The public has been slow to learn about details surrounding controversial investments made by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Now a public-interest legal group is suing CalPERS to ensure key documents related to a failed $100 million investment come to light.
Category: Labor
Posted inArts & Culture, Labor, Neighborhoods, Parks & Open Space
Restored Depression-era maritime murals recall heyday of public art
The Aquatic Park Bathhouse Building at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park at Beach and Polk streets is emerging from a rehabilitation project with a noticeable facelift. The Bathhouse was built in 1939 by the Works Project Administration and became the park’s Maritime Museum in 1951. The building, which was designed to resemble the bridge of an ocean liner, is teeming with sea-themed art, none more striking that Hilaire Hiler’s “Undersea Life” mural, which has also been restored.
Posted inCity Hall, Labor, News, Transportation
Muni drivers try to shift the bulls-eye
Hands clasped and brows furrowed, Gabriel Desalla sat quietly for the first half of the Bay Area Transportation Advisory Committee meeting. He is one of 2,172 union workers in the transit agency who are under increasing pressure to make concessions that would restore recently cut Muni services. In a small conference room in Bayview-Hunters Point San Francisco, Desalla waits for committee president, Emanuel Andreas, to open the floor for discussion. The topic, as usual, is the ongoing battle over salaries, health benefits and work rules. The SFMTA says that reforms are needed to improve financial efficiency but many Muni drivers are resistant to the changes proposed. The concessions the city has sought include changes to healthcare benefits for dependents and allowing part-time drivers.
Posted inEconomy & Business, Education, Government & Politics, Labor, News
University of California invests $53 million in two diploma mills owned by a regent
A year ago, Richard C. Blum, then the chairman of the Regents of the University of California, spoke at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference 2009, held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The corporate confab was hosted by Michael Milken, the “junk bond king” who went to prison in the aftermath of the savings and loan fiasco in the 1980s. Milken, who is barred from securities trading for life by federal regulators, has since recreated himself as a proponent of investing in for-profit educational corporations, an industry which regularly comes under government and media scrutiny in response to allegations of fraud made by dissatisfied students.
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Posted inEconomy & Business, Government & Politics, Health, Housing, Labor, Land use, News, Treasure Island
Homebuilder Lennar uses federal taxpayer funds to balance its books
In 2006, things were looking good for Lennar, America’s second-biggest homebuilder. That year, before the U.S. housing market’s epic collapse, the Miami-based giant pulled down $15.6 billion in revenues and closed sales on 29,568 homes. The ink was just drying on a massive and potentially lucrative deal to transform Treasure Island with new housing complexes, and the well-connected Lennar already had secured a deal to develop the Hunters Point Shipyard that the Navy was turning over to San Francisco.
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Posted inArts & Culture, City Hall, Labor
Historic Civic Center building to be leased to music promotion company
The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to lease the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for 20 years to a music promotion company planning big renovations to create an improved concert venue. The agreement will bring the city $100,000 annually, but some workers are left wondering if they will be retained by the new building management.
Posted inArts & Culture, Immigration, Labor, Neighborhoods, Public Safety
Sit, lie, get deported? (graphic novel)
Reporting by Shawn Gaynor; illustration by Andrew Goldfarb Sit, Lie, Get Deported? (graphic novel) Read more…
Posted inCity Hall, Economy & Business, Education, Health, Labor, Neighborhoods, News, Technology
Heart, neuroscience buildings to boost UCSF economic impact
The University of California, San Francisco, is slated to begin several large new projects at the Mission Bay medical center, including buildings dedicated to cardiovascular and neuroscience research. UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, who shared a new report on the impact the university has had on the city, said the university is the second biggest employer in the city.
Posted inLabor
Domestic workers’ call for reform aired in City Hall
Fair treatment of domestic workers rose to the top of the agenda of San Francisco leaders this week, unleashing an emotional response from workers who said their contributions to society were under-valued. “Domestic workers are the backbone of the economy, working to ensure the health of others and freeing others to work in the workforce,” said Supervisor Eric Mar. Read more…
Posted inEducation, Labor, News
SF schools negotiations go to mediator; shorter school year likely
The San Francisco Unified School District and its teachers union have turned to a mediator for help in resolving a $113 million budget shortfall. Both sides are calling for a shorter school year, but disagree on many of the financial points in the new budget.
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