Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Published: Jan. 28, 2015 – Updated: 8:49 p.m.
The union representing Riverside County sheriff’s deputies has asked a judge to prevent the county from requiring deputies to use body-mounted video cameras, asserting that officials failed to negotiate the use of the new equipment.
To read story by Brian Rokos in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Kelly Puente
Jan. 26, 2015 – Updated 4:25 p.m.
A group of California public school teachers petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to hear a case that would decide whether public employees should be required to pay union dues.
By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
01/26/2015 7:31 AM
After years of making concessions to Gov. Jerry Brown, California labor leaders had hoped that the fourth-and-final-term Democrat finally would be in a giving mood.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015 – 10:30 a.m.
In San Bernardino County, California, administrators are putting the writing on the proverbial wall.
By Jim Steinberg, San Bernardino Sun
Posted: 01/11/15, 5:23 PM PST |
COLTON >> Contract negotiations between county officials and its nursing union have resumed, officials said.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 01/10/15, 2:41 PM PST | Updated: 1 day ago
San Bernardino County’s contribution to its employee pensions will increase by $35.6 million in the next year, attributed to reduced rates on investment returns and increased life expectancies for pensioners, according to the county’s chief financial officer.
And those increased costs will shadow the county for at least the next 15 years.
By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
01/09/2015 11:38 PM
Gov. Jerry Brown says he wants state workers to begin contributing toward their retiree health benefits and that he will take up the issue at the bargaining table beginning this year.
By Stuart Pfeifer
January 1, 2014
Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris is jumping into a heated battle over the purchase of six struggling nonprofit Catholic medical centers in California by the fast-growing Ontario hospital chain Prime Healthcare Services Inc.
By Jeremiah Dobruck
Decmeber 16, 2014
Costa Mesa police union suggested ways to catch councilmen in compromising positions, according to emails
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 12/15/14, 9:13 PM PST | Updated: 15 secs ago
About 30 nurses from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center will address the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Tuesday following a two-day strike last week in protest of low pay and poor working conditions.
Saturday, December 13, 2014 – 11:45 a.m.
The California Nurses Association (CNA), successfully and legally, pulled off a two-day walkout at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center this week.
By Steven Greenhut
Dec. 12, 2014
The arrest this week of two ex-cop private investigators — charged with felonies related to their alleged attempt to frame a Costa Mesa city councilman for a false DUI — is about more than the disturbing tactics of two hired guns. It offers insight into the way some police unions across California intimidate political opponents into silence.
Posted: Thursday, December 11, 2014 1:11 pm | Updated: 7:59 pm, Thu Dec 11, 2014.
By ADAM ELMAHREK
The Orange County District Attorney’s office Thursday charged two private investigators with multiple felonies related to their alleged efforts to trap two Costa Mesa City Council members in embarrassing or illegal acts, according to a DA news release.
By Evan Halper
December 11, 2014
More than 1 million Americans who were promised secure, predictable retirement income probably will see part of their monthly benefit checks evaporate as Congress moves to stabilize some private pension systems veering toward insolvency.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014 – 04:00 p.m.
A California appellate court has refused to intervene in a ongoing two-day strike by San Bernardino County Nurses.
By Jim Steinberg, The Sun
Posted: 12/09/14, 9:56 AM PST | Updated: 59 secs ago
COLTON >> Hundreds of county nurses did not show up for work Tuesday as the nurses union began a two-day strike, demanding higher wages and protesting working conditions.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014 – 10:00 a.m.
A two day strike by more than 1,000 San Bernardino County nurses is being felt across the Inland Empire with emergency and other patients being deferred to other area hospitals.
BY SALVADOR HERNANDEZ / STAFF WRITER
Published: Dec. 8, 2014 Updated: 9:49 p.m.
Hundreds of Orange County deputies and investigators will grade their bosses at the Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Offices, then publicly share those opinions in the union’s monthly newsletter.
Monday, December 8, 2014 – 11:00 a.m.
A San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge has refused to block a planned strike by county-employed nurses set for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Sunday, December 7, 2014 – 10:00 a.m.
San Bernardino County’s labor relations continues down the path of obstruction and disharmony.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
12/05/2014 10:12 PM
When Democrats lost their legislative supermajorities last month, it doomed even the very faint chance that legislators would enact the hefty tax increases liberal groups yearn to impose.
Friday, December 5, 2014 – 03:30 p.m.
A San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge has denied a request for an injunction prohibiting a two-day walk out of the county’s 1,100 nurses.
By Jim Steinberg, The Sun
Posted: 12/04/14, 5:28 PM PST | Updated: 28 secs ago
San Bernardino County officials are seeking to block a planned strike by its 1,100 member nurses union, saying a two-day event next week “could cost taxpayers millions of dollars” if the county is forced to hire temporary nurses.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 11/27/14, 11:13 AM PST |
The former general manager of the San Bernardino County Public Employees Association, responding to a lawsuit filed against him by the union, denies allegations he misappropriated or embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 11/24/14, 7:30 PM PST | Updated: 47 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> The city’s administration pushed back Monday against a suggestion by the fire union that budget cuts may have contributed to the death of two children in a fire on 14th Street last week.
by SCOTT SORIANO
Posted 11.19.2014
The California Correctional Peace Officers Association was once one of the most visible – and powerful – political forces in Sacramento. It thrived with the state’s vast prison expansion and it muscled concessions from Democratic and Republican governors alike.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 11/17/14, 3:35 PM PST | Updated: 57 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> A move to ask the Sheriff’s Department to submit a bid to police the city was dropped Monday at the request of Mayor Carey Davis.
Saturday, November 15, 2104 – 12:00 p.m.
San Bernardino City Hall is once again making overtures in regards to the outsourcing of police services to the Sheriff’s Department.
By Ed Mendel
Monday, November 3, 2014
The city charter has forced San Bernardino to give police two pay raises since declaring bankruptcy, one costing $1 million and the other $1.3 million. Now voters are being asked Tuesday to change the charter and prevent a third automatic pay raise.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 10/23/14, 8:24 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> The cost of police salary increases required by the city Charter Section 186 will surpass $1.3 million for the 2014-15 year, according to City Manager Allen Parker.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 10/21/14, 7:29 PM PDT | Updated: 56 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> A decades-old provision in a city charter rarely attracts this kind of passion, but then rarely is there a history like the one surrounding Measure Q’s attempt to reform Charter Section 186.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 10/17/14, 5:08 PM PDT | Updated: 48 secs ago
San Bernardino County’s largest labor union filed a lawsuit Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court against its former general manager, alleging he embezzled or misappropriated more than $700,000 before he was fired in 2013.
Friday, October 17, 2014 – 08:55 a.m.
A shoe has finally dropped on a former executive of San Bernardino County’s largest public employee labor union.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 10/15/14, 9:10 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> Police union claims that the city’s management “misinterpreted” a tentative agreement are untrue, Mayor Carey Davis said Wednesday — it’s the union that’s trying to change the contract.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 10/14/14, 11:39 PM PDT | Updated: 49 secs ago
The police officer association’s nearly yearlong truce with the city is over, the union’s attorney said Wednesday in a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Saturday, October 11, 2014 – 10:30 a.m.
Opposition to a San Bernardino charter amendment targeting the way salaries of police officers and firefighters are calculated is now in full battle mode.
By Chad Terhune
October 10, 2014
Escalating its battle with organized labor, Prime Healthcare Services Inc. reached a deal to acquire six nonprofit Catholic hospitals in California, including St. Vincent and St. Francis medical centers in Los Angeles County.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 10/06/14, 8:36 PM PDT | Updated: 1 min ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> Mayor Carey Davis broke a tie late Monday to impose new terms and conditions of employment on the city’s firefighters.
Monday, October 6, 2014 – 09:00 a.m.
The revamped San Bernardino leadership had an opportunity to present to voters meaningful charter reform.
But it didn’t!
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 10/01/14, 9:17 PM PDT | Updated: 31 mins ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> A tentative agreement between the city and the police union that both sides trumpeted months ago has broken down, union president Steve Turner said Wednesday.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014 – 03:00 p.m.
All signs show the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is preparing to enter-the runoff election for San Bernardino County’s Fourth Supervisorial District.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 09/19/14, 4:12 PM PDT | Updated: 23 secs ago
RIVERSIDE >> U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury on Friday slightly dialed back the city’s declaration of victory at its previous hearing here, issuing a scaled-down order that still allows the city to reject its current contract with the firefighters union.
By Tim Reid
RIVERSIDE Calif. Thu Sep 11, 2014 7:51pm EDT
(Reuters) – The city of San Bernardino, California, may impose cuts to its firefighters overtime and pension benefits in a bid to reach a bankruptcy exit plan, the federal judge overseeing the case said on Thursday.
By Sandra Emerson, Redlands Daily Facts
Posted: 09/11/14, 4:41 PM PDT |
YUCAIPA >> The city has reached an agreement with its managers and supervisors.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 09/09/14, 9:55 AM PDT | Updated: 47 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> Nurses for Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and other San Bernardino County facilities protested Tuesday outside the county Government Center, alleging static labor negotiations between the California Nurses Association and the county are jeopardizing patient safety.
By Marc Lifsher
September 7, 2014
Organized labor is having a good year at the Capitol.
The Democrat-dominated Legislature passed and sent to the governor three of four union-priority bills. And Gov. Jerry Brown has already indicated he’ll sign at least one of them.
By Jim Steinberg, The Sun
Posted: 08/14/14, 8:29 PM PDT | Updated: 49 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> The city and the San Bernardino Police Officers Association announced to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury that they have reached a tentative long-term agreement, officials said.
By Abby Sewell
August 12, 2014
By Rick Orlov, Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 08/12/14, 6:31 PM PDT |
The city reached a tentative agreement Tuesday with the Los Angeles Police Protective League over a portion of its new proposed contract that deals with the 1,000 officers hired over the past three years who were paid less than their counterparts.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014 – 05:30 p.m.
Last week the San Bernardino, California City Council, on a split 4-3 vote, agreed to place a charter reform measure on the November ballot. A measure aimed directly at its public safety employees.
Monday, August 11, 2014 – 09:30 a.m.
Only in backwards and bankrupt San Bernardino can this type of politics continue unabated.
Once again the city council, under new Mayor Carey Davis, is split down a 4-3 divide. A decades-long problem affecting the beleaguered city’s government.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 07/29/14, 8:44 PM PDT | Updated: 57 secs ago
RIVERSIDE >> The fire union didn’t get permission to sue in state court over alleged legal violations related to Fire Department cuts, but its attorneys can make those arguments in bankruptcy court, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury said Tuesday.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
and Ryan Carter, San Bernardino Sun
Posted: 07/29/14, 7:38 PM PDT | Updated: 24 secs ago
Members of the county’s largest union say they are being threatened with expulsion for pushing for new representation.
Joel Rubin, David Zahniser
July 12, 2014
Signaling frustration over issues surrounding pay and discipline, Los Angeles police officers rejected a proposed one-year contract extension reached with Mayor Eric Garcetti and city negotiators.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 07/10/14, 7:29 PM PDT |
RIVERSIDE >> San Bernardino’s bankruptcy case crept forward Thursday with the setting of deadlines related to the city’s issues with the police and fire unions as officials work to piece together a plan that will take it out of bankruptcy.
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Jul. 9, 2014 – 4:58 pm
California’s dominant healthcare union has taken the “extraordinary” step of requesting that elected officials refrain from accepting political contributions from an Ontario-based hospital chain and its chief executive.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jul. 7, 2014 – 12:00 am
At any given moment, dozens of comatose bills float around the Legislature – vessels to be filled with whatever the powers-that-be want to enact quickly and semi-clandestinely.
WASHINGTON — Jun 30, 2014, 10:08 AM ET
By SAM HANANEL
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court dealt a blow to public sector unions Monday, ruling that thousands of home health care workers in Illinois cannot be required to pay fees that help cover a union’s costs of collective bargaining.
By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jun. 30, 2014 – 10:49 pm
Last Modified: Tuesday, Jul. 1, 2014 – 7:39 am
The U.S. Supreme Court chipped away at government-employee union power on Monday by ruling that Illinois home-support workers paid with public money can reject union membership.
Monday, June 30, 2014 – 09:45 a.m.
The United States Supreme Court has fired a shot across the bow of labor unions, who collect mandatory dues under agency shop agreements.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 06/28/14, 11:04 PM PDT | Updated: 1 min ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> The fire union continues to accuse the city of keeping $75 million “hidden in misleading or unmarked investment accounts” despite city officials’ position that the money was openly posted and legally can’t be used to prevent cuts to public services like the Fire Department.
Thursday, June 26, 2014 – 07:00 p.m.
A holdout San Bernardino County bargaining unit, represented by the San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA), rejected a contract offer for the third time on Wednesday evening, according to the union’s website.
By Jeremy B. White
jwhite@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jun. 23, 2014 – 9:02 pm
Last Modified: Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2014 – 7:53 am
With the governor’s controversial Delta tunnel project a key part of the debate, lawmakers on Monday failed to advance a leading Senate proposal to put a revised water bond on the November ballot.
Monday, June 23, 2014 – 09:30 a.m.
Hats off to San Bernardino County government for pulling off a masterful victory over its largest union last week.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 06/19/14, 8:10 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> Five of six bargaining units of the San Bernardino Public Employees Association ratified a new contract with the county on Thursday following a ballot count met with criticism from opponents of the contract.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 06/19/14, 8:09 PM PDT |
RIVERSIDE >> San Bernardino and police union officials think they’re within a month of an agreement, but the city is so far from progress with the firefighters union that a U.S. bankruptcy judge released that union from mediation Thursday.
By Ed Mendel
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Full funding of the troubled California State Teachers Retirement System was approved by the Legislature last weekend, with most of the additional $5 billion coming from school districts that get no offsetting money from the state.
Phillip Matier And Andrew Ross
Updated 2:01 pm, Sunday, June 15, 2014
Rarely has a major court decision been met with such stony silence by California politicians as the ruling declaring that the state’s teacher tenure laws hurt poor and minority-heavy schools and are unconstitutional.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 06/12/14, 6:59 PM PDT | Updated: 13 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> A Superior Court judge on Thursday granted a restraining order against Service Employees International Union Local 721 on behalf of the San Bernardino County Public Employees Association.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
June 12, 2014
Against the backdrop of a ruling declaring California’s teacher dismissal rules unconstitutional, the Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown legislation speeding the teacher firing process.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jun. 10, 2014 – 10:40 pm
Last Modified: Wednesday, Jun. 11, 2014 – 8:13 am
A sociopolitical bomb exploded in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday when a judge declared that five key job protection laws for teachers are unconstitutional because they violate the rights of 6 million public school students to receive effective educations.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 – 02:00 p.m.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has commenced the process to decertify the San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA), as the designated union to represent several San Bernardino County employee bargaining units.
Published: June 6, 2014 Updated: 10:39 p.m.
Union-backed candidates and ballot measures don’t win every time in Riverside County, but this week’s district attorney race was a lesson in what drives unions to a candidate, and candidates to unions.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Thursday, May 22, 2014 – 04:00 p.m.
It was only a matter of time.
San Bernardino County’s largest union, the San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA), now faces a serious decertification effort from the Service Employees International Union, an AFL-CIO member.
Published: May 21, 2014 – Updated: 11:05 p.m.
Southern California’s three largest supermarket chains and the union that represents their store workers have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, bringing several months of often-intense negotiations to what will likely be a successful conclusion.
To read story by Jack Katzanek in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 05/20/14, 7:05 PM PDT | Updated: 36 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> Dozens of San Bernardino County workers, unhappy with a new contract proposal, expressed concern and hope at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday. The concern: That the county’s fiscal health is coming at their expense. The hope: Fair wages, and a better contract.
By Doug Saunders, The Sun
Posted: 05/19/14, 9:37 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> Some members outside of the San Bernardino Public Employees Association office Monday night were visibly angry and frustrated with the lack of representation they say they’ve been receiving.
Published: May 17, 2014 Updated: 7:38 p.m.
Members of a Riverside County public employee union will get $16 million in raises and other benefits over two years to settle grievances the union brought over its 2012 contract.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Friday, May 16, 2014 – 10:00 a.m.
The State Bar of California has closed an investigation into several lawyers of former Upland-based law firm Lackie, Dammeier, McGill and Ethir.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 05/14/14, 8:18 PM PDT |
Dissatisfied with their leadership and a proposed new contract with the county, members of the San Bernardino Public Employees Association are pushing other members to vote “no” on the contract and “yes” to new representation by another union.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014 – 02: 15 p.m.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has mounted a full-court press in an effort to takeover San Bernardino County’s largest labor union.
By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 05/08/14, 10:14 PM PDT |
An independent committee, sponsored by the Service Employees International Union, is spending half of a million dollars in support of Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod’s bid for Fourth District County Supervisor.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 05/06/14, 11:28 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> The citizen charter review committee voted 7-2 Tuesday night to recommend that the City Council ask voters to repeal Section 186 and instead set salaries for police and firefighters by collective bargaining.
By Jim Steinberg, The Sun
Posted: 05/01/14, 6:50 PM PDT |
COLTON >> More than 400 registered nurses picketed Thursday in front of Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.
“The primary issues are patient care and nursing safety,” said Jed Smith, a labor representative with the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United.
Corina Knoll
April 30, 2014, 7:50 p.m.
Months after it unsuccessfully sought to stop the Los Angeles Times from publishing information gleaned from officers’ personnel files, a union representing Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies has been ordered to pay the newspaper more than $41,000 in legal fees.