Release on Change from Original Venue of UCLA

AFSCME Local 3299
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 6, 2019
STATEWIDE CONTACT: Todd Stenhouse 

AFSCME 3299 Sent Letter to Candidates, Asking them to Honor UC Speakers Boycott

Oakland, CA — As reported by the Huffington Post earlier today, the Democratic National Committee has announced that it will relocate its planned December 19th Presidential Debate away from UCLA.  The DNC announcement came after AFSCME Local 3299, UC’s largest employee union, wrote to the six candidates who had already qualified for the debate asking them to honor a Speaker’s Boycott to protest the University of California’s continued role in contributing to economic and racial inequalities at the UC and across the State of California.

In response to the DNC’s announcement, Local 3299 has issued the following statement:

“We applaud the decision by the DNC to stand with University of California workers in their fight for fair treatment from California’s 3rd largest employer. And we are grateful to the candidates and other leaders who have stood with us in solidarity on our picket lines. Just as our next President must work to heal the divisions in our country, they must also work to confront the staggering inequality and mistreatment of low wage workers that have become all too common in today’s economy. While a change of venue for this debate is no doubt inconvenient, it pales in comparison to the effect that the University’s lawless outsourcing practices are having on thousands of families and communities across California.  It is past time for UC to honor the aspirations of those who do the hard, physical work of making this institution run and not just ivory tower elites.” 

Local 3299 represents more than 26,000 Service and Patient Care Technical workers at UC’s ten campuses and five medical centers.  It has been in a protracted dispute with UC Administrators for nearly three years. During this time, UC has repeatedly – and illegally – contracted out University jobs to private contractors that pay their workers even less.  

Last week, the union announced that it will mount a statewide ULP strike on November 13th in response to six new charges filed with the California’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) that detailing the university’s secretive efforts to accelerate outsourcing—alleging violations of both internal university policies and state laws.  PERB has already found sufficient evidence to issue a formal complaint on one of the charges.

Last summer, UC acknowledged to State Legislators that it had increased its spending on outsourcing of jobs customarily done by AFSCME represented UC workers by 52% since 2016—and by 84% at its Medical Centers alone.

Since it was first announced earlier this year, AFSCME 3299’s speakers boycott has already been honored by a range of state and national leaders—including Former Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Stacy Abrams, Senator Kamala Harris, and Jennifer Seibel Newsom.  Senator Bernie Sanders and Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro have also joined AFSCME 3299 represented UC workers on picket lines within the last year.   

###

Releases on the Labor Dispute at LMU

other candidates followed...

____________________

Loyola Marymount University
December 13, 2019

University Statement on Sodexo and UNITE HERE Local 11

Loyola Marymount University released the following statement on Dec. 13, 2019:

LMU is not a party to the negotiations between Sodexo and UNITE HERE Local 11. The university has encouraged and continues to encourage Sodexo to resolve issues raised by Local 11. Earlier today, LMU asked Sodexo to meet with Local 11 next week to advance negotiations and solutions. LMU is not an agent nor a joint employer of Sodexo, nor of the Sodexo employees assigned to our campus. LMU is proud to host the DNC Presidential Debate and is committed to ensuring that the university is a rewarding place to learn, live, and work.
____________________
December 17, 2019

Loyola Marymount University Statement on Sodexo and UNITE HERE Local 11 Agreement

Today, Sodexo and UNITE HERE Local 11 announced they have reached an agreement. Over the weekend, senior leaders from LMU met with representatives from Sodexo and UNITE HERE Local 11 to understand better their perspectives and advocate for earnest engagement and progress toward a resolution. LMU values all members of our community and seeks to honor the dignity of all who learn, live, and work at the university, consistent with our values and rooted in our Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount mission. We are pleased with this outcome and glad that we were able to play a constructive role by bringing the negotiating parties together.
Miscellaneous Releases

California League of Conservation Voters
December 19, 2019
Jen Molina

CLCV TO 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA, LAND OF CLIMATE CRISIS AND SOLUTIONS FOR A PATH FORWARD

In advance of tonight’s sixth Democratic debate in Los Angeles, the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) put out the following statement.
***
LOS ANGELES – Today, Mary Creasman Chief Executive Officer of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) issued the following statement ahead of the PBS NewsHour/POLITICO Democratic debate urging Presidential Candidate to address the climate crisis:

“When California voters are facing rolling blackouts, smog and the ever-present threat of more droughts there’s no other option than to have bold climate action as the top priority. Early voting is two months away, tonight’s debate should be used to highlight bold visionary solutions to act on climate. The Presidential Candidates will be standing between Malibu, which experienced firsthand the deadly effects of wildfires and the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, whose neighboring communities are negatively affected daily by some of the worst pollution in the country. Climate change is a public health, economic and foreign policy issue – candidates shouldn’t wait to be asked to weave in their policy positions for our future, period.”

The California League of Conservation Voter is a power-player in California politics, in 2018 alone CLCV was involved in over 100 state and federal races. Heading into 2020, CLCV will re-vamp its efforts to educate voters and electing environmental champions. In a UC Berkeley poll conducted in late November, 85% of likely voters in California’s Democratic primary said climate change was a top priority, and 47% said climate change should be the leading priority of the next president – higher than any other issue.
Republican National Committee
December 19, 2019

Skipping Tonight’s Debate? You’re Not Alone

Slipping Debate Ratings Might Be A Good Thing For Democrat Candidates As Their Radical Policies Become Increasingly Unpopular With Voters

The Facts:
DEMOCRATS WILL TAKE THE DEBATE STAGE AGAIN TONIGHT BUT THEIR WANING FIELD HAS BROUGHT CONTROVERSY AND VIEWERS ARE GROWING BORED BY THE CANDIDATES’ RACE TO THE LEFT
Tonight’s debate will feature just seven candidates but the shrinking stage “has not come without controversy” as it will only feature one non-white candidate.
Ratings for Democrat debates have lagged behind 2016, and ratings have declined steadily with each debate.

DESPITE CLAIMING TO BE A MODERATE CANDIDATE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN’S PROPOSED TAX HIKES ARE “DOUBLE” THOSE SOUGHT BY HILLARY CLINTON IN 2016
Biden has already pledged to raise taxes on businesses and capital gains.
Biden’s proposed tax increases are “already more than double the amount that the last Democrat presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, proposed in the 2016 campaign.”

ELIZABETH WARREN’S FAILED NOVEMBER ROLLOUT OF HER $32 TRILLION HEALTH CARE PLAN HAS LANDED HER SIGNIFICANTLY BEHIND IN THE POLLS IN DECEMBER
Senator Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) radical agenda, particularly her vow to abolish private insurance, has raised concerns that she is "too liberal" to defeat President Trump.
Warren has drawn scrutiny from economists for “optimistic estimates” on how much revenue her tax increases would generate. 
Diane Lim, a former economist for congressional Democrats worried that Warren’s proposed tax hikes are “unrealistic.”
Since the last debate, and the release of her health care plan, Warren has struggled mightily in the polls.

BERNIE SANDERS HAS SEEN HIS FLAGSHIP GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE TAKEOVER BECOME A “LIABILITY” TO DEMOCRATS AS SUPPORT FOR HIS PRIZED POLICY FALLS AMID HIS FIGHTING TO CONTROL A SPLIT PROGRESSIVE VOTER BASE
Voters are “unnerved” by the sky-high price tag of Sanders’ government takeover of health care
Voters are also reluctant to support eliminating private insurance.
Adding to Sanders’ woes is the split progressive voter base as he fights to control the very ideological block that propelled him in 2016.

PETE BUTTIGIEG HAS EXPERIENCED PUSHBACK FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AS HE TOUTS PLANS FOR INCREASING AFRICAN AMERICAN BUSINESS CONTRACTS DESPITE HIS HISTORY OF DOING THE OPPOSITE
Buttigieg has struggled to court black voters, in the critical early primary state South Carolina, he is polling at 0% among black voters.
Buttigieg has touted his Douglass plan, which he claims would increase the number of federal contracts to minority owned business to 25 percent.
However, when Buttigieg was mayor, less than 3% of city business went to minority and women owned businesses.

TOM STEYER HAS JUMPED INTO THE 2020 RACE BY PUSHING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THROUGH THE AIRWAVES WHILE ATTEMPTING TO BUY ENDORSEMENTS AND THE ELECTION
Steyer has been accused by his Democrat opponents of attempting to buy his way onto the debate stages.
In November, one of Steyer’s top aids privately offered bribes to local politicians in exchange for endorsing Steyer’s presidential bid.

IN A CONTINUED ATTEMPT TO GET HER NAME OUT IN THE CROWDED FIELD, AMY KLOBUCHAR CHAMPIONS A NUMBER OF RADICAL POSITIONS
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) supports giving government healthcare to illegal immigrants.
Klobuchar has also said she is open to eliminating the Electoral College and “packing” the Supreme Court with liberal justices.

ANDREW YANG STILL HAS NOT BUDGED FROM HIS “FREE MONEY” PLAN, DESPITE IT’S INABILITY TO HELP HIM HAVE A BREAKOUT MOMENT
Yang’s continued infatuation with giving everyone $1,000 a month has failed to give him a lift in the 2020 race.

___________________________