The L.A. Times Sells Safety
A few years ago, the Los Angeles Times began a practice of selling ads on the front pages of its sections. It was a slow build, with a preliminary announcement in 2007 and, two years later, it actually...
View ArticleSeaTac Minimum Wage Law Faces Catch-22 Hurdles
SeaTac Aiport (Image: Port of Seattle/Don Wilson) The holiday interlude brought a mixed blessing from Seattle —that’s the positive spin, frankly—in the form of King County Superior Court Judge Andrea...
View ArticleRemembering David Koff
David Koff, 1939-2014 I started working at UNITE HERE Local 11 back in 1997. I’ve stayed a part of the labor movement for nearly two decades in no small part because of David Koff, then a researcher...
View ArticleL.A. Times’ Double Talk on Raising Wages
Last week the L.A. Times ran an editorial about the city’s proposed hotel worker minimum wage policy. Given past history—the Times has opposed every local living wage proposal over the past 17...
View ArticleOf Football and the Limits of Labor Law
We’ve written on more than one occasion here about the travesty that is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its treatment of big-time college athletes. So obviously we take great...
View ArticleAirbnb Puts the Squeeze on Los Angeles Renters, Says a New Study
Wall Street’s current darling of the so-called “sharing economy” is Airbnb. Armed with a feel-good message of “belonging” and a mom-and-pop image as a friendly means to make ends meet by renting a...
View ArticleHockey League Turmoil: Gary Bettman’s Ruler
Gary Bettman (captcanuk/Wikimedia) Over the past year we’ve written quite a bit about the business of sports, and unfortunately, lockouts in the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball...
View ArticleL.A. Schools: Under the Gunman's Shadow
A few years ago, I was pulled over by the police. I’d reported my car stolen some months earlier and they’d never taken that report out of the system after I’d gotten it back. It was a minor error on...
View ArticleJust Wondering
Bob Filner (r) and Jan Goldsmith Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times brought a behind the scenes account of the genius of San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith and his brilliant maneuvers to oust former...
View ArticleDead Cat Bounce: The NFL’s Head Games
Driving past Echo Park the other day I saw a cat convulsing in the road. It had plainly been hit by a car and was, hopefully, near death. I considered backing up and driving over the poor thing to end...
View ArticleSupreme Court Decision: Mulhall, Interrupted
(Photo: Steve Petteway) A few weeks ago we told you about a U.S. Supreme Court case and noted that a decision wasn’t expected until Spring. However, by a margin of either 5-4 or 6-3, SCOTUS moved fast...
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