Labor
The Oakland City Council began the process of scaling down the city budget last night in response to the projected loss of $28 million in redevelopment funding.
The Oakland City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee approved a community benefits package for the project at its meeting on Tuesday afternoon, moving the item to the city council for approval and giving the council the chance to decide if it wants to approve a series of recommendations aimed at making sure Oakland residents—and especially those who live in West Oakland—have access to the 3,000 jobs the project is expected to create.
The idea behind the concept of “mutual matching” is to find the best fit between a teacher and the school community in which they work. That concept is on the bargaining table now in discussions between the officials from the Oakland Unified School District and Oakland Education Association, as they discuss a proposal that would change the way teachers are assigned to schools in the district.
Oakland’s Chinatown has been hit hard by the recession. Fewer and fewer customers shop there, and job opportunities have been hurt. Food-related industries have suffered greatly, especially the small markets and restaurants.
The owners of the Oakland Tribune have sent a cease and desist letter to the publisher of the “Occupied Oakland Tribune,” a newspaper and website devoted to coverage of the Occupy protests.
About 40 people crowded the lobby of Oakland’s City Hall, demanding an impromptu audience with city councilmembers after a meeting of the council’s Community and Economic Development Committee was unexpectedly canceled Tuesday afternoon.
The future of many city workers’ salaries is unclear, following the impending dissolution of hundreds of redevelopment agencies in California.
After waiting for more than five hours for their chance to voice their opposition to a resolution intended to prevent another shutdown of the Port of Oakland, a large contingent of Occupy Oakland supporters weren’t going to go away just because the Oakland City Council decided against even hearing the measure.
Union members and labor leaders gathered at the Alameda County Labor Council office on Monday to voice their support for Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and their opposition to the effort to recall her.