Cerritos, California - Cerritos has been keeping this under the radar, but it is currently reviewing its charter. This is an excellent opportunity for residents to ask for something like adding district representation of City Councilmembers. Cerritos is a big city, with a population of just over 50,000 residents. However, in Cerritos the people who often win a Council seat   are the individuals who have the support of the big business ventures, like the malls or especially the automobile sales lobby. That won’t change in future elections, because money in politics is unfortunately a reality in American politics. But by having Councilmembers from specific districts, it at raises the accountability of an individual Councilmember.   A Councilmember representing a certain district will be answerable to the residents of his/her district, and if residents aren’t happy, it’s a lot easier to vote the person out. It will also be a lot easier for grass roots, aka ‘unbought’ candidates ...

President Jamie Rodriguez and the Lawndale City Employees of AFSCME Local 1895 voted 'No Confidence'  in City Manager Kevin Chun. Lawndale, California - Lawndale employees gave a strong ’No Confidence’ vote against City Manager Kevin Chun. The declaration of no confidence, along with reasons for the vote, was delivered in a letter to their City Council.  On Monday night (Nov 8) a special City Council meeting was called to review Chun’s performance. However, no reportable action was taken. City Council could not comment on the matter, either. “The Brown Act prohibits any of us from providing any additional information at this time, but when the matter is resolved it will be reported as such in open session,” said Lawndale Councilwomen Bernadette Suarez. Jamie Rodriguez, president of the Lawndale employee union, AFSCME Local 1895, explained some of the back story on the vote.  “Kevin is one of those city managers who didn’t take input from staff, and who made people f...

  Pasadena, California - Eye on Pioneer's Andrew Perry, a newly elected Vice President for AFSCME Council 36, joined an alliance of unions rallying to support striking nurses and medical professionals from UNAC and UHCP.  Other allied unions included United Steelworkers, AFSCME, and the Teamsters. Also supporting was the LA Federation of Labor and the AFL-CIO. The rally was on October 30, 2021.