker accidents at the Amy’s Kitchen Santa Rosa plant between 2016 and 2019 led Cal/OSHA to \u003ca href=\"https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.search?p_logger=1&establishment=Amy%27s+Kitchen&State=CA&officetype=all&Office=all&sitezip=95407&p_case=all&p_violations_exist=all&startmonth=05&startday=03&startyear=2015&endmonth=05&endday=03&endyear=2022\">issue fines of nearly $106,000\u003c/a> in initial penalties, which the company contested. In one of those accidents, an employee’s finger was amputated on a food packaging line; in another, a worker sustained third-degree burns to their foot and ankle when they spilled hot soy milk used to make tofu, according to Cal/OSHA inspection reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company is scheduled for a settlement conference on June 22 to discuss most of the citations, according to a Cal/OSHA spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11915233\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11915233\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"People wearing white coats, goggles, face masks and gloves standing over a vegetable assembly line in a factory.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_2474-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers assemble ‘Greek Inspired Red Rice & Veggies’ frozen meals at the Amy’s Kitchen plant in Santa Rosa on May 16, 2022. \u003ccite>(Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Schiefer characterized the accidents as “isolated incidents,” and said the company has taken decisive corrective actions to ensure they don’t happen again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We as a company deeply believe in getting rid of every risk we can and doing our absolute best to make this the safest place possible,” said Schiefer. “But there is an inherent risk in any type of physical work, and I think it’s something that’s just important to remember as we enjoy meals or anything that’s the byproduct of human work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An industry leader\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Amy’s Kitchen co-founders Andy and Rachel Berliner tapped into a growing market for ready-made vegetarian and vegan dishes. The couple started selling home-cooked pot pies in Sonoma County in 1987. Their business has since become the sixth-largest frozen entrée company in the U.S., with nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2020/11/05/Amy-s-Kitchen-gears-up-to-open-new-plant-predicts-revenues-will-approach-600m-in-2020#:~:text=Amy's%20Kitchen%20%E2%80%93%20maker%20of%20frozen,%2C%20CA%2C%20early%20next%20year.\">$600 million in revenue in 2020\u003c/a> and more than 2,700 employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The self-described values-led company is still owned by the Berliners, and sells hundreds of products made at production plants in Santa Rosa, San Jose, Idaho and Oregon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CEO Andy Berliner has famously said that employees are essential to the company’s success and are treated “like family.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You spend most of your life at work. We want people to be happy,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGZu9hcXgxI\">Berliner told a business podcast last year\u003c/a>. “We couldn’t own a company where people aren’t happy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet Luna Ojeda described her experience at Amy’s Kitchen as far from happy. The 17-year veteran of the organization said it wasn’t uncommon for her and others to be assigned a week at a time on the same assembly line for burritos and pies, run with ergonomically problematic machinery only recently replaced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As recently as February 2019, Ojeda reported to her supervisor that one of her shoulders hurt because the pie line was going too fast. She’d already injured the other shoulder at work, she said, so she asked her supervisor to change her to a different task, and give her arms a break. But the supervisor sent her back to the line, she said, arguing she didn’t have a doctor’s note.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Ojeda took her case to the human resources department at the plant, she was reassigned, to weighing food plates over and over for weeks. The pain in her shoulders and hands resurfaced. Finally, in April, two months after she first alerted supervisors she was in pain, a doctor put her hand in a brace that immobilized her arm, and the company sent her home to rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, Ojeda has been assigned to different meal assembly lines, but she still has to go to doctor visits to manage the pain. Her right wrist developed carpal tunnel syndrome, she said, stemming from an earlier injury she sustained in 2006 while manning the company’s soup canning line. The tendon in her wrist had basically broken, she said, and she underwent a surgery to repair it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a mother of four, Ojeda said she regrets that the pain she’s lived with now for years has prevented her from being able to pick up her kids when they were toddlers, or play ball with them at the beach as they got older. “It’s sad not being able to do activities with my children because I’m injured. It’s like, they robbed me of moments with my family,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The consumer boycott\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The stories of Ojeda and other \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amys-kitchen-says-food-made-love-factory-say-job-left-injured-rcna8189\">employees who have spoken publicly\u003c/a> about their experience with safety problems at Amy’s Kitchen has spurred a months-long consumer boycott encouraged by vegan groups such as \u003ca href=\"https://foodispower.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjwp7eUBhBeEiwAZbHwkfguIbjSOMP93Wij5RSUGC-4YziYZ_jKGjhfl2JYLvCOnMGErTfpShoC4y4QAvD_BwE\">Food Empowerment Project\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.veggiemijas.com/\">Veggie Mijas\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A handful of worker-owned grocery stores have dropped Amy’s Kitchen products from their shelves, including Mandela Grocery Cooperative in Oakland and People’s Food Co-op in Portland, Oregon. Coven Market in Hamilton, Ontario, joined the boycott last week, said Lauren Ornelas, founder of Food Empowerment Project, which is based in San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ornelas acknowledged their efforts are unlikely to make much of a dent in the company’s profits, as it continues to sell its products at large grocery chain stores like Costco and Safeway. The biggest impact has been to Amy’s Kitchen’s reputation, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The company is not living up to the reputation that they’ve created for themselves,” said Ornelas, adding that she became a vegan 30 years ago because she cares about the way food is produced. “This is a company that has claimed to care about their workers. But it’s in stark contrast to the environment that they’ve created for the workers as well as the health of the workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union organizers with Teamsters Local 665 said that Amy’s Kitchen employees reached out to them late last year to begin conversations about organizing. Shortly after, the company hired Quest Consulting, a bilingual firm with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/union-organizers-and-workers-decry-union-busting-consulting-firms-hired-b/\">“union busting” reputation\u003c/a> among labor organizers, who say the consultants’ goal is to discourage workers from unionizing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The consultants told employees that the union would charge membership dues but may not keep their promises,” said Luna Ojeda. That narrative is consistent with previous \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amys-kitchen-says-food-made-love-factory-say-job-left-injured-rcna8189\">media reports\u003c/a> based on recordings of those meetings. While Amy’s representatives acknowledged they would rather not have a unionized workforce, they countered that Quest’s job was only to educate workers and train managers to answer questions about unions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11915234\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11915234\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Frozen meal packaging shows bowls of pasta.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/Amys-Kitchen-products-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amy’s Kitchen products are displayed at the company’s facilities in Santa Rosa, on May 16, 2022. \u003ccite>(Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We would prefer to maintain the direct relationship that we’ve always had. A lot of good has come out of it,” said Schiefer. “But at the end of the day, our employees’ choice is what matters the most. And we would honor whatever choice they make.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ojeda said that while she is glad about the recent safety improvements, they should be enshrined in a union contract that discourages managers from increasing production speeds again later on. “I would like for these small changes to improve and be permanent so that we can avoid other people getting hurt,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tony Delorio, secretary-treasurer at Teamsters Local 665, assisted Ojeda in filing her complaint with Cal/OSHA. He also submitted a challenge to the business’ B Corp status, certified for high social and environmental performance, which he said is yet to be decided.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not every worker favors a union. Margarita Vazquez Zamudio came out of meetings with Quest consultants convinced she doesn’t want to pay union membership dues for services she said are not needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vazquez Zamudio believes the safety of workers is a top priority for the company’s owner, Andy Berliner, and in her 26 years making enchiladas, lasagna and burritos at Amy’s Kitchen, management has been responsive to her concerns, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even Vazquez Zamudio applauded that the pace of production — and the number of repetitive motions she and others must make — has slowed down in the last two months, she said. Berliner ordered the change after employees told him directly that faster speeds were putting them at risk, she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The owner told them to slow it down,” said Vazquez Zamudio, 60, who regularly wears protective wristbands at work. “Why do we want a union if the company listens to us?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement responding to worker reports of changes at the Santa Rosa plant, Schiefer said that production quotas are based on factors such as staffing and safety, as well as the availability of ingredients and equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Over the last few months, Amy’s Kitchen has been able to return to more normal plant operations as the impacts of COVID and the nation’s labor shortage have lessened,” wrote Schiefer. “Now that we’re experiencing more consistent staffing, we’re pleased to learn that many workers feel that the lines are moving more slowly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Despite Record Budget Surplus, California Unlikely to Fix Massive Wage-Theft Claim Backlog Anytime Soon",
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"content": "\u003cp>Even as California enjoys a staggering budget surplus estimated at $68 billion, tens of thousands of workers who claim they were shorted on their paychecks are expected to continue to endure exasperating delays — often stretching years — at the state agency charged with investigating wage theft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Labor Commissioner’s Office, plagued by vacancies, is struggling to efficiently process 36,200 pending claims for unpaid wages. Close to half of those cases have taken longer than a year to resolve, while nearly 4,000 have languished for three years or more, according to Labor Commissioner’s Office records requested by KQED.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"María, restaurant worker in Berkeley\"]‘It’s very difficult for me to support my family and keep up with all of our expenses and bills. It’s taken too many years. As workers we have rights, and we need the authorities to solve this problem and do their job as it should be.’[/pullquote]The number of Californians directly hurt by the long wait times could be much higher, as multiple employees often jointly file one claim against an employer. The delays, which worsened during the pandemic, can make it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11903291/its-so-unfair-major-delays-at-state-labor-agency-leave-many-wage-theft-victims-uncompensated\">more difficult for workers to ultimately recover any owed wages\u003c/a>, and fuel an environment of impunity, according to labor enforcement experts and worker advocates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>María, a restaurant worker, has waited almost four years for a ruling on her claim for $35,000 in unpaid wages. KQED is withholding her full name because she fears it could hurt her case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the more than a decade that she washed dishes and cleaned at a Berkeley restaurant, María often worked overtime, she said. But her employer didn’t compensate her for those hours, or provide her with meal and rest breaks or paid sick leave, as required by law, according to her complaint filed in July 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the 50-year-old single mother of four, who is originally from Mexico, said she needs a resolution to her case urgently, noting that she has fallen behind on rent and fears her family could soon be evicted from their apartment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very difficult for me to support my family and keep up with all of our expenses and bills,” María said in Spanish. “It’s taken too many years. As workers we have rights, and we need the authorities to solve this problem and do their job as it should be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Open Wage-Theft Cases Filed With the CA Labor Commissioner's Office\" aria-label=\"Column Chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-KRx6d\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/KRx6d/6/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border: none;\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why the wait is so long\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Many cases reach a settlement early in the Labor Commissioner’s wage-claim process, one originally designed as a faster and free-of-cost alternative to filing a lawsuit in state court. But the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/howtofilewageclaim.htm\">disputes that remain unresolved are given a hearing\u003c/a>, a trial-like event that aims to offer due process to both employers and workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By law, the Labor Commissioner, also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, must hold hearings within 120 days of the date the claim was filed. Yet California workers are forced to wait an average of 808 days, or more than two years, for a hearing to resolve their case, according to agency data. The worst delays, averaging more than three years, are in the Oakland branch, where María submitted her claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson with the Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees the Labor Commissioner’s Office, said the number of pending claims may include cases where the status was not updated, as the agency began using a new computer-management system in 2016. But she did not elaborate on why those errors have not yet been fixed, or how many cases still listed as pending may actually have been closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 24,000 claims have been filed on average per year since 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower acknowledged that the wait times for wage claim and citation hearings are “unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the problem of backlogs is not a new one, I am committed to doing everything in my power to reduce the amount of time workers who have suffered wage theft have to wait for justice,” she wrote. “My office is working tirelessly to improve the existing backlogs that were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Understaffing is a big problem at the agency, which scheduled more than 29,000 hearings for wage claims from 2019 thru 2021. Hearing officers must consider evidence and issue a final decision on individual worker complaints, as well as employer appeals on hundreds of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11903291/its-so-unfair-major-delays-at-state-labor-agency-leave-many-wage-theft-victims-uncompensated\">citations issued by the agency\u003c/a>. Millions of dollars in fines and back wages are often at stake in those more complex cases, which can affect hundreds of employees at a time, and require hearings that last several days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But currently, the Labor Commissioner has only 64 hearing-officer positions, and not all of them are filled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has proposed adding just six more hearing officers and 17 other staff to support the wage-claim process statewide for the next fiscal year, which starts in July. That’s in part due to the increased workload the agency expects to have, resulting from new laws expanding its enforcement authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worker advocates have applauded that expansion, but warn that far more hearing officers are needed to address the huge backlog in a timely manner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Given the numbers we are talking about, I’m not confident it’s going to make a meaningful dent” for workers, said Shane Gusman, who directs the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council. Gusman has lobbied in Sacramento for improvements at labor enforcement agencies, which he says have been historically starved for cash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though there’s been growth in personnel and resources, they’ve never caught up,” said Gusman. “You could double the Labor Commissioner’s Office budget, and they would still be underfunded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2022-23/pdf/GovernorsBudget/7000/7350.pdf\">Newsom’s office has proposed cutting the agency’s relatively small budget\u003c/a>, of about $155 million, by 6% next fiscal year, including a decrease of nearly $1 million for its wage-claim adjudication unit, according to records from the state Department of Finance. The overall budget reduction is due to the expiration of one-time funds for pilots and other projects at the division, finance officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Vacancies fueled by a catch-22\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Officials at the Labor Commissioner and its parent agency, the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), could request more funds from the budget being negotiated in Sacramento to hire additional hearing officers, \u003ca href=\"https://esd.dof.ca.gov/Documents/bcp/2021/FY2021_ORG7350_BCP3767.pdf\">as they’ve done in previous years\u003c/a>. But any significant increases are unlikely to be approved by Newsom’s office and the Legislature, given DIR’s already high vacancy rate of 25%, a gap lawmakers mentioned during a February budget hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wouldn’t necessarily give them more money if they have all these vacancies for the positions they currently already have” funds for, said San Francisco Assemblymember Phil Ting, who chairs the Assembly’s Budget Committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have more money, more resources. We could definitely assist,” said Ting, referring to the state’s abundant surplus. “But all we can do is just keep pushing them to hire those [vacancies] as fast as possible, get them up to speed as soon as possible so that they can start processing these claims.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ting, who used to work for a nonprofit organization that represents lower-income workers in wage-theft cases, said the budget committee would look into holding another oversight hearing into the long-standing vacancy problem in the fall.[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"wage-theft\"]In fairness, many employers are having trouble hiring and retaining workers as the pandemic drags on, and the state hiring process can be slower than that of the private sector, with several layers of bureaucracy that may be involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, DIR vets many steps of the hiring process, from the language in job postings to the list of questions candidates can be asked during an interview, and the department is notoriously slow in approving hires, said Garrett Brown, a retired inspector from the Division of Occupational Health and Safety, or Cal/OSHA, another agency beholden to DIR’s hiring approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem here is failing to hire, and the failure to hire [is due to] difficulties in the state employment situation generally, magnified by many, many times, by the inability of the DIR HR staff to competently and swiftly hire and fill vacant positions,” said Brown, who has tracked vacancies for safety inspectors and other positions at his former agency for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The buck stops with the DIR director, Katie Hagen,” said Brown. “She was supposed to solve this problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hagen, who was appointed by Newsom in March 2020, does have a background in human resources. She declined an interview with KQED, but said in a statement that her department and the Labor Commissioner’s Office strive to hire qualified candidates “in line with the state’s merit based hiring requirements.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The goal of DIR and the Labor Commissioner’s Office is to fill all vacant positions within the Department as quickly as possible, and the Department is making steady progress,” wrote Hagen. She added that the Labor Commissioner made 104 hires in its wage-claim adjudication unit between January 2021 and last April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That figure points to jaw-dropping turnover at the unit, which has a total of \u003ca href=\"https://dof.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/budget/publications/2022-23/salaries-and-wages-updates/LWD.pdf\">250 positions\u003c/a> this year. The vacancies are contributing to low morale, said local attorneys who represent Bay Area workers in wage-theft cases. (\u003ca href=\"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/low-morale-at-labors-wage-and-hour-shrinks-investigative-ranks\">Low morale also is leading to attrition at a federal labor law enforcement agency\u003c/a>, according to a recent Bloomberg report.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>María, the restaurant worker in Berkeley, said she’s cutting costs by going without things like new clothes, while trying to fight a gnawing fear that she might not recover the wages she believes she’s owed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She feels frustrated not just for herself, she said, but for the thousands of working Californians who also are forced to wait years for a resolution, including many who can’t afford to have their wages stolen — and is incredulous the state hasn’t found a way to fix the delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state has enough money,” María said. “Why don’t they solve this problem?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced in collaboration with the California Newsroom.\u003c/em> [ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Even as California enjoys a staggering budget surplus estimated at $68 billion, tens of thousands of workers who claim they were shorted on their paychecks are expected to continue to endure exasperating delays — often stretching years — at the state agency charged with investigating wage theft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Labor Commissioner’s Office, plagued by vacancies, is struggling to efficiently process 36,200 pending claims for unpaid wages. Close to half of those cases have taken longer than a year to resolve, while nearly 4,000 have languished for three years or more, according to Labor Commissioner’s Office records requested by KQED.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The number of Californians directly hurt by the long wait times could be much higher, as multiple employees often jointly file one claim against an employer. The delays, which worsened during the pandemic, can make it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11903291/its-so-unfair-major-delays-at-state-labor-agency-leave-many-wage-theft-victims-uncompensated\">more difficult for workers to ultimately recover any owed wages\u003c/a>, and fuel an environment of impunity, according to labor enforcement experts and worker advocates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>María, a restaurant worker, has waited almost four years for a ruling on her claim for $35,000 in unpaid wages. KQED is withholding her full name because she fears it could hurt her case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the more than a decade that she washed dishes and cleaned at a Berkeley restaurant, María often worked overtime, she said. But her employer didn’t compensate her for those hours, or provide her with meal and rest breaks or paid sick leave, as required by law, according to her complaint filed in July 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the 50-year-old single mother of four, who is originally from Mexico, said she needs a resolution to her case urgently, noting that she has fallen behind on rent and fears her family could soon be evicted from their apartment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very difficult for me to support my family and keep up with all of our expenses and bills,” María said in Spanish. “It’s taken too many years. As workers we have rights, and we need the authorities to solve this problem and do their job as it should be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Open Wage-Theft Cases Filed With the CA Labor Commissioner's Office\" aria-label=\"Column Chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-KRx6d\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/KRx6d/6/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border: none;\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why the wait is so long\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Many cases reach a settlement early in the Labor Commissioner’s wage-claim process, one originally designed as a faster and free-of-cost alternative to filing a lawsuit in state court. But the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/howtofilewageclaim.htm\">disputes that remain unresolved are given a hearing\u003c/a>, a trial-like event that aims to offer due process to both employers and workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By law, the Labor Commissioner, also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, must hold hearings within 120 days of the date the claim was filed. Yet California workers are forced to wait an average of 808 days, or more than two years, for a hearing to resolve their case, according to agency data. The worst delays, averaging more than three years, are in the Oakland branch, where María submitted her claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson with the Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees the Labor Commissioner’s Office, said the number of pending claims may include cases where the status was not updated, as the agency began using a new computer-management system in 2016. But she did not elaborate on why those errors have not yet been fixed, or how many cases still listed as pending may actually have been closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 24,000 claims have been filed on average per year since 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower acknowledged that the wait times for wage claim and citation hearings are “unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the problem of backlogs is not a new one, I am committed to doing everything in my power to reduce the amount of time workers who have suffered wage theft have to wait for justice,” she wrote. “My office is working tirelessly to improve the existing backlogs that were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Understaffing is a big problem at the agency, which scheduled more than 29,000 hearings for wage claims from 2019 thru 2021. Hearing officers must consider evidence and issue a final decision on individual worker complaints, as well as employer appeals on hundreds of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11903291/its-so-unfair-major-delays-at-state-labor-agency-leave-many-wage-theft-victims-uncompensated\">citations issued by the agency\u003c/a>. Millions of dollars in fines and back wages are often at stake in those more complex cases, which can affect hundreds of employees at a time, and require hearings that last several days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But currently, the Labor Commissioner has only 64 hearing-officer positions, and not all of them are filled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has proposed adding just six more hearing officers and 17 other staff to support the wage-claim process statewide for the next fiscal year, which starts in July. That’s in part due to the increased workload the agency expects to have, resulting from new laws expanding its enforcement authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worker advocates have applauded that expansion, but warn that far more hearing officers are needed to address the huge backlog in a timely manner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Given the numbers we are talking about, I’m not confident it’s going to make a meaningful dent” for workers, said Shane Gusman, who directs the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council. Gusman has lobbied in Sacramento for improvements at labor enforcement agencies, which he says have been historically starved for cash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though there’s been growth in personnel and resources, they’ve never caught up,” said Gusman. “You could double the Labor Commissioner’s Office budget, and they would still be underfunded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2022-23/pdf/GovernorsBudget/7000/7350.pdf\">Newsom’s office has proposed cutting the agency’s relatively small budget\u003c/a>, of about $155 million, by 6% next fiscal year, including a decrease of nearly $1 million for its wage-claim adjudication unit, according to records from the state Department of Finance. The overall budget reduction is due to the expiration of one-time funds for pilots and other projects at the division, finance officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Vacancies fueled by a catch-22\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Officials at the Labor Commissioner and its parent agency, the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), could request more funds from the budget being negotiated in Sacramento to hire additional hearing officers, \u003ca href=\"https://esd.dof.ca.gov/Documents/bcp/2021/FY2021_ORG7350_BCP3767.pdf\">as they’ve done in previous years\u003c/a>. But any significant increases are unlikely to be approved by Newsom’s office and the Legislature, given DIR’s already high vacancy rate of 25%, a gap lawmakers mentioned during a February budget hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wouldn’t necessarily give them more money if they have all these vacancies for the positions they currently already have” funds for, said San Francisco Assemblymember Phil Ting, who chairs the Assembly’s Budget Committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have more money, more resources. We could definitely assist,” said Ting, referring to the state’s abundant surplus. “But all we can do is just keep pushing them to hire those [vacancies] as fast as possible, get them up to speed as soon as possible so that they can start processing these claims.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ting, who used to work for a nonprofit organization that represents lower-income workers in wage-theft cases, said the budget committee would look into holding another oversight hearing into the long-standing vacancy problem in the fall.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In fairness, many employers are having trouble hiring and retaining workers as the pandemic drags on, and the state hiring process can be slower than that of the private sector, with several layers of bureaucracy that may be involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, DIR vets many steps of the hiring process, from the language in job postings to the list of questions candidates can be asked during an interview, and the department is notoriously slow in approving hires, said Garrett Brown, a retired inspector from the Division of Occupational Health and Safety, or Cal/OSHA, another agency beholden to DIR’s hiring approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem here is failing to hire, and the failure to hire [is due to] difficulties in the state employment situation generally, magnified by many, many times, by the inability of the DIR HR staff to competently and swiftly hire and fill vacant positions,” said Brown, who has tracked vacancies for safety inspectors and other positions at his former agency for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The buck stops with the DIR director, Katie Hagen,” said Brown. “She was supposed to solve this problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hagen, who was appointed by Newsom in March 2020, does have a background in human resources. She declined an interview with KQED, but said in a statement that her department and the Labor Commissioner’s Office strive to hire qualified candidates “in line with the state’s merit based hiring requirements.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The goal of DIR and the Labor Commissioner’s Office is to fill all vacant positions within the Department as quickly as possible, and the Department is making steady progress,” wrote Hagen. She added that the Labor Commissioner made 104 hires in its wage-claim adjudication unit between January 2021 and last April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That figure points to jaw-dropping turnover at the unit, which has a total of \u003ca href=\"https://dof.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/budget/publications/2022-23/salaries-and-wages-updates/LWD.pdf\">250 positions\u003c/a> this year. The vacancies are contributing to low morale, said local attorneys who represent Bay Area workers in wage-theft cases. (\u003ca href=\"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/low-morale-at-labors-wage-and-hour-shrinks-investigative-ranks\">Low morale also is leading to attrition at a federal labor law enforcement agency\u003c/a>, according to a recent Bloomberg report.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>María, the restaurant worker in Berkeley, said she’s cutting costs by going without things like new clothes, while trying to fight a gnawing fear that she might not recover the wages she believes she’s owed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She feels frustrated not just for herself, she said, but for the thousands of working Californians who also are forced to wait years for a resolution, including many who can’t afford to have their wages stolen — and is incredulous the state hasn’t found a way to fix the delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state has enough money,” María said. “Why don’t they solve this problem?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced in collaboration with the California Newsroom.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Nearly 5,000 striking nurses at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children’s hospitals plan to return to work Tuesday after overwhelmingly approving new three-year contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new agreements, which cover nurses at both hospitals, include yearly wage increases of 7% this year and 5% for each of the following two years, along with more generous retirement benefits and additional vacation time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an effort to address severe staffing shortages and high rates of burnout in the profession, the contracts also offer better access to mental health support and new pay incentives for recruiting and retaining nurses in hard-to-staff sectors, like critical care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are very proud of the advances we have made with these contracts,” Colleen Borges, president of the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA), the union representing nurses, told reporters Monday. “They addressed the goals we set out at the outset of negotiations, and we hope will lead the way to improve nursing as an overall profession.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/CRONAnurses/status/1521176731083706368\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11912231/stanford-nurses-strike-over-staffing-shortages-lack-of-mental-health-support\">Nurses went on strike last Monday\u003c/a>, April 25, in an action that more than 90% of the union’s rank-and-file supported after their previous contracts expired in March. Union officials argued that the two hospitals were not adequately reinvesting in staffing, even after receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal pandemic relief funding. Revenue for the two hospitals grew 16%, to a combined $8.3 billion, according to Stanford Health Care’s financial disclosure for the 2021 fiscal year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kathy Stormberg, CRONA’s vice president, said management finally got the message that the nursing profession needs to be more sustainable and appealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Amid a nationwide shortage of nurses driven by high levels of burnout, moral injury, exhaustion and trauma, hospitals need to step up their support for the nursing profession,” she told reporters on Monday. “Creating better and safer working conditions for nurses is directly connected to ensuring the best care conditions for the patients who are in our charge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"stanford-hospital\"]A 2021 UCSF study estimated a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2021/09/421366/california-faces-short-term-nursing-shortage-covid-19-retirements\">shortage of more than 40,000 full-time registered nurses in California\u003c/a>, part of what it identified as a longer-term trend that has been accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a survey conducted by CRONA in November found that 45% of Stanford nurses had considered leaving their jobs due to a lack of resources, training and support staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kimberley Reed, a union representative who has worked for roughly 18 years as a nurse in Stanford Hospital’s cardiac intensive care unit, said many nurses simply have been pushed to the brink.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s been high turnover, an increased amount of overtime that we’re using, decreased resources available to us,” she said. “And there’s really no time for us to rest and recharge. All of this is not sustainable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reed said she’s particularly encouraged that the new contract includes better mental health support and pay incentives for nurses working with severely ill patients in emergency departments, intensive care units and critical care transport teams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reason that is so important is because it’s been really, really hard for the institution to be able to get nurses in those areas,” she said. “So this incentive program will hopefully retain the nurses who have been here through the pandemic. And it will also incentivize experienced nurses who want to come to Stanford to work in those areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pressure mounted against hospital management heading into the strike, with nurses receiving strong support from elected officials across the Peninsula and South Bay. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SenAlexPadilla/status/1520202366049562626\">U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla also visited the picket line Friday\u003c/a>, calling nurses “real-life superheroes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Stanford said it was pleased to reach a deal that reflects “shared priorities and enhances existing benefits supporting our nurses’ health, well-being, and ongoing professional development.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CRONA officials agreed Monday that both sides had shared goals, but suggested that they approached the negotiations in notably different ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sticking points really had to do with sort of a philosophical difference in how we approach things,” Stormberg said. “It wasn’t so much that there was a specific issue, rather that it was a complete package of changes that we were working on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story includes reporting from KQED’s Sara Hossaini and Eli Walsh of Bay City News.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Nearly 5,000 striking nurses at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children’s hospitals plan to return to work Tuesday after overwhelmingly approving new three-year contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new agreements, which cover nurses at both hospitals, include yearly wage increases of 7% this year and 5% for each of the following two years, along with more generous retirement benefits and additional vacation time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an effort to address severe staffing shortages and high rates of burnout in the profession, the contracts also offer better access to mental health support and new pay incentives for recruiting and retaining nurses in hard-to-staff sectors, like critical care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are very proud of the advances we have made with these contracts,” Colleen Borges, president of the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA), the union representing nurses, told reporters Monday. “They addressed the goals we set out at the outset of negotiations, and we hope will lead the way to improve nursing as an overall profession.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11912231/stanford-nurses-strike-over-staffing-shortages-lack-of-mental-health-support\">Nurses went on strike last Monday\u003c/a>, April 25, in an action that more than 90% of the union’s rank-and-file supported after their previous contracts expired in March. Union officials argued that the two hospitals were not adequately reinvesting in staffing, even after receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal pandemic relief funding. Revenue for the two hospitals grew 16%, to a combined $8.3 billion, according to Stanford Health Care’s financial disclosure for the 2021 fiscal year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kathy Stormberg, CRONA’s vice president, said management finally got the message that the nursing profession needs to be more sustainable and appealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Amid a nationwide shortage of nurses driven by high levels of burnout, moral injury, exhaustion and trauma, hospitals need to step up their support for the nursing profession,” she told reporters on Monday. “Creating better and safer working conditions for nurses is directly connected to ensuring the best care conditions for the patients who are in our charge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A 2021 UCSF study estimated a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2021/09/421366/california-faces-short-term-nursing-shortage-covid-19-retirements\">shortage of more than 40,000 full-time registered nurses in California\u003c/a>, part of what it identified as a longer-term trend that has been accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a survey conducted by CRONA in November found that 45% of Stanford nurses had considered leaving their jobs due to a lack of resources, training and support staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kimberley Reed, a union representative who has worked for roughly 18 years as a nurse in Stanford Hospital’s cardiac intensive care unit, said many nurses simply have been pushed to the brink.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s been high turnover, an increased amount of overtime that we’re using, decreased resources available to us,” she said. “And there’s really no time for us to rest and recharge. All of this is not sustainable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reed said she’s particularly encouraged that the new contract includes better mental health support and pay incentives for nurses working with severely ill patients in emergency departments, intensive care units and critical care transport teams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reason that is so important is because it’s been really, really hard for the institution to be able to get nurses in those areas,” she said. “So this incentive program will hopefully retain the nurses who have been here through the pandemic. And it will also incentivize experienced nurses who want to come to Stanford to work in those areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pressure mounted against hospital management heading into the strike, with nurses receiving strong support from elected officials across the Peninsula and South Bay. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SenAlexPadilla/status/1520202366049562626\">U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla also visited the picket line Friday\u003c/a>, calling nurses “real-life superheroes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Stanford said it was pleased to reach a deal that reflects “shared priorities and enhances existing benefits supporting our nurses’ health, well-being, and ongoing professional development.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CRONA officials agreed Monday that both sides had shared goals, but suggested that they approached the negotiations in notably different ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sticking points really had to do with sort of a philosophical difference in how we approach things,” Stormberg said. “It wasn’t so much that there was a specific issue, rather that it was a complete package of changes that we were working on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story includes reporting from KQED’s Sara Hossaini and Eli Walsh of Bay City News.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Officials at Chevron’s Richmond refinery have called police dozens of times in recent weeks to respond to the facility during a strike that’s now entering its seventh week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The calls come on the heels of financial arrangements worth tens of thousands of dollars that the oil giant made with the Richmond and San Pablo police departments in response to the labor dispute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the weeks before the walkout, a group of Richmond police officers were put on standby in case they were needed at the refinery. During the first week of April, Chevron paid the San Pablo Police Department to put officers at the facility’s gates. Chevron agreed to pay overtime to both departments to make officers available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union behind the strike calls the police contracts and the company’s repeated calls to Richmond police an attempt to intimidate strikers. A top Richmond police official says the work has strained the understaffed department. And a member of the Richmond City Council says the police presence is a problematic use of public law enforcement resources at a time when staffing is strained.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Fred Glass, instructor in labor and community studies, City College of San Francisco\"]‘Most strikes are quite law-abiding, so the use of private security or off-duty police — or for that matter on-duty police — is usually more meant to intimidate than actually protect anything.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we deploying our police officers to support a corporation like Chevron?” said Richmond City Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, a critic of the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, \u003ca href=\"https://www.chevron.com/-/media/chevron/stories/documents/1Q22-earnings-press-release.pdf\">Chevron announced a profit of $6.3 billion\u003c/a> for the first three months of this year, more than quadruple its earnings for the same period a year ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The police presence at the Richmond refinery is one element of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11908916/a-strike-at-chevrons-richmond-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">labor conflict\u003c/a> that sees no signs of ending. Chevron and leaders of United Steelworkers Local 5 have met several times since \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11908722/they-own-the-oil-but-the-people-are-ours-workers-strike-at-chevrons-richmond-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the walkout began March 21\u003c/a>. Neither the company nor the union has indicated that a resolution on the sticking points, which include worker safety as well as pay and benefits, is close.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Chevron understands the optics’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Four days after the strike began, the refinery’s security director asked four law enforcement agencies whether they could station officers outside the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was asked to reach out to you and any other police agencies to see if there is any interest in providing, on Chevron paid overtime, uniformed officers to assist in keeping traffic flowing around the refinery,” wrote Chevron Security Director Daryl Jackson in a March 25 email to the California Highway Patrol and Richmond, San Pablo and El Cerrito police departments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email, obtained by KQED through California Public Records Act requests, describes the job as a “24/7 operation.” Two officers would be deployed during the day and two at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Chevron understands the optics, but I’ve seen some very dangerous vehicle opportunities and those optics have the opportunity to look bad as well,” Jackson wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several hours later, San Pablo Police Chief Ron Raman wrote back, asking whether any of the other law enforcement agencies expressed interest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Crickets. Nothing. Nada,” Jackson replied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wow. Our rate would be close to $200 an offer [sic] per hour. I can try to fill but it’s kind of last minute,” Raman wrote. Five days later Chevron and San Pablo police officials began trading emails in order to create a contract, marking the first time that police department ever agreed to such a deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Due to the imminent and ongoing public safety concerns of the events of the refinery, the police department agreed to provide support in the interest of the West Contra Costa County community,” Raman told KQED in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Richmond officers deploy to refinery amid staffing shortages\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A top Richmond police officer replied to Chevron’s security manager on March 28 in a message that laid bare how strained that department has become.[aside postID=\"news_11908852,news_11908916,news_11908722\" label=\"Related Posts\"]“We can post an overtime sign-up to see if we garner any interest. However, our patrol officers are currently being forced over on multiple 16-18 hours shifts each week, on forced overtime (minimum staffing),” wrote Capt. Timothy Simmons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simmons told Chevron the department had already posted overtime opportunities for officers on several other projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of these assignments routinely go unfilled because officers are tapped out. We will do our best,” wrote Simmons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED on Friday, Simmons said that before that exchange, Chevron had arranged for Richmond police officers to be ready in case there was trouble outside the refinery in the weeks leading up to the walkout. Those officers were paid overtime for being on call, but were never sent to the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But since then, Chevron has called Richmond police frequently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s calls for service almost every day down there,” Simmons said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company has been asking police to clear roads so trucks can drive in and out of the facility. On occasion, officers are asked to respond to complaints of loud music on the picket line. On several occasions, Chevron has reported that one of its managers or contract workers has been assaulted, though police have never been able to substantiate those allegations and have made no arrests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simmons says the refinery calls have exacerbated pressure on a department that’s suffering from a shortage of officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the leanest I have ever seen it,” said Simmons, a 13-year veteran of the department. “We are reaching critical mass staffing levels,” he added, saying that last week, all officers were ordered to sign up for overtime shifts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They [Chevron] are a major customer in our city. And we’re getting called down there often. It takes away from other things that that beat officer could be doing,” Simmons said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Emails: Nonunion workers stayed inside refinery for over a week\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Jackson, the Chevron security official, asked police agencies for help on April 1 in a message that revealed that non-striking refinery workers had been sleeping at the facility since the walkout began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The refinery is re-posturing itself by now allowing the initial workforce to go home for a day or two. This workforce, just like myself, were considered essential workers and have been living within the refinery property since March 20,” Jackson wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope to have an orderly transition during that shift change period and having marked units assisting in that endeavor would be great,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The use of law enforcement by companies involved in strikes is very much a part of our nation’s labor history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Strikes with large numbers of workers are more likely to see companies bring in the ‘rent-a-cops’ than smaller ones,” said Fred Glass, an instructor in labor and community studies at City College of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The police response to Bay Area labor disputes has sometimes led to historic episodes of violence. In a 1934 strike, longshore workers shut down the port of San Francisco. Police opened fire on strikers, killing two workers and triggering a general strike in the city. During Oakland’s general strike in 1946, police beat strikers on the picket line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most strikes are quite law-abiding, so the use of private security or off-duty police — or for that matter on-duty police — is usually more meant to intimidate than actually protect anything,” said Glass, author of “From Mission to Microchip: A History of the California Labor Movement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A top local United Steelworkers union official says the police arrangements at Chevron’s Richmond refinery paint unionized striking workers unfairly as lawbreakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only reason I think you would have all that is to intimidate our people. But our people are not doing anything wrong. They’re conducting themselves well on the picket lines,” said B.K. White, vice president of USW Local 5, in an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A jurisdiction miles away from San Pablo’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Chevron’s security manager for the most part seemed happy with the work San Pablo officers did but sent an email to the department’s Capt. Brian Bubar on April 6, highlighting an interaction he did not like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jackson said Chevron firefighters in the area of the picketers told him an unidentified San Pablo police officer expressed support for the striking workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I understand that officers, of which you know I was one for 33 years, can have an opinion,” Jackson wrote. “There’s a time and place to express that opinion. This wasn’t one of them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bubar wrote back, telling Jackson he understood and agreed. He emphasized that his officers were there to “keep the peace” and said that there had been several incidents they’d worked to deescalate involving “both sides.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I understand the challenges of the situation and the officers are doing their best not to get involved politically,” Bubar wrote. “I hope Chevron staff understands that challenge as we’re trying to navigate through this in a jurisdiction miles away from San Pablo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Pablo Police Chief Raman says his officers were deployed for five days, from April 4 to April 8, and that there are no plans to redeploy officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Chevron defends deployments, councilmember challenges them\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Chevron says the police deployments are aimed at managing traffic into and out of the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve appreciated the help of some local off-duty officers,” said refinery spokesperson Linsi Crain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company, on a webpage titled “\u003ca href=\"https://richmond.chevron.com/uswstrike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USW Local 5 Strike at Chevron Richmond\u003c/a>,” says hiring local police officers is a regular occurrence and that the Richmond and San Pablo officers “encourage safe and smooth movement through gates at times of increased in and out flow of our workforce, supplies and products.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richmond Councilmember Jimenez — a member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, which backs USW Local 5 — says it’s concerning the city would agree to put police officers on standby for Chevron at a time when the department is having a tough time responding to local 911 calls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a problem in terms of how the Richmond Police Department decides what’s more important to deploy services,” Jimenez said in an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richmond police have yet to outline a full accounting of how much Chevron paid for the department’s officers to be on standby before the strike, but the price tag is expected to be in the thousands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Pablo police sent an invoice recently to Chevron for $27,500 for the work its officers did the first week of April, according to Chief Raman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Officials at Chevron’s Richmond refinery have called police dozens of times in recent weeks to respond to the facility during a strike that’s now entering its seventh week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The calls come on the heels of financial arrangements worth tens of thousands of dollars that the oil giant made with the Richmond and San Pablo police departments in response to the labor dispute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the weeks before the walkout, a group of Richmond police officers were put on standby in case they were needed at the refinery. During the first week of April, Chevron paid the San Pablo Police Department to put officers at the facility’s gates. Chevron agreed to pay overtime to both departments to make officers available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union behind the strike calls the police contracts and the company’s repeated calls to Richmond police an attempt to intimidate strikers. A top Richmond police official says the work has strained the understaffed department. And a member of the Richmond City Council says the police presence is a problematic use of public law enforcement resources at a time when staffing is strained.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we deploying our police officers to support a corporation like Chevron?” said Richmond City Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, a critic of the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, \u003ca href=\"https://www.chevron.com/-/media/chevron/stories/documents/1Q22-earnings-press-release.pdf\">Chevron announced a profit of $6.3 billion\u003c/a> for the first three months of this year, more than quadruple its earnings for the same period a year ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The police presence at the Richmond refinery is one element of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11908916/a-strike-at-chevrons-richmond-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">labor conflict\u003c/a> that sees no signs of ending. Chevron and leaders of United Steelworkers Local 5 have met several times since \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11908722/they-own-the-oil-but-the-people-are-ours-workers-strike-at-chevrons-richmond-refinery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the walkout began March 21\u003c/a>. Neither the company nor the union has indicated that a resolution on the sticking points, which include worker safety as well as pay and benefits, is close.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Chevron understands the optics’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Four days after the strike began, the refinery’s security director asked four law enforcement agencies whether they could station officers outside the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was asked to reach out to you and any other police agencies to see if there is any interest in providing, on Chevron paid overtime, uniformed officers to assist in keeping traffic flowing around the refinery,” wrote Chevron Security Director Daryl Jackson in a March 25 email to the California Highway Patrol and Richmond, San Pablo and El Cerrito police departments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email, obtained by KQED through California Public Records Act requests, describes the job as a “24/7 operation.” Two officers would be deployed during the day and two at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Chevron understands the optics, but I’ve seen some very dangerous vehicle opportunities and those optics have the opportunity to look bad as well,” Jackson wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several hours later, San Pablo Police Chief Ron Raman wrote back, asking whether any of the other law enforcement agencies expressed interest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Crickets. Nothing. Nada,” Jackson replied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wow. Our rate would be close to $200 an offer [sic] per hour. I can try to fill but it’s kind of last minute,” Raman wrote. Five days later Chevron and San Pablo police officials began trading emails in order to create a contract, marking the first time that police department ever agreed to such a deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Due to the imminent and ongoing public safety concerns of the events of the refinery, the police department agreed to provide support in the interest of the West Contra Costa County community,” Raman told KQED in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Richmond officers deploy to refinery amid staffing shortages\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A top Richmond police officer replied to Chevron’s security manager on March 28 in a message that laid bare how strained that department has become.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We can post an overtime sign-up to see if we garner any interest. However, our patrol officers are currently being forced over on multiple 16-18 hours shifts each week, on forced overtime (minimum staffing),” wrote Capt. Timothy Simmons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simmons told Chevron the department had already posted overtime opportunities for officers on several other projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of these assignments routinely go unfilled because officers are tapped out. We will do our best,” wrote Simmons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED on Friday, Simmons said that before that exchange, Chevron had arranged for Richmond police officers to be ready in case there was trouble outside the refinery in the weeks leading up to the walkout. Those officers were paid overtime for being on call, but were never sent to the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But since then, Chevron has called Richmond police frequently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s calls for service almost every day down there,” Simmons said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company has been asking police to clear roads so trucks can drive in and out of the facility. On occasion, officers are asked to respond to complaints of loud music on the picket line. On several occasions, Chevron has reported that one of its managers or contract workers has been assaulted, though police have never been able to substantiate those allegations and have made no arrests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simmons says the refinery calls have exacerbated pressure on a department that’s suffering from a shortage of officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the leanest I have ever seen it,” said Simmons, a 13-year veteran of the department. “We are reaching critical mass staffing levels,” he added, saying that last week, all officers were ordered to sign up for overtime shifts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They [Chevron] are a major customer in our city. And we’re getting called down there often. It takes away from other things that that beat officer could be doing,” Simmons said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Emails: Nonunion workers stayed inside refinery for over a week\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Jackson, the Chevron security official, asked police agencies for help on April 1 in a message that revealed that non-striking refinery workers had been sleeping at the facility since the walkout began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The refinery is re-posturing itself by now allowing the initial workforce to go home for a day or two. This workforce, just like myself, were considered essential workers and have been living within the refinery property since March 20,” Jackson wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope to have an orderly transition during that shift change period and having marked units assisting in that endeavor would be great,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The use of law enforcement by companies involved in strikes is very much a part of our nation’s labor history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Strikes with large numbers of workers are more likely to see companies bring in the ‘rent-a-cops’ than smaller ones,” said Fred Glass, an instructor in labor and community studies at City College of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The police response to Bay Area labor disputes has sometimes led to historic episodes of violence. In a 1934 strike, longshore workers shut down the port of San Francisco. Police opened fire on strikers, killing two workers and triggering a general strike in the city. During Oakland’s general strike in 1946, police beat strikers on the picket line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most strikes are quite law-abiding, so the use of private security or off-duty police — or for that matter on-duty police — is usually more meant to intimidate than actually protect anything,” said Glass, author of “From Mission to Microchip: A History of the California Labor Movement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A top local United Steelworkers union official says the police arrangements at Chevron’s Richmond refinery paint unionized striking workers unfairly as lawbreakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only reason I think you would have all that is to intimidate our people. But our people are not doing anything wrong. They’re conducting themselves well on the picket lines,” said B.K. White, vice president of USW Local 5, in an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A jurisdiction miles away from San Pablo’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Chevron’s security manager for the most part seemed happy with the work San Pablo officers did but sent an email to the department’s Capt. Brian Bubar on April 6, highlighting an interaction he did not like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jackson said Chevron firefighters in the area of the picketers told him an unidentified San Pablo police officer expressed support for the striking workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I understand that officers, of which you know I was one for 33 years, can have an opinion,” Jackson wrote. “There’s a time and place to express that opinion. This wasn’t one of them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bubar wrote back, telling Jackson he understood and agreed. He emphasized that his officers were there to “keep the peace” and said that there had been several incidents they’d worked to deescalate involving “both sides.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I understand the challenges of the situation and the officers are doing their best not to get involved politically,” Bubar wrote. “I hope Chevron staff understands that challenge as we’re trying to navigate through this in a jurisdiction miles away from San Pablo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Pablo Police Chief Raman says his officers were deployed for five days, from April 4 to April 8, and that there are no plans to redeploy officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Chevron defends deployments, councilmember challenges them\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Chevron says the police deployments are aimed at managing traffic into and out of the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve appreciated the help of some local off-duty officers,” said refinery spokesperson Linsi Crain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company, on a webpage titled “\u003ca href=\"https://richmond.chevron.com/uswstrike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USW Local 5 Strike at Chevron Richmond\u003c/a>,” says hiring local police officers is a regular occurrence and that the Richmond and San Pablo officers “encourage safe and smooth movement through gates at times of increased in and out flow of our workforce, supplies and products.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richmond Councilmember Jimenez — a member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, which backs USW Local 5 — says it’s concerning the city would agree to put police officers on standby for Chevron at a time when the department is having a tough time responding to local 911 calls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a problem in terms of how the Richmond Police Department decides what’s more important to deploy services,” Jimenez said in an interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richmond police have yet to outline a full accounting of how much Chevron paid for the department’s officers to be on standby before the strike, but the price tag is expected to be in the thousands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Pablo police sent an invoice recently to Chevron for $27,500 for the work its officers did the first week of April, according to Chief Raman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Stanford Nurses Strike Over Staffing Shortages, Lack of Mental Health Support",
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"content": "\u003cp>About 5,000 nurses at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children’s hospitals went on strike Monday, with workers calling on Stanford Health Care management to boost wages, address staffing shortages and provide workers with more mental health support, a need that’s grown during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, or CRONA, which represents the striking nurses, executives at Stanford Health Care and Luclle Packard Children’s Hospital have failed to address low staff retention and high turnover rates and have attempted to withdraw health benefits for striking nurses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanford administrators and union leaders are set to go back to the bargaining table Tuesday as nurses enter their second day of an open-ended strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly 93% of nurses represented by CRONA voted to authorize the strike earlier this month after their labor contract with Stanford expired March 31. The strike is CRONA’s first in more than two decades, according to the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A strike has always been the last resort for CRONA nurses, but we are prepared to stand strong and make sacrifices today for the transformative changes that the nursing profession and our patients need,” said CRONA President Colleen Borges on Monday. Borges is a pediatric oncology nurse at Packard Children’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/CRONAnurses/status/1518635587435065345?s=20&t=zWCMkNe3aGzraOscLsagKg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A survey conducted by CRONA in November found that 45% of Stanford nurses considered leaving due to a lack of resources, training and support staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanford Health Care Chief Nurse Executive Dale Beatty and Stanford Children’s Health Senior Vice President Jesus Cepero said in a joint statement that they respect the union’s right to strike, but argued that Stanford will be forced to reduce some services and reschedule elective procedures during the strike, even after securing replacement nurses for the two hospitals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two executives also argued that Stanford’s most recent contract offer to CRONA was sufficient, offering increased wages, student loan repayment assistance and incentive payments for nurses in units with high turnover rates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We continue to work toward an agreement with CRONA on a contract that our nurses can support and be proud of,” Beatty and Cepero said. “Our nurses are exceptional, and we strive to recognize and reward their enormous contributions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11911519 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/GettyImages-1392178871-1020x676.jpg']“Nobody wants to strike,” ICU cardiac nurse Kimberley Reed told KQED. “Because it’s not good for hospitals. It’s not good for nurses. It’s not good for our patients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Reed said she’ll be at the bargaining table to fight for better retirement benefits and to make sure that patients get the best care — and part of that, she said, is making sure nurses also get the mental health care they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of [workers] are paying for mental health services out of their pockets,” she said. “And I think with the death of Michael Odell … that actually did something to a lot of people.” Odell was a 27-year-old traveling nurse who was working at Stanford Health Care in January when he \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2022/03/23/nurse-warned-of-pandemic-mental-toll-health-workers/\">died by an apparent suicide\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had been bringing these [mental health] issues to light even before the tragic death of one of our colleagues,” Fred Taleghani, a nurse at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and a member of the union’s negotiation team, told KQED before the strike began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospitals’ existing employee assistance program, Taleghani said, “was taking upwards [of] four to six weeks to even get an appointment with a therapist. And [for] anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, you need help immediately. A month from now, a month and a half from now — it doesn’t work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taleghani said the union is asking for creative workarounds to get the hospitals to improve mental health care options for workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re asking for $1,750 that [a] nurse can reimburse up to 80% of their outside mental health expenses with,” he said. “Mental health is a really personal issue, and you have to have a therapist that you connect with — and a randomly assigned therapist from a large company … is just not workable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hospitals plan to cut striking workers’ benefits\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Stanford Health and Packard Children’s announced earlier this month that they would cut striking workers’ health care benefits as of May 1. Stanford executives Beatty and Cepero said doing so is “standard national practice,” as health care benefits from an employer are generally only provided to those who are actively working.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This standard practice is not unique to our hospitals and applies to any of our employees who are not working, are on unpaid status, and are not on an approved leave,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State legislators representing parts of the peninsula have called on Stanford to resolve the contract dispute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a joint letter Friday to Stanford Health Care President and CEO David Entwistle and Packard Children’s President and CEO Paul King, Assemblymembers Ash Kalra (D-San José) and Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) and state Sen. Josh Becker (D-San Mateo) called it “unconscionable” that the two hospitals would cut health care benefits for striking workers and suggested it was a tactic to break the picket line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislators and CRONA also have noted that Stanford Health Care and Packard Children’s have received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal pandemic relief funding — Stanford Health Care’s financial disclosure for the end of the 2021 fiscal year reported that revenue for the two hospitals grew 16% to a combined $8.3 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cutting off the health care for these frontline health care workers and their families after they have carried us through a pandemic is not only unnecessary — it is cruel and out of step with the values Stanford and Packard publicly advertise,” Kalra, Berman and Becker said. “Having received generous federal funding the last two years, Stanford and Packard health care should not be playing games with nurses’ health care benefits.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CRONA has yet to announce an end date for the strike and plans to continue bargaining with Stanford Health executives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story includes reporting from Eli Walsh of Bay City News, KQED’s Sukey Lewis and KQED’s April Dembosky. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>About 5,000 nurses at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children’s hospitals went on strike Monday, with workers calling on Stanford Health Care management to boost wages, address staffing shortages and provide workers with more mental health support, a need that’s grown during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, or CRONA, which represents the striking nurses, executives at Stanford Health Care and Luclle Packard Children’s Hospital have failed to address low staff retention and high turnover rates and have attempted to withdraw health benefits for striking nurses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanford administrators and union leaders are set to go back to the bargaining table Tuesday as nurses enter their second day of an open-ended strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly 93% of nurses represented by CRONA voted to authorize the strike earlier this month after their labor contract with Stanford expired March 31. The strike is CRONA’s first in more than two decades, according to the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A strike has always been the last resort for CRONA nurses, but we are prepared to stand strong and make sacrifices today for the transformative changes that the nursing profession and our patients need,” said CRONA President Colleen Borges on Monday. Borges is a pediatric oncology nurse at Packard Children’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>A survey conducted by CRONA in November found that 45% of Stanford nurses considered leaving due to a lack of resources, training and support staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanford Health Care Chief Nurse Executive Dale Beatty and Stanford Children’s Health Senior Vice President Jesus Cepero said in a joint statement that they respect the union’s right to strike, but argued that Stanford will be forced to reduce some services and reschedule elective procedures during the strike, even after securing replacement nurses for the two hospitals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two executives also argued that Stanford’s most recent contract offer to CRONA was sufficient, offering increased wages, student loan repayment assistance and incentive payments for nurses in units with high turnover rates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We continue to work toward an agreement with CRONA on a contract that our nurses can support and be proud of,” Beatty and Cepero said. “Our nurses are exceptional, and we strive to recognize and reward their enormous contributions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Nobody wants to strike,” ICU cardiac nurse Kimberley Reed told KQED. “Because it’s not good for hospitals. It’s not good for nurses. It’s not good for our patients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Reed said she’ll be at the bargaining table to fight for better retirement benefits and to make sure that patients get the best care — and part of that, she said, is making sure nurses also get the mental health care they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of [workers] are paying for mental health services out of their pockets,” she said. “And I think with the death of Michael Odell … that actually did something to a lot of people.” Odell was a 27-year-old traveling nurse who was working at Stanford Health Care in January when he \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2022/03/23/nurse-warned-of-pandemic-mental-toll-health-workers/\">died by an apparent suicide\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had been bringing these [mental health] issues to light even before the tragic death of one of our colleagues,” Fred Taleghani, a nurse at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and a member of the union’s negotiation team, told KQED before the strike began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospitals’ existing employee assistance program, Taleghani said, “was taking upwards [of] four to six weeks to even get an appointment with a therapist. And [for] anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, you need help immediately. A month from now, a month and a half from now — it doesn’t work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taleghani said the union is asking for creative workarounds to get the hospitals to improve mental health care options for workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re asking for $1,750 that [a] nurse can reimburse up to 80% of their outside mental health expenses with,” he said. “Mental health is a really personal issue, and you have to have a therapist that you connect with — and a randomly assigned therapist from a large company … is just not workable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hospitals plan to cut striking workers’ benefits\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Stanford Health and Packard Children’s announced earlier this month that they would cut striking workers’ health care benefits as of May 1. Stanford executives Beatty and Cepero said doing so is “standard national practice,” as health care benefits from an employer are generally only provided to those who are actively working.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This standard practice is not unique to our hospitals and applies to any of our employees who are not working, are on unpaid status, and are not on an approved leave,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State legislators representing parts of the peninsula have called on Stanford to resolve the contract dispute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a joint letter Friday to Stanford Health Care President and CEO David Entwistle and Packard Children’s President and CEO Paul King, Assemblymembers Ash Kalra (D-San José) and Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) and state Sen. Josh Becker (D-San Mateo) called it “unconscionable” that the two hospitals would cut health care benefits for striking workers and suggested it was a tactic to break the picket line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislators and CRONA also have noted that Stanford Health Care and Packard Children’s have received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal pandemic relief funding — Stanford Health Care’s financial disclosure for the end of the 2021 fiscal year reported that revenue for the two hospitals grew 16% to a combined $8.3 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cutting off the health care for these frontline health care workers and their families after they have carried us through a pandemic is not only unnecessary — it is cruel and out of step with the values Stanford and Packard publicly advertise,” Kalra, Berman and Becker said. “Having received generous federal funding the last two years, Stanford and Packard health care should not be playing games with nurses’ health care benefits.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CRONA has yet to announce an end date for the strike and plans to continue bargaining with Stanford Health executives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Tax Day Reveals Many Californians Are in Financial Straits",
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"content": "\u003cp>Today, as millions of Californians rush to \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2022-tax-filing-season-begins-jan-24-irs-outlines-refund-timing-and-what-to-expect-in-advance-of-april-18-tax-deadline\">file their tax returns\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/cal_hhs/status/1515419779921846284?s=11\">apply for tax credits\u003c/a>, state lawmakers are returning to Sacramento from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/04/california-lawmakers-recess/\">an 11-day spring recess\u003c/a> — and preparing to resume negotiations over \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2022/03/gas-money-rebates/\">the best way to put money back in residents’ pockets\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two events are interrelated: The amount of tax revenue collected by the state will help determine the size, form and scope of the financial relief on which Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators finally settle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Tax Day also is a reminder of the staggering divide between California’s haves and have-nots, which \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2021/01/california-budget-depends-on-staggering-wealth-gap/\">the state’s progressive tax structure brings out in stark relief\u003c/a>: In 2019, the fewer than 100,000 Californians who earned at least $1 million paid about 40% of the state’s personal income taxes, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2022-04-15/california-politics-tax-day-is-a-big-deal-in-the-state-capitol-ca-politics\">according to data obtained by The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, 77% of Californians who filed income tax returns that year reported an income of less than $100,000 — and 50% reported earnings below $50,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7ng7b6qj\">financial precariousness many Californians experience\u003c/a> was highlighted in a new poll from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, and The Los Angeles Times:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Sixty-four percent of California voters said they pay too much in state and federal income taxes\u003c/strong>, up 10 percentage points from six years ago.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Forty-two percent of voters said they’re financially worse off than they were a year ago\u003c/strong>, double the 21% who said they were better off — the opposite of 2016, when about 48% of voters said they were financially better off than they were the prior year, nearly double the 25% who reported they were doing worse.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>And even as California’s tight labor market helps some workers score higher wages — unions representing 47,000 grocery workers \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-04-14/california-grocery-workers-contract-deal-ralphs-albertsons-vons-pavilions\">ratified a new contract Thursday\u003c/a> that includes their biggest pay raises in decades — a whopping \u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t07.htm\">8.5% year-over-year rise\u003c/a> in the cost of goods is eating into those gains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions representing workers ranging from \u003ca href=\"https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2022-04-15/some-school-employees-say-theyre-struggling-to-survive-in-expensive-san-diego\">classified employees in San Ysidro School District\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/csu-faculty-dominguez-hills-contract-bonus-back-pay\">California State University faculty\u003c/a> say their wage increases don’t cover the cost of inflation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, more than 8,000 Sutter Health employees are set to strike at more than a dozen Northern California facilities today to \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/04/16/sutter-health-nurses-staff-plan-to-strike-monday-at-some-bay-area-facilities/\">call for better health and safety standards\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soaring inflation rates will make it harder for California to keep up the job gains it saw in March, said Michael Bernick, former director of the state Employment Development Department and an attorney at Duane Morris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s jobless rate fell to 4.9% in March — down from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/03/california-economy-worker-strikes/\">a revised rate of 5.3% in February\u003c/a> — as the state added 60,200 non-farm payroll jobs, \u003ca href=\"https://edd.ca.gov/en/about_edd/news_releases_and_announcements/unemployment-march-2022/\">EDD announced Friday\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/04/15/californias-economic-recovery-continues-to-rebound/\">Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: EDD’s report “is more good news for California’s continued economic recovery, representing thousands of new opportunities for workers throughout the state.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/04/15/bay-area-california-job-slow-march-covid-layoff-tech-hotel-restaurant/\">Michael Bernick\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: “We’re likely to see a far greater slowdown in job growth throughout 2022 as the impacts of inflationary government spending begin to be felt.”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Tax Day is a reminder of the staggering divide between California's haves and have-nots. In 2019, the fewer than 100,000 Californians who earned at least $1 million paid about 40% of the state's personal income taxes.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Today, as millions of Californians rush to \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2022-tax-filing-season-begins-jan-24-irs-outlines-refund-timing-and-what-to-expect-in-advance-of-april-18-tax-deadline\">file their tax returns\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/cal_hhs/status/1515419779921846284?s=11\">apply for tax credits\u003c/a>, state lawmakers are returning to Sacramento from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/04/california-lawmakers-recess/\">an 11-day spring recess\u003c/a> — and preparing to resume negotiations over \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2022/03/gas-money-rebates/\">the best way to put money back in residents’ pockets\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two events are interrelated: The amount of tax revenue collected by the state will help determine the size, form and scope of the financial relief on which Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators finally settle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Tax Day also is a reminder of the staggering divide between California’s haves and have-nots, which \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2021/01/california-budget-depends-on-staggering-wealth-gap/\">the state’s progressive tax structure brings out in stark relief\u003c/a>: In 2019, the fewer than 100,000 Californians who earned at least $1 million paid about 40% of the state’s personal income taxes, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2022-04-15/california-politics-tax-day-is-a-big-deal-in-the-state-capitol-ca-politics\">according to data obtained by The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, 77% of Californians who filed income tax returns that year reported an income of less than $100,000 — and 50% reported earnings below $50,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7ng7b6qj\">financial precariousness many Californians experience\u003c/a> was highlighted in a new poll from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, and The Los Angeles Times:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Sixty-four percent of California voters said they pay too much in state and federal income taxes\u003c/strong>, up 10 percentage points from six years ago.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Forty-two percent of voters said they’re financially worse off than they were a year ago\u003c/strong>, double the 21% who said they were better off — the opposite of 2016, when about 48% of voters said they were financially better off than they were the prior year, nearly double the 25% who reported they were doing worse.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>And even as California’s tight labor market helps some workers score higher wages — unions representing 47,000 grocery workers \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-04-14/california-grocery-workers-contract-deal-ralphs-albertsons-vons-pavilions\">ratified a new contract Thursday\u003c/a> that includes their biggest pay raises in decades — a whopping \u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t07.htm\">8.5% year-over-year rise\u003c/a> in the cost of goods is eating into those gains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unions representing workers ranging from \u003ca href=\"https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2022-04-15/some-school-employees-say-theyre-struggling-to-survive-in-expensive-san-diego\">classified employees in San Ysidro School District\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/csu-faculty-dominguez-hills-contract-bonus-back-pay\">California State University faculty\u003c/a> say their wage increases don’t cover the cost of inflation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, more than 8,000 Sutter Health employees are set to strike at more than a dozen Northern California facilities today to \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/04/16/sutter-health-nurses-staff-plan-to-strike-monday-at-some-bay-area-facilities/\">call for better health and safety standards\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soaring inflation rates will make it harder for California to keep up the job gains it saw in March, said Michael Bernick, former director of the state Employment Development Department and an attorney at Duane Morris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s jobless rate fell to 4.9% in March — down from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/03/california-economy-worker-strikes/\">a revised rate of 5.3% in February\u003c/a> — as the state added 60,200 non-farm payroll jobs, \u003ca href=\"https://edd.ca.gov/en/about_edd/news_releases_and_announcements/unemployment-march-2022/\">EDD announced Friday\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/04/15/californias-economic-recovery-continues-to-rebound/\">Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: EDD’s report “is more good news for California’s continued economic recovery, representing thousands of new opportunities for workers throughout the state.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/04/15/bay-area-california-job-slow-march-covid-layoff-tech-hotel-restaurant/\">Michael Bernick\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>: “We’re likely to see a far greater slowdown in job growth throughout 2022 as the impacts of inflationary government spending begin to be felt.”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "ENCORE BROADCAST: 'There Is Anger. He Should Be Alive': An Investigation Into Deadly COVID-19 Outbreaks at Foster Farms",
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"content": "\u003cp>In 2020, California’s Foster Farms became the site of one of the nation’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks at a meat or poultry plant. The California Report’s Central Valley reporter, Alex Hall, spent a year and a half talking to spouses and family members of workers who spent decades at the company’s chicken-processing plants. She found that hundreds of Foster Farms workers tested positive for the virus in 2020. Sixteen people died, and at least 20 others were hospitalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11892838/there-is-anger-he-should-be-alive-an-investigation-into-deadly-covid-19-outbreaks-at-foster-farms\">Hall’s investigation\u003c/a> shows that as plants stayed open to maintain the food supply, and workers got sick from COVID-19, or even died, Foster Farms didn’t always give a complete picture of the problem to health officials, state regulators and their own employees. We meet families who lost loved ones who worked at Foster Farms — families who are grieving, struggling financially, and trying to make sense of what happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since this episode originally aired in October 2021, some of the families Hall spoke with are still waiting to hear whether they will receive death benefits — nearly a year and a half after their loved ones died. Meanwhile, three of the temp agencies Foster Farms used to hire workers have successfully argued to get their Cal/OSHA penalties reduced. Foster Farms is still appealing the state’s citations against them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In 2020, California’s Foster Farms became the site of one of the nation’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks at a meat or poultry plant. The California Report’s Central Valley reporter, Alex Hall, spent a year and a half talking to spouses and family members of workers who spent decades at the company’s chicken-processing plants. She found that hundreds of Foster Farms workers tested positive for the virus in 2020. Sixteen people died, and at least 20 others were hospitalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11892838/there-is-anger-he-should-be-alive-an-investigation-into-deadly-covid-19-outbreaks-at-foster-farms\">Hall’s investigation\u003c/a> shows that as plants stayed open to maintain the food supply, and workers got sick from COVID-19, or even died, Foster Farms didn’t always give a complete picture of the problem to health officials, state regulators and their own employees. We meet families who lost loved ones who worked at Foster Farms — families who are grieving, struggling financially, and trying to make sense of what happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since this episode originally aired in October 2021, some of the families Hall spoke with are still waiting to hear whether they will receive death benefits — nearly a year and a half after their loved ones died. Meanwhile, three of the temp agencies Foster Farms used to hire workers have successfully argued to get their Cal/OSHA penalties reduced. Foster Farms is still appealing the state’s citations against them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "'Why Can't We Have the Same Rights?': Farmworkers Ask Newsom to Sign Bill Allowing Union Voting by Mail",
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"content": "\u003cp>On Thursday — César Chávez Day — a group of about 50 farmworkers, advocates and community members gathered in Fresno to march in honor of the late labor leader and to once again ask Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would make it easier for farmworkers to vote in union elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Farmworkers are asking what could be more important than meeting with farmworkers on César Chávez Day,” said Elizabeth Strater, director of strategic campaigns for the United Farm Workers, in a recent interview with The Bee. On Wednesday, Newsom’s office confirmed that he and his family were on vacation in Central and South America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The march was part of a series of events organized by the UFW and its foundation in 13 rural and urban California cities — including San Francisco, San Jose and Berkeley — in which farmworkers gathered to raise awareness about the Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Choice Act, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2183\">AB 2183\u003c/a>, a bill that would give farmworkers the option to vote by mail in union elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among those marching in Fresno on Thursday were San Joaquin Valley elected officials: Santos Garcia, the mayor of Madera; and Jose Sigala, a councilmember from Tulare currently running for state Assembly for the 33rd District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m here to lend support to this legislation,” said Sigala. “Hopefully, the governor sees not only this action but the action across the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11910131\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11910131 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A man and a woman in focus amid other demonstrators, slightly blurred, wear red facemasks reading 'Cesar Chavez' in black with the black UFW phoenix symbol, and hold signs black-and-white signs reading 'Support Farm Workers: I'm ready to march for the governor's signature.'\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Augustin and Elvia Ramirez listen to speakers on Cesar Chavez Street in San Francisco on March 31, 2022, during a demonstration in support of a bill to allow farmworkers to vote by mail in union elections. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The coordinated marches took place less than a year after the \u003ca href=\"https://account.sacbee.com/paywall/subscriber-only?resume=254452908&intcid=ab_archive\">UFW organized a march to the French Laundry\u003c/a> — a reference to the pricey meal Newsom had with lobbyists as he asked other Californians to avoid mixed groups and indoor settings during the coronavirus pandemic — after Newsom vetoed an initial version of the bill, AB 616, last September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Lourdes Cardenas, farmworker and union member from Fresno\"]'[Newsom] asked for votes by mail. That's why he's still in office. Why can't we have the same rights?'[/pullquote]Labor leaders, Assemblymembers and farmworkers say they are hopeful that the governor will sign the legislation into law this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope it passes,” said Anthony Arano, a Fresno-area resident who came out to support the march. “Latinos need to be heard. We’re part of this country, too.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Legislators 'hopeful' governor will sign bill\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Last year, Assemblymember Mark Stone, a Democrat from Santa Cruz, authored AB 616, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article257348102.html\">a bill that would allow California farmworkers to vote for a union by mail\u003c/a> instead of in-person secret ballot elections conducted on a grower’s property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farmworker advocates said farmworkers feel intimidated during union elections, which, under the state’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act, currently take place directly on growers’ property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill is “pretty straightforward,” said Strater. “It’s to extend to farmworkers a more modernized, flexible choice when it comes to how they vote under union elections.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently other nonagricultural unions covered by the National Labor Relations Act — the federal labor law that excludes farmworkers and domestic workers — already have alternative voting options during a union election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agriculture grower associations opposed the bill, and the California Chamber of Commerce included the legislation on its “job killer” list.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union officials said they had been trying to meet with Newsom for months to discuss the bill prior to his veto and called the veto hypocritical since the governor was able to avoid recall in part due to the vote-by-mail option during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He asked for votes by mail. That’s why he’s still in office,” said Lourdes Cardenas, a farmworker and union member from Fresno during Thursday’s march. “Why can’t we have the same rights?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislators are confident that the bill will be signed this time around and have garnered even more support for the proposed legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is something that the Legislature finds very important. We have a lot of co-authors. We’ve generated a lot of interest among legislators,” said Stone in an interview with The Bee on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11910134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11910134 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Chesa Boudin, a white man with a trim beard and trim haircut with a receding hairline, wears a dark suit, light blue shirt, and blue tie, with a star-shaped lapel pin, and smiles slightly as he holds a sign reading 'Support Farm Workers: I'm ready to march for the governor's signature.' He walks alongside a man wearing a bright orange vest, a ball cap, and sunglasses who is also smiling. Many people around the two are smiling (and others are masked), and a man behind Boudin holds up a cellphone horizontally, as if he might be filming or photographing the DA.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin (wearing tie) joins a demonstration in support of a bill to allow farmworkers to vote by mail in union elections on César Chávez Day on March 31, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fifty legislators have co-signed this year’s version of the voting rights bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m very hopeful that what we put on the governor’s desk this year, he’ll sign,” Stone said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed legislation would allow farmworkers to vote either in an all-mail election or a more traditional polling-place type of election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stone’s office and the UFW, who are co-sponsors of the bill, say they have been working with Newsom’s office on the suggested changes he detailed in his veto letter.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Will the bill spur renewed UFW organizing?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While Strater said she hopes that the legislation will spur more union election activity, critics of the union aren’t as confident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='farmworkers']William Gould, an outspoken critic of the union who has served on state and federal labor relations boards, told The Bee in January that nobody is organizing the farmworkers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if this bill is reintroduced, I doubt that that’s going to change appreciably,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board received only one request for union representation, from a cannabis farm in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Strater said that “with organizing work, there are no shortcuts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AB 2183 will “certainly empower” workers to come together, form committees, and organize themselves, said Strater, and it will “level the playing field between the workers and their employers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If passed, Strater said, the new bill will show farmworkers that the “final hurdle” of a union election vote “is not going to be so impossibly high.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Melissa Montalvo is a reporter with The Fresno Bee and a Report for America corps member. This article is part of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/projects/the-california-divide/\">The California Divide\u003c/a>, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequity and economic survival in California.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Farmworkers and their supporters marched in 13 California cities Thursday, asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would make voting easier in union elections.\r\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Thursday — César Chávez Day — a group of about 50 farmworkers, advocates and community members gathered in Fresno to march in honor of the late labor leader and to once again ask Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would make it easier for farmworkers to vote in union elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Farmworkers are asking what could be more important than meeting with farmworkers on César Chávez Day,” said Elizabeth Strater, director of strategic campaigns for the United Farm Workers, in a recent interview with The Bee. On Wednesday, Newsom’s office confirmed that he and his family were on vacation in Central and South America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The march was part of a series of events organized by the UFW and its foundation in 13 rural and urban California cities — including San Francisco, San Jose and Berkeley — in which farmworkers gathered to raise awareness about the Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Choice Act, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2183\">AB 2183\u003c/a>, a bill that would give farmworkers the option to vote by mail in union elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among those marching in Fresno on Thursday were San Joaquin Valley elected officials: Santos Garcia, the mayor of Madera; and Jose Sigala, a councilmember from Tulare currently running for state Assembly for the 33rd District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m here to lend support to this legislation,” said Sigala. “Hopefully, the governor sees not only this action but the action across the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11910131\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11910131 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A man and a woman in focus amid other demonstrators, slightly blurred, wear red facemasks reading 'Cesar Chavez' in black with the black UFW phoenix symbol, and hold signs black-and-white signs reading 'Support Farm Workers: I'm ready to march for the governor's signature.'\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54924_033_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Augustin and Elvia Ramirez listen to speakers on Cesar Chavez Street in San Francisco on March 31, 2022, during a demonstration in support of a bill to allow farmworkers to vote by mail in union elections. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The coordinated marches took place less than a year after the \u003ca href=\"https://account.sacbee.com/paywall/subscriber-only?resume=254452908&intcid=ab_archive\">UFW organized a march to the French Laundry\u003c/a> — a reference to the pricey meal Newsom had with lobbyists as he asked other Californians to avoid mixed groups and indoor settings during the coronavirus pandemic — after Newsom vetoed an initial version of the bill, AB 616, last September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Labor leaders, Assemblymembers and farmworkers say they are hopeful that the governor will sign the legislation into law this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope it passes,” said Anthony Arano, a Fresno-area resident who came out to support the march. “Latinos need to be heard. We’re part of this country, too.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Legislators 'hopeful' governor will sign bill\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Last year, Assemblymember Mark Stone, a Democrat from Santa Cruz, authored AB 616, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article257348102.html\">a bill that would allow California farmworkers to vote for a union by mail\u003c/a> instead of in-person secret ballot elections conducted on a grower’s property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farmworker advocates said farmworkers feel intimidated during union elections, which, under the state’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act, currently take place directly on growers’ property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill is “pretty straightforward,” said Strater. “It’s to extend to farmworkers a more modernized, flexible choice when it comes to how they vote under union elections.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently other nonagricultural unions covered by the National Labor Relations Act — the federal labor law that excludes farmworkers and domestic workers — already have alternative voting options during a union election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agriculture grower associations opposed the bill, and the California Chamber of Commerce included the legislation on its “job killer” list.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union officials said they had been trying to meet with Newsom for months to discuss the bill prior to his veto and called the veto hypocritical since the governor was able to avoid recall in part due to the vote-by-mail option during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He asked for votes by mail. That’s why he’s still in office,” said Lourdes Cardenas, a farmworker and union member from Fresno during Thursday’s march. “Why can’t we have the same rights?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislators are confident that the bill will be signed this time around and have garnered even more support for the proposed legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is something that the Legislature finds very important. We have a lot of co-authors. We’ve generated a lot of interest among legislators,” said Stone in an interview with The Bee on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11910134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-11910134 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Chesa Boudin, a white man with a trim beard and trim haircut with a receding hairline, wears a dark suit, light blue shirt, and blue tie, with a star-shaped lapel pin, and smiles slightly as he holds a sign reading 'Support Farm Workers: I'm ready to march for the governor's signature.' He walks alongside a man wearing a bright orange vest, a ball cap, and sunglasses who is also smiling. Many people around the two are smiling (and others are masked), and a man behind Boudin holds up a cellphone horizontally, as if he might be filming or photographing the DA.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/RS54928_037_KQED_CesarChavezDayUFWRally_03312022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin (wearing tie) joins a demonstration in support of a bill to allow farmworkers to vote by mail in union elections on César Chávez Day on March 31, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fifty legislators have co-signed this year’s version of the voting rights bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m very hopeful that what we put on the governor’s desk this year, he’ll sign,” Stone said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed legislation would allow farmworkers to vote either in an all-mail election or a more traditional polling-place type of election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stone’s office and the UFW, who are co-sponsors of the bill, say they have been working with Newsom’s office on the suggested changes he detailed in his veto letter.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Will the bill spur renewed UFW organizing?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While Strater said she hopes that the legislation will spur more union election activity, critics of the union aren’t as confident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>William Gould, an outspoken critic of the union who has served on state and federal labor relations boards, told The Bee in January that nobody is organizing the farmworkers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if this bill is reintroduced, I doubt that that’s going to change appreciably,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board received only one request for union representation, from a cannabis farm in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Strater said that “with organizing work, there are no shortcuts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AB 2183 will “certainly empower” workers to come together, form committees, and organize themselves, said Strater, and it will “level the playing field between the workers and their employers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If passed, Strater said, the new bill will show farmworkers that the “final hurdle” of a union election vote “is not going to be so impossibly high.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Melissa Montalvo is a reporter with The Fresno Bee and a Report for America corps member. This article is part of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/projects/the-california-divide/\">The California Divide\u003c/a>, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequity and economic survival in California.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">About 500 operators and technicians at Chevron’s Richmond refinery went on strike starting Monday. It’s the first labor strike at the plant in more than 40 years.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The union representing these workers says that Chevron hasn’t offered enough in the way of pay increases, benefit contributions, and worker safety. Chevron claims the union has asked for too much, and in the meantime has promised to keep the refinery running using non-union workers. This strike is also laying bare the tensions within the city of Richmond about Chevron’s role in the community.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TedrickG\">Ted Goldberg\u003c/a>, KQED supervising senior editor of news\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3IFb0w6\">Episode transcript\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"card card--enclosed grey\">\n\u003cp id=\"embed-code\" class=\"inconsolata\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC2529587615&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cp>Driven by inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the average price for a gallon of gas has soared to $4.17 nationwide, the highest average price in 14 years. Here in the Bay Area, the price is even higher, hovering around $5.50. While rising gas prices affect nearly every corner of the economy, some of the people feeling the effects most directly are Bay Area ride-hailing and taxi drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rondu Gantt is a San Francisco resident who drives for Lyft and DoorDash. He says that companies should be paying their drivers more when gas prices spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that it’s necessary to increase every driver’s base fare. If you don't want to increase the rate of pay, increase the base fare. Making a $5 minimum would definitely help cover the cap cost,” Gantt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Lyft has not increased base fares or pay rates, it has partnered with a fuel cash-back program called GetUpside where drivers can earn $0.32 in cash back per gallon at certain gas stations, as well as 2% cash back when they use a Lyft debit card. Ride-hailing service Uber also has partnered with GetUpside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This program makes it easy for drivers to know where to get the best cash-back savings on gas, meaning more of the money they earn with Lyft can stay in their pockets,” said Zach Greenberger, head of strategic business development and global supply management at Lyft.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Sergio Avedian, Senior Contributor at The Rideshare Guy\"]'So it's kind of a silly point that Uber and Lyft make when they say, ‘We want you to be independent contractors but, wait a minute, you cannot decide on the price you charge for this ride,’'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s garbage,” said Sergio Avedian, senior contributor at \u003ca href=\"https://therideshareguy.com/\">The Rideshare Guy\u003c/a>, a blog focused on the gig economy. He’s also a part-time ride-hailing driver. “I'm a member of GetUpside. All the GetUpside stations where you can get 20 or 25 cents back have prices that are already 60 to 80 cents higher than where I buy my gas normally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because ride-hailing drivers are classified as independent contractors and not employees, they must pay out of pocket for car parts and repairs. Yet, unlike other independent contractors, like an electrician or a plumber, for instance, they can’t set their own rates.[aside postID=\"news_11896845,news_11902881,news_11906414\" label=\"Related Posts\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So it's kind of a silly point that Uber and Lyft make when they say, ‘We want you to be independent contractors but, wait a minute, you cannot decide on the price you charge for this ride,’” Avedian said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, an \u003ca href=\"https://www.coworker.org/petitions/gas-prices-3\">online petition\u003c/a> has been started, asking Uber and Lyft to increase rates for drivers. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like ride-hailing drivers, San Francisco taxicab drivers also are not able to independently set their rates. Mark Gruberg has been a taxi driver in the city for nearly 40 years, and says taxicab drivers are also feeling the squeeze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“After the rental of the taxi, which is the biggest expense, fuel prices would be the next biggest expense,\" said Gruberg. \"It's cutting a deep hole in pockets that are already pretty empty for a variety of reasons, including Uber and Lyft, including the pandemic, and including inflation in general.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gruberg says that any fare hikes would need to be approved by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The last time taxi fares were increased was in 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nothing like that has been scheduled and, far as I know, even discussed with them yet, because this latest blow is very recent, but I suspect that this conversation will come up,” said Gruberg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance is set to meet Wednesday night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Avedian says that barring any fare increases, there are some things ride-hailing drivers can do to make their work more profitable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Figure out what it costs you to run your car per hour, and just drive when you think you're profitable, like when Uber and Lyft offer you extra incentives on top of the regular base pay,” said Avedian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the war in Ukraine has intensified, President Biden announced yesterday further sanctions on Russia, declaring the United States would no longer import any Russian gas, oil or energy. \"Since [Vladimir] Putin began his military buildup on Ukrainian borders, just since then, the price of the gas at the pump in America went up 75 cents. And with this action, it’s going to go up further,” Biden said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, Bay Area ride-hailing drivers will be picking up the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from KQED's María Fernanda Bernal.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Driven by inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the average price for a gallon of gas has soared to $4.17 nationwide, the highest average price in 14 years. Here in the Bay Area, the price is even higher, hovering around $5.50. While rising gas prices affect nearly every corner of the economy, some of the people feeling the effects most directly are Bay Area ride-hailing and taxi drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rondu Gantt is a San Francisco resident who drives for Lyft and DoorDash. He says that companies should be paying their drivers more when gas prices spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that it’s necessary to increase every driver’s base fare. If you don't want to increase the rate of pay, increase the base fare. Making a $5 minimum would definitely help cover the cap cost,” Gantt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Lyft has not increased base fares or pay rates, it has partnered with a fuel cash-back program called GetUpside where drivers can earn $0.32 in cash back per gallon at certain gas stations, as well as 2% cash back when they use a Lyft debit card. Ride-hailing service Uber also has partnered with GetUpside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This program makes it easy for drivers to know where to get the best cash-back savings on gas, meaning more of the money they earn with Lyft can stay in their pockets,” said Zach Greenberger, head of strategic business development and global supply management at Lyft.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s garbage,” said Sergio Avedian, senior contributor at \u003ca href=\"https://therideshareguy.com/\">The Rideshare Guy\u003c/a>, a blog focused on the gig economy. He’s also a part-time ride-hailing driver. “I'm a member of GetUpside. All the GetUpside stations where you can get 20 or 25 cents back have prices that are already 60 to 80 cents higher than where I buy my gas normally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because ride-hailing drivers are classified as independent contractors and not employees, they must pay out of pocket for car parts and repairs. Yet, unlike other independent contractors, like an electrician or a plumber, for instance, they can’t set their own rates.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So it's kind of a silly point that Uber and Lyft make when they say, ‘We want you to be independent contractors but, wait a minute, you cannot decide on the price you charge for this ride,’” Avedian said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, an \u003ca href=\"https://www.coworker.org/petitions/gas-prices-3\">online petition\u003c/a> has been started, asking Uber and Lyft to increase rates for drivers. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like ride-hailing drivers, San Francisco taxicab drivers also are not able to independently set their rates. Mark Gruberg has been a taxi driver in the city for nearly 40 years, and says taxicab drivers are also feeling the squeeze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“After the rental of the taxi, which is the biggest expense, fuel prices would be the next biggest expense,\" said Gruberg. \"It's cutting a deep hole in pockets that are already pretty empty for a variety of reasons, including Uber and Lyft, including the pandemic, and including inflation in general.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gruberg says that any fare hikes would need to be approved by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The last time taxi fares were increased was in 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nothing like that has been scheduled and, far as I know, even discussed with them yet, because this latest blow is very recent, but I suspect that this conversation will come up,” said Gruberg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance is set to meet Wednesday night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Avedian says that barring any fare increases, there are some things ride-hailing drivers can do to make their work more profitable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Figure out what it costs you to run your car per hour, and just drive when you think you're profitable, like when Uber and Lyft offer you extra incentives on top of the regular base pay,” said Avedian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the war in Ukraine has intensified, President Biden announced yesterday further sanctions on Russia, declaring the United States would no longer import any Russian gas, oil or energy. \"Since [Vladimir] Putin began his military buildup on Ukrainian borders, just since then, the price of the gas at the pump in America went up 75 cents. And with this action, it’s going to go up further,” Biden said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, Bay Area ride-hailing drivers will be picking up the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from KQED's María Fernanda Bernal.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Dozens of immigrant and worker rights advocates rallied in Sacramento on Thursday for the creation of a temporary wage replacement program for California's undocumented immigrants who become unemployed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People without work permits are excluded from unemployment insurance benefits, even though they comprise a significant portion of the state’s labor force in key industries such as agriculture and construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As businesses closed during the pandemic, undocumented immigrants who lost their jobs were often left with no income to pay for rent and other basic needs. But they were ineligible for most federal public benefit programs and COVID-19 relief.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Maria Venegas, indigenous Maya immigrant from Mexico\"]'I came to support this bill not just for me but for our community ... so we don’t go through the same crisis again of losing our jobs without having access to any unemployment benefits'[/pullquote]A \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2847\">new California bill\u003c/a> by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) would create the first-ever pilot program to offer $300 per week for up to 20 weeks to workers who are ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits because they are undocumented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It's time for California to take the lead on this issue, upholding California's values and taking care of all Californians – not just some, but all Californians,” said Garcia, who represents a largely Latino district in eastern Riverside and Imperial counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Excluded Workers Pilot Program will rightfully provide unemployment benefits to workers who have earned them, but are ineligible due to their documentation status,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal, AB 2847, would task the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency with administering the income assistance, which would be offered next year at a cost of $690 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill would also require the agency to recommend plans to establish a permanent unemployment insurance benefit program for undocumented Californians by Aug. 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, people without lawful immigration status contribute an estimated $3 billion per year in local and state taxes, according to the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11907211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11907211\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign.jpg\" alt=\"baby in stroller with pacifier in her mouth holds sign\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1655\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign-800x690.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign-1020x879.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign-160x138.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign-1536x1324.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayla Arroyo, 1, from Orange County holds a sign in Spanish that reads 'Safety Net for All Coalition,' at a rally at the state Capitol on March 3, 2022. A coalition of more than 100 California organizations is calling for unemployment benefits for undocumented workers. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sumeet Bal, California Immigrant Policy Center)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Maria Venegas, one of the speakers at the Sacramento rally, said she lost her job at a restaurant in San Francisco early in the pandemic and remained unemployed for several months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Venegas remembers having to explain to her two sons, ages 10 and 15, that they had run out of money to pay rent. The family relied on food banks to survive and was ultimately evicted, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I sacrificed so much to be able to support my children,” said Venegas, an indigenous Maya immigrant from Mexico. “I came to support this bill not just for me but for our community ... so we don’t go through the same crisis again of losing our jobs without having access to any unemployment benefits.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11906868]More than 5.2 million Californians were either undocumented or lived in a household with an undocumented person in 2018, according to census data analyzed by researchers at the University of Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal, AB 2847, would task the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency with administering the income assistance, which would be offered next year at a cost of $690 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill would also require the agency to recommend plans to establish a permanent unemployment insurance benefit program for undocumented Californians by Aug. 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, people without lawful immigration status contribute an estimated $3 billion per year in local and state taxes, according to the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11907211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11907211\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign.jpg\" alt=\"baby in stroller with pacifier in her mouth holds sign\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1655\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign-800x690.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign-1020x879.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign-160x138.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/WorkersRallyBabyWithSign-1536x1324.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayla Arroyo, 1, from Orange County holds a sign in Spanish that reads 'Safety Net for All Coalition,' at a rally at the state Capitol on March 3, 2022. A coalition of more than 100 California organizations is calling for unemployment benefits for undocumented workers. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sumeet Bal, California Immigrant Policy Center)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Maria Venegas, one of the speakers at the Sacramento rally, said she lost her job at a restaurant in San Francisco early in the pandemic and remained unemployed for several months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Venegas remembers having to explain to her two sons, ages 10 and 15, that they had run out of money to pay rent. The family relied on food banks to survive and was ultimately evicted, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I sacrificed so much to be able to support my children,” said Venegas, an indigenous Maya immigrant from Mexico. “I came to support this bill not just for me but for our community ... so we don’t go through the same crisis again of losing our jobs without having access to any unemployment benefits.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Workers Face Years-Long Wait for Justice in Wage Theft Cases, State Data Shows",
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"headTitle": "California Workers Face Years-Long Wait for Justice in Wage Theft Cases, State Data Shows | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>California workers trying to hold their bosses to account for unpaid wages are waiting years just to get a hearing before the state watchdog agency tasked with investigating their cases, according to new data obtained by KQED that shows a system plagued by unprecedented delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wait times at the state Labor Commissioner’s Office especially hurt lower-income Californians who’ve been victims of wage theft, and they allow unscrupulous employers to continue cheating workers, advocates say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The delays in handling claims generally filed by individuals ballooned during the pandemic. But for years before that, the agency struggled with understaffing and was failing to meet its statutory requirement for timely hearings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Labor Commissioner’s Office is responsible for enforcing minimum wage, overtime pay and other labor laws. By law, it must hold a hearing within 120 days of a wage complaint being filed, unless the employer settles sooner. But the average wait time statewide is nearly seven times that long — more than two years, agency figures show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This almost encourages employers to continue exploiting,” said Veronica Chavez, who directs the workers’ rights legal practice at the nonprofit Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland. “The chances of there being repercussions seem to be very far down the line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2015, California workers waited 220 days on average for a hearing. That figure had nearly doubled to 417 days by 2019, and jumped again to an estimated 812 days as of last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to acknowledge that that is not a number that we want to be at, at the Labor Commissioner’s Office,” Daniel Yu, the agency’s assistant chief for enforcement, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do want to meet our statutory obligations and we want to make sure the process works effectively and efficiently, so the workers are able to get their hearings resolved as quickly as possible,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11906925\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11906925\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1-800x479.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"479\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1-800x479.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1-1020x611.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1-160x96.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1-1536x920.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1.png 1712w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner’s Office \u003ccite>(Chart by Matthew Green/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The severity of the problem varies among the Labor Commissioner’s 17 offices around the state, with some of the longest delays at the Oakland and San Francisco branches, data shows.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Mirna Arana, Oakland worker\"]‘I felt bad for my co-workers, too, because [the company was] doing the same to them. But if we said anything, they would have fired us, and I needed the money to pay rent.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the average wait time in San Francisco was 968 days, while in Oakland it reached 1,160 days, more than three years — the worst in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s hard to wait for so long’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mirna Arana filed a complaint with the Oakland office in June 2018, charging her employer with owing her thousands of dollars in unpaid wages. Arana, who cleaned offices and homes for a small janitorial company called Maid No. 1 Services, said her shifts often lasted 12 hours, six days a week. But her employer only paid her for six hours a day, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I felt like I was being exploited,” said Arana, 33, in Spanish. “I felt bad for my co-workers, too, because [the company was] doing the same to them. But if we said anything, they would have fired us, and I needed the money to pay rent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11906893\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11906893 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mirna Arana holds her 3-year-old son at a park in Oakland on Feb. 17, 2022. It took years for the Labor Commissioner’s Office to hear her wage claim and rule that her old employer owes her nearly $183,000. But now it’s unclear when — or if — she’ll recover the money, she said.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until Arana reached out to Mujeres Unidas y Activas, a Latina immigrant community organizing group, that she realized she’d also been denied overtime pay and meal and rest breaks between 2015 and 2017. The organization connected her with a pro bono attorney who helped Arana submit a wage claim against the company and its owner, Rene A. Herrera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED’s efforts to reach Herrera for comment were unsuccessful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arana waited more than three years for a hearing on her case. Meanwhile, she and her family struggled to buy food and keep up with rent increases. They had to move three times, she said.[aside postID=\"news_11903291,news_11903450,news_11899604\" label=\"Related Posts\"]Last December, a hearing officer with the Labor Commissioner finally ruled that Arana’s old boss owes her nearly $183,000 in unpaid wages. But by then, the company had filed for bankruptcy, she said. It’s unclear now when — or if — she will be able to collect her wages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard to wait for so long,” said Arana, who craves more stability for her sons, age 3 and 1. “The state should put more attention on these cases because [wage theft] is an injustice that’s hurting our community … We need change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Delays discourage workers from filing claims, advocates say\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner’s Wage Claim Adjudication unit was originally established as a quick, no-cost alternative to state court for wage theft victims to pursue justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/policies.htm\">claim process\u003c/a> includes a meeting between an agency deputy and both parties to try to reach an agreement. If that fails, the next step is a court-like hearing, where an officer will judge the claim. Employers may settle with workers at any time during the process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worker advocates say this kind of enforcement mechanism is vital to protecting workers’ rights and combat paycheck violations that rob Californians of \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/publication/wage-theft-2021/\">billions of dollars each year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the lengthy delays dissuade wage theft victims from complaining about labor violations to the state, particularly because people living paycheck to paycheck need financial relief urgently, said María Moreno, lead organizer with the Restaurant Opportunities Center of the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our workers are not in a position to wait years for damages,” said Moreno. “By then they might already be evicted from their home, or moved on from their job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moreno says she explains to workers that filing a claim with the Labor Commissioner is an option. But she also recommends other strategies to try to collect wages, such as drafting a demand letter to the employer outlining the violations, and organizing with other workers and advocates to pressure businesses to comply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11906926\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11906926\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-800x2102.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"2102\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-800x2102.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-1020x2679.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-160x420.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-585x1536.png 585w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-780x2048.png 780w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office.png 1225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner’s Office \u003ccite>(Chart by Matthew Green/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Yu, the agency’s assistant chief, said the pandemic forced the agency to halt in-person hearings for a year and a half, which slowed operations significantly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even before the pandemic, understaffing was a key problem at the Labor Commissioner’s Office, which is also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. In a 2019 \u003ca href=\"https://esd.dof.ca.gov/Documents/bcp/2021/FY2021_ORG7350_BCP3767.pdf\">budget request\u003c/a> to the state Legislature, agency officials said the wage adjudication unit was “drowning in stale wage claims awaiting hearing” and in desperate need of more hearing officers and other staff to process the cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the last two years, the agency referred more than 15,000 wage claims to a hearing — but resolved only half that number, according to the latest agency figures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the total number of wage claims filed did drop during the pandemic. There were 32,000 new cases filed in 2018 but just 19,000 in 2021 — possibly because businesses were shutting down or workers feared losing their jobs if they complained, officials said. But that didn’t help the agency catch up with the backlog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And staffing problems remain. Currently, there are just 64 hearing officer positions statewide, according to the state Department of Finance. Nearly 20% of those positions are vacant, said Yu.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Definitely a need for more staffing’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In addition to judging the wage claims, hearing officers must handle appeals from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11903291/its-so-unfair-major-delays-at-state-labor-agency-leave-many-wage-theft-victims-uncompensated\">employers who have been cited\u003c/a> by the Labor Commissioner. Those major investigations by the agency’s Bureau of Field Enforcement typically cover violations affecting dozens or hundreds of workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But over the last year, the agency has seen significant staff turnover, including in Oakland and San Francisco, which they described as “difficult-to-hire” areas partly because of the high cost of living.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is definitely a need for more staffing,” said Yu. “The hiring of our hearing officers remains a top priority.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added that the agency will get a budget increase in July that allows for four more hearing officer positions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even if the Labor Commissioner fills all the vacancies and adds those new officers, it won’t be enough staff to get rid of the backlog, said Veronica Chavez, the labor lawyer at Centro Legal de La Raza, who has many clients with claims in Oakland and San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do understand that the Labor Commissioner’s understaffed and we want to be supportive,” Chavez said. “But we also want this to be resolved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11906901\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11906901\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Veronica Chavez, an attorney with Centro Legal de la Raza, speaks with client Alexander about his wage claim in Oakland on Feb. 17, 2022. KQED is not using Alexander’s last name because he fears it could hurt his case. \u003ccite>(Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of her clients, an East Bay restaurant cook named Alexander, said he was only paid about $600 a week, though he often worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. His complaint estimates he’s owed more than $160,000. KQED is not disclosing his last name because he fears it could hurt his case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alexander said he was hopeful when he filed his claim back in September 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three and a half years later, he’s still waiting for a hearing. And not knowing if he’ll ever get paid has left him hopeless and depressed, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m praying to God that this can be resolved soon, that the state starts working harder so they can solve this problem,” said Alexander, who supports his wife and teenage son.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Jose state Assemblymember Ash Kalra, who chairs the Assembly’s Labor and Employment Committee, said he understands workers are frustrated that they’re not getting justice in a timely manner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Delays that go on for years are completely unacceptable and we have to do better,” Kalra told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalra said he is ready to work with the administration and push for more resources for the Labor Commissioner’s Office. He suggests making the job of hearing officer more attractive, so the agency can compete for candidates who might otherwise go to the private sector.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You also have to have the job classifications pay more,” he said. “That’s not something that can necessarily be legislated, but it is something the administration should look at.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The salary for new hearing officers, whose position is officially known as Deputy Labor Commissioner II, ranges from $6,500 to $8,360 per month, according to the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.calhr.ca.gov/Pay%20Scales%20Library/PS_Sec_15.pdf\">civil service pay scale\u003c/a>. Candidates must be college graduates with experience in industrial relations management or negotiation of labor agreements, among \u003ca href=\"https://www.calhr.ca.gov/state-hr-professionals/Pages/9502.aspx\">several requirements\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget includes $145 million for the Labor Commissioner’s Office, about a $10 million increase from the current fiscal year. The new money would fund 145 more positions across the agency, including for wage claim adjudication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The delays for hearings worsened during the pandemic, but staffing shortages are longstanding, a KQED investigation found. The Labor Commissioner's Oakland and San Francisco offices have struggled with some of the longest wait times.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California workers trying to hold their bosses to account for unpaid wages are waiting years just to get a hearing before the state watchdog agency tasked with investigating their cases, according to new data obtained by KQED that shows a system plagued by unprecedented delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wait times at the state Labor Commissioner’s Office especially hurt lower-income Californians who’ve been victims of wage theft, and they allow unscrupulous employers to continue cheating workers, advocates say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The delays in handling claims generally filed by individuals ballooned during the pandemic. But for years before that, the agency struggled with understaffing and was failing to meet its statutory requirement for timely hearings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Labor Commissioner’s Office is responsible for enforcing minimum wage, overtime pay and other labor laws. By law, it must hold a hearing within 120 days of a wage complaint being filed, unless the employer settles sooner. But the average wait time statewide is nearly seven times that long — more than two years, agency figures show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This almost encourages employers to continue exploiting,” said Veronica Chavez, who directs the workers’ rights legal practice at the nonprofit Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland. “The chances of there being repercussions seem to be very far down the line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2015, California workers waited 220 days on average for a hearing. That figure had nearly doubled to 417 days by 2019, and jumped again to an estimated 812 days as of last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to acknowledge that that is not a number that we want to be at, at the Labor Commissioner’s Office,” Daniel Yu, the agency’s assistant chief for enforcement, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do want to meet our statutory obligations and we want to make sure the process works effectively and efficiently, so the workers are able to get their hearings resolved as quickly as possible,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11906925\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11906925\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1-800x479.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"479\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1-800x479.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1-1020x611.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1-160x96.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1-1536x920.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/JPcCG-span-style-text-align-center-ca-wage-theft-claims-nbsp-span-span-style-text-align-center-estimated-average-days-from-docket-to-hearing-nbsp-span-1.png 1712w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner’s Office \u003ccite>(Chart by Matthew Green/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The severity of the problem varies among the Labor Commissioner’s 17 offices around the state, with some of the longest delays at the Oakland and San Francisco branches, data shows.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the average wait time in San Francisco was 968 days, while in Oakland it reached 1,160 days, more than three years — the worst in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s hard to wait for so long’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mirna Arana filed a complaint with the Oakland office in June 2018, charging her employer with owing her thousands of dollars in unpaid wages. Arana, who cleaned offices and homes for a small janitorial company called Maid No. 1 Services, said her shifts often lasted 12 hours, six days a week. But her employer only paid her for six hours a day, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I felt like I was being exploited,” said Arana, 33, in Spanish. “I felt bad for my co-workers, too, because [the company was] doing the same to them. But if we said anything, they would have fired us, and I needed the money to pay rent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11906893\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11906893 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53933_IMG_2360-Mirna-holds-Aaron-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mirna Arana holds her 3-year-old son at a park in Oakland on Feb. 17, 2022. It took years for the Labor Commissioner’s Office to hear her wage claim and rule that her old employer owes her nearly $183,000. But now it’s unclear when — or if — she’ll recover the money, she said.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until Arana reached out to Mujeres Unidas y Activas, a Latina immigrant community organizing group, that she realized she’d also been denied overtime pay and meal and rest breaks between 2015 and 2017. The organization connected her with a pro bono attorney who helped Arana submit a wage claim against the company and its owner, Rene A. Herrera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED’s efforts to reach Herrera for comment were unsuccessful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arana waited more than three years for a hearing on her case. Meanwhile, she and her family struggled to buy food and keep up with rent increases. They had to move three times, she said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Last December, a hearing officer with the Labor Commissioner finally ruled that Arana’s old boss owes her nearly $183,000 in unpaid wages. But by then, the company had filed for bankruptcy, she said. It’s unclear now when — or if — she will be able to collect her wages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard to wait for so long,” said Arana, who craves more stability for her sons, age 3 and 1. “The state should put more attention on these cases because [wage theft] is an injustice that’s hurting our community … We need change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Delays discourage workers from filing claims, advocates say\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner’s Wage Claim Adjudication unit was originally established as a quick, no-cost alternative to state court for wage theft victims to pursue justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/policies.htm\">claim process\u003c/a> includes a meeting between an agency deputy and both parties to try to reach an agreement. If that fails, the next step is a court-like hearing, where an officer will judge the claim. Employers may settle with workers at any time during the process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worker advocates say this kind of enforcement mechanism is vital to protecting workers’ rights and combat paycheck violations that rob Californians of \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/publication/wage-theft-2021/\">billions of dollars each year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the lengthy delays dissuade wage theft victims from complaining about labor violations to the state, particularly because people living paycheck to paycheck need financial relief urgently, said María Moreno, lead organizer with the Restaurant Opportunities Center of the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our workers are not in a position to wait years for damages,” said Moreno. “By then they might already be evicted from their home, or moved on from their job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moreno says she explains to workers that filing a claim with the Labor Commissioner is an option. But she also recommends other strategies to try to collect wages, such as drafting a demand letter to the employer outlining the violations, and organizing with other workers and advocates to pressure businesses to comply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11906926\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11906926\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-800x2102.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"2102\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-800x2102.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-1020x2679.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-160x420.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-585x1536.png 585w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office-780x2048.png 780w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/Per-office.png 1225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner’s Office \u003ccite>(Chart by Matthew Green/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Yu, the agency’s assistant chief, said the pandemic forced the agency to halt in-person hearings for a year and a half, which slowed operations significantly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even before the pandemic, understaffing was a key problem at the Labor Commissioner’s Office, which is also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. In a 2019 \u003ca href=\"https://esd.dof.ca.gov/Documents/bcp/2021/FY2021_ORG7350_BCP3767.pdf\">budget request\u003c/a> to the state Legislature, agency officials said the wage adjudication unit was “drowning in stale wage claims awaiting hearing” and in desperate need of more hearing officers and other staff to process the cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the last two years, the agency referred more than 15,000 wage claims to a hearing — but resolved only half that number, according to the latest agency figures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the total number of wage claims filed did drop during the pandemic. There were 32,000 new cases filed in 2018 but just 19,000 in 2021 — possibly because businesses were shutting down or workers feared losing their jobs if they complained, officials said. But that didn’t help the agency catch up with the backlog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And staffing problems remain. Currently, there are just 64 hearing officer positions statewide, according to the state Department of Finance. Nearly 20% of those positions are vacant, said Yu.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Definitely a need for more staffing’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In addition to judging the wage claims, hearing officers must handle appeals from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11903291/its-so-unfair-major-delays-at-state-labor-agency-leave-many-wage-theft-victims-uncompensated\">employers who have been cited\u003c/a> by the Labor Commissioner. Those major investigations by the agency’s Bureau of Field Enforcement typically cover violations affecting dozens or hundreds of workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But over the last year, the agency has seen significant staff turnover, including in Oakland and San Francisco, which they described as “difficult-to-hire” areas partly because of the high cost of living.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is definitely a need for more staffing,” said Yu. “The hiring of our hearing officers remains a top priority.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added that the agency will get a budget increase in July that allows for four more hearing officer positions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even if the Labor Commissioner fills all the vacancies and adds those new officers, it won’t be enough staff to get rid of the backlog, said Veronica Chavez, the labor lawyer at Centro Legal de La Raza, who has many clients with claims in Oakland and San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do understand that the Labor Commissioner’s understaffed and we want to be supportive,” Chavez said. “But we also want this to be resolved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11906901\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11906901\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/RS53935_IMG_2395-Veronica-and-Alexander-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Veronica Chavez, an attorney with Centro Legal de la Raza, speaks with client Alexander about his wage claim in Oakland on Feb. 17, 2022. KQED is not using Alexander’s last name because he fears it could hurt his case. \u003ccite>(Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of her clients, an East Bay restaurant cook named Alexander, said he was only paid about $600 a week, though he often worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. His complaint estimates he’s owed more than $160,000. KQED is not disclosing his last name because he fears it could hurt his case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alexander said he was hopeful when he filed his claim back in September 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three and a half years later, he’s still waiting for a hearing. And not knowing if he’ll ever get paid has left him hopeless and depressed, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m praying to God that this can be resolved soon, that the state starts working harder so they can solve this problem,” said Alexander, who supports his wife and teenage son.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Jose state Assemblymember Ash Kalra, who chairs the Assembly’s Labor and Employment Committee, said he understands workers are frustrated that they’re not getting justice in a timely manner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Delays that go on for years are completely unacceptable and we have to do better,” Kalra told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalra said he is ready to work with the administration and push for more resources for the Labor Commissioner’s Office. He suggests making the job of hearing officer more attractive, so the agency can compete for candidates who might otherwise go to the private sector.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You also have to have the job classifications pay more,” he said. “That’s not something that can necessarily be legislated, but it is something the administration should look at.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The salary for new hearing officers, whose position is officially known as Deputy Labor Commissioner II, ranges from $6,500 to $8,360 per month, according to the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.calhr.ca.gov/Pay%20Scales%20Library/PS_Sec_15.pdf\">civil service pay scale\u003c/a>. Candidates must be college graduates with experience in industrial relations management or negotiation of labor agreements, among \u003ca href=\"https://www.calhr.ca.gov/state-hr-professionals/Pages/9502.aspx\">several requirements\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget includes $145 million for the Labor Commissioner’s Office, about a $10 million increase from the current fiscal year. The new money would fund 145 more positions across the agency, including for wage claim adjudication.\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": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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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.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
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"masters-of-scale": {
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},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"morning-edition": {
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"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
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"onourwatch": {
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"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"order": 11
},
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"on-the-media": {
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"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
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},
"pbs-newshour": {
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
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},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
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"order": 14
},
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"planet-money": {
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
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},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"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",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
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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",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
"meta": {
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
"pri-the-world": {
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