70 UCI Medical Center Surgeries Rescheduled, Patients Transferred Due to Strike: Update

See the update at the end of this post about a UC official claiming the two-day strike of patient care workers will cost $20 million, the union countering with examples of UC waste and deficiencies, and UCI Medical Center saying 70 surgeries have been rescheduled due to the work stoppage.

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ORIGINAL POST, MAY 20, 10:32 A.M.: Today, a Sacramento County judge will decide how many patient care workers can participate in strikes against the University of California's five medical centers.

Tomorrow, expect to see picketers outside UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange.

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Newport Beach Police Chief Accused of Slimy, Retaliatory Conduct in New Lawsuit

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To protect and serve . . . ourselves?
In February 2009, Newport Beach Police Department Sgt. John Hougan acted honorably by testifying truthfully in a civil lawsuit about how his bosses had discriminated against a fellow officer they erroneously assumed was gay and the abused officer, whose promotions had been sabotaged, won the $1.7 million case.

Police department brass didn't discipline any of the offending, high-ranking officers in the Neil Harvey lawsuit. But Hougan--an acclaimed, low-key, veteran cop with a blemish-free, two-decade record of superb public service--found himself called "traitor" and shunned by other cops eager to win favor from management. A punk in the department even taped a picture of a bomb to his desk.

Strange, unsettling things began happening as well to Hougan's wife, Christine, a veteran police dispatcher in the department. She claims chief Jay Johnson repeatedly violated socially acceptable normals by speaking to her within a few inches of her face, breathing on her neck while she was on duty, making sexually-loaded comments and ridiculing her husband in his absence. Johnson even told others that she harbored wife swapping desires.

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UCI Medical Center Workers Prepare for Strike Vote; UC Says Union Ducking Pension Reform

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Thirteen thousand patient care technical workers from the University of California's $6.9 billion medical system, which includes UC Irvine and UCI Medical Center in Orange, will start taking strike votes April 30.

After 10 months of negotiations and more than three months of post-impasse proceedings, the vote has been authorized for April 30-May 2, according to local 3299 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

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Honda Center Concession Workers Will Serve Up Petitions to Ducks Fans at Tonight's Game

Categories: Labor
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The Anaheim Ducks will face off against the Colorado Avalanche at home tonight as the playoffs loom on the horizon. Honda Center food stand workers will take the occasion to reach out to hockey fans. 

They're concerned about the fact that Aramark's contract with the venue expires this summer and Anaheim Arena Management is set to take over. Workers fearful of losing their jobs pleaded their case last month before the City Council to no apparent avail.

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Honda Center Workers Will Bring Contract Concerns to Anaheim City Council Tonight

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The Anaheim Ducks have been back on the ice since the NHL lockout ended earlier this year. The Honda Center, where they play their home games, still harbors worries about the future employment of other workers. Meanwhile, those who run the arena's concession stands are on the edge of an expiring contract and don't know if they will be back next season.

"I need this job," Anaheim resident Jeanette Lister says in a UNITE HERE Local 11 press release. "But the Honda Center also needs me. This is a fast moving job, but I know how to keep my stand running efficiently."

She and her fellow coworkers will be taking concerns about the future status of their employment to the Anaheim City Council meeting this evening.

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Workers Picket Local Contractor Who Called ICE on Two Employees That Filed Wage Complaint

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Picketing workers assembled along Orangethorpe Avenue in Placentia today outside Prime Waterproofing Incorporated. In an action sponsored by Chican@s Unidos, they held signs calling out local contractor Paul LaHaye as a rat for questionable practices in an ongoing labor dispute.

As owner of the company, LaHaye was hit with wage violation complaints from Jesus and Jose Ramirez, two employees who filed them on September 5, 2012. Prime Waterproofing was formally served a month later. Shortly after, LaHaye contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the father and son from Norwalk.

"My dad actually just got his work permit," Jose Ramirez tells the Weekly. But as a 19-year-old, he himself was still in the process of applying for a work permit under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) memorandum. Lawyers with Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld, the firm representing the workers, took the issue very seriously, warning the family to leave their house and not to open the door if ICE agents arrived.

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LA-OC Unemployment Fraudster Thought He'd Get Sweetheart Punishment Until Judge Said Otherwise

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Ask about it at work
In 2009, convicted felon Robert Langley (a.k.a "Bobby") and Navesia Samuels thought they'd concocted a foolproof criminal plan in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

The pair invented imaginary businesses, imaginary employees, imaginary payrolls, and then abused American Family Life Assurance Company (AFLAC) and government disability coffers with fraudulent unemployment claims.

With the aid of the FBI, California Department of Insurance and the inspector general at the Social Security Administration, a special agent with the United States Department of Labor assigned to probe labor racketeering unraveled the conspiracy and filed charges last year.

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UC Irvine Symposium Looks at a Post-Labor Union World

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With labor unions losing ground around the world, a two-day symposium kicking off this morning at UC Irvine has gathered together academics, advocates and labor lawyers to explore a post-union world.

Presentations are tasked to answer these questions: What are alternatives to or improvements upon the Wagner Act model of majority unions and workplace collective bargaining? What institutional structures could be or have been created to provide dignity, opportunity and protection to work?

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OC Labor Calls for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (aka Amnesty) at Press Conference in Anaheim

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AFL-CIO sign
Hundreds of union members and allies rallied in front of Anaheim City Hall today to announce their support for "comprehensive immigration reform," which everyone and their cousin knows as amnesty. The press conference was called by the Orange County Labor Federation and featured leaders from the religious, union, and immigrant communities as speakers.

Latino and union voters were loyal and pivotal in re-electing President Barack Obama to a second term, but his administration has presided over more deportations than any other in history. The big question for the rally: Would today's launch firmly pressure the Executive Office or be hushed in tone about the elephant (or donkey) in the room?

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Frito-Lay Gets Huge Bill In California Sales Staff Wage Cheating Case

Categories: Court, Labor
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Food for the fun of it!
Frito-Lay, makers of the popular Fritos, Tostitos and Doritos chips, routinely cheated more than 2,100 sales employees out of money owed for overtime work in California, according to a class action lawsuit. 

Earlier this year, the Texas-based snack food company agreed to settle the case before an Orange County jury inside the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse could hear the issues by promising to craft new company rules that don't violate workers' rights laws.

Now, a federal judge in Santa Ana has handed Frito-Lay a $737,000 bill.
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