Social housing — public or nonprofit-managed housing that accommodates a mix of household income ranges — might be a new addition to the empowered union worker’s toolkit. The concept is gaining popularity thanks in part to the development of Ventana Residences.
Property owners are starting to demand mandatory vaccination as a requirement to work on sites. In response, union attorneys and business managers are negotiating to ensure union members have alternatives such as testing and masking. With general contractors trying to push the cost onto subcontractors, union attorneys are also clarifying who will be responsible for the cost and record-keeping requirements of testing.
Labor Day can mean different things to different people, but for the hardworking folks in the Building Trades, it’s more than just another national holiday. To workers, Labor Day isn’t simply a convenient date to mark the end of summer, and it isn’t merely an excuse to fire up the grill and toss back a few cold ones on an otherwise random Monday afternoon.
Wage theft, which can take many forms, is becoming a big problem for non-union San Franciscans who work in residential and commercial construction. But union workers aren’t immune from these exploitative practices, either. The pandemic has only made the problem worse, thanks to the many shutdowns, slowdowns, and lost opportunities suffered during the past 16 months.
SF Labor Council Community Services Director Tom Ryan and Program Director Carlos Porras founded We Rise SF six years ago because they wanted to help immigrant workers have more of a place in the labor movement. The center conducts outreach to help immigrant workers understand their rights and the steps they can take to enhance their status, security, and stability in the United States.
After years of nebulous discussion about achieving a “just transition” for workers shifting from laboring in a fossil fuel-based economy to a green energy-based one, a new report from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s (Umass) Political Economy Research Institute now gives a clearer of view of what it will truly take to achieve such a transition in the Golden State.
Since her election to Alameda City Council in November 2016, Malia Vella has become a voice for labor and the union movement in local politics. Now, with her run to represent California State Assembly District 18, she has her sights set on bringing that voice to a larger platform.
Please note the regular election of officers of the San Francisco Building & Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, will take place this July, pursuant to Article V of the Bylaws. Nominations will be taken orally, from the floor, at the first regular delegate meeting on July 1, 2021, at 5 p.m.
