Artesia, California - Union President Andrew Perry  confronted the Artesia City Council during the public comments segment of the regular City Council meeting. Union President Andrew Perry (Artesia Local 1520 - AFSCME) confronts the City Council during the public comments segment of the regular City Council meeting. In particular, Mr. Perry addresses the votes of three councilmembers who sought to prevent future reports against the practices of City Manager Bill Rawlings, by removing a clause from a policy that made it easier for employees to report. Several employees had already given reports about their experiences with the City Manager using this policy. This is the public comment in its entirety: Mayor and City Council, my name is Andrew Perry, and I’m an employee of the City and President of AFSCME Local 1520 - our employee union. In November 2020, the City Council adopted a policy which essentially opened up another avenue for employees to report workplace bul...

  Artesia, California - Three Artesia councilmembers appeared to have violated the Ralph M. Brown Act. The Brown Act is a California law that governs how public meetings by legislative bodies (like a City Council), and ensures the public’s right to participate in these meetings. Section 14 of the Brown Act says: A person may not disclose confidential information that has been acquired by being present in a closed session authorized by Section 54956.7, 54956.8, 54956.86, 54956.87, 54956.9, 54957, 54957.6, 54957.8, or 54957.10 to a person not entitled to receive it, unless the legislative body authorizes disclosure of that confidential information. At the June 14 Council meeting, three councilmembers admitted during the meeting that they discussed in closed session, allegations that the City Manager Bill Rawlings had done some sort of wrongdoings. Context Behind the Violation At the time, the City Council was trying to strike down a policy that allowed employees to report unethical...

  Project Unity, a volunteer group comprised of Gahr, Cerritos, and Whitney High School students, hosted its first major event on July 29-31. It was a food drive to benefit the Long Beach Rescue Mission. Eye on Pioneer's video  crew examined how the community of Artesia got together to help make this event so successful. While the food drive was ultimately led and organized by Project Unity, there were several other groups who partnered together to put this event together. Local 1520 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (the City employee union) hosted the event, provided donations, and even helped chaperone the event. The Artesia Sunrise Masonic Lodge provided the space and facilities for the event. This was a loose coalition of volunteer groups who banded together under the banner of 'United Artesians'. Many residents donated canned goods and personal hygiene items, including Mayor Rene Trevino, Mayor Pro Tem Melissa Ramoso, and Councilmem...