ABC Unified School District teachers are on their third day of a ‘work slowdown’, an organized effort to bring attention to certain board members who are refusing to negotiate salary increases, as of February 9, 2022. Every year, ABC School District and teachers represented by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Local 2317, are supposed to negotiate a compensation package that covers cost of living and salary adjustments.  But since the pandemic, the teachers have not had any salary compensation, despite an increased workload. Almost all the blame seems to be placed on current Board majority, and teachers are asking for parents’ help by leaving messages to the school board that the District needs to negotiate a salary increase for ABC teachers. According to the teachers, Dr. Chris Apodaca, Ph.D (Trustee Area 7) and Dr. Olga Rios, Ph.D (Trustee Area 6) are the most supportive of the board members. Board members are often publicly supportive, but when it comes to action, those...

 Artesia, California - Sheriffs from the LA County Public Corruptions Unit have served at least one warrant to the City of Artesia, asking for electronic equipment, documents, records and other communications between former City Manager Bill Rawlings, a staff member, and two councilmembers (Tony Lima and Monica Manalo).   There are anonymous but unsubstantiated reports of other warrants served as well, including to the Rawlings residence. The warrant was served on December 14. Of interest, the warrant demands any records, reports, documents, and communications that took place between the above named individuals during the 17-day application period for the City Council election (July 28-August 13). The warrant also mentions that this investigation is for a possible felony that was committed. "This warrant seems to be related to allegations of election fraud that I have heard about," said Andrew Perry, President of AFSCME Local 1520, the staff union. "I don't know the...

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.

  Managers and analysts put their necks on the line, and went public with their concerns about the health of the City, and how City Manager Bill Rawlings is affecting it. Councilmember Tony Lima looks on in the background. Artesia, California - A powerful scene unfolded earlier last week.   On October 5, almost every Artesia city employee attended a special council meeting and risked their livelihoods to publicly express their concerns about how City Manager Bill Rawlings is detrimentally affecting the health of the City. The purpose of the special council meeting was Rawlings' performance evaluation. Three council members - Rene Trevino, Melissa Ramoso, and Ali Sajjad Taj, thanked the managers and supervisors for their words, but Councilmember Monica Manalo defended Rawlings in a public statement.  The meeting ended with the City Attorney Hongdao Nguyen reporting 'No Reportable Action.'  The following week, Rawlings still went to the office at least once, and reta...

Artesia Employees, represented by AFSCME Local 1520, and a newly formed Managers union, declared that they have 'no confidence' in City Manager Bill Rawlings and essentially state that he is 'unfit for office.' Because they are all taking action with concerted union activity, they are protected state law. Want to unionize? Start here first.