CityWatch LA - Los Angeles

The DWP Contract is a Good Deal for the Public and the Union, Here’s Why

EASTSIDER-I rarely write directly about what I do for a living, but as a neutral person with some 25 years experience in California public sector labor relations, I feel compelled to write about the merits of the DWP/IBEW settlement itself, especially after the recent flood of articles casting the contract in unflattering terms.

What are Tenant’s Rights in the Midst of LA’s Affordable Housing Crisis?

TENANT’S RIGHTS--Close to four Million people reside in Los Angeles according to an annual population report by the California Department of Finance dated May 1, 2017

Garcetti to DWP Ratepayers: “Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk”

PERSPECTIVE-Much has been written and discussed about the recently approved contract with DWP’s IBEW Local 18 members...but not enough.

Hey California, Let’s Celebrate July 4 by Declaring Independence … It's Time to Put the Golden State First

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA-- Dear America, I suppose I should wish you happy birthday. But I’m just not feeling it.

Insider: How DWP Union Won the New Contract Battle … Without a Single Cut or Bruise

BUTCHER SHOP--A surprising much has been already written about the DWP deal including this alarmist screed Will outrageous DWP pay hikes ignite anti-union firestorm in California? in which the author hyperventilates in horror that workers who climb 75 feet in the air to fix live electric lines will see increasing wages in the years to come and then vividly imagines the resultant revolt of the masses.

LA’s Two New Climate Advocates: Long on Spin, Short on Details

PLATKIN ON PLANNING--While we plebeians dawdle away our lives cooking, cleaning, studying, working, raising families, and helping friends and relatives in need, we can (kind-of) sleep comfortably knowing our local elected officials are hard at work combatting climate change … through press conferences. Luckily for them, they have Donald Trump as their climate foil, blasting away at him with their sound bites for pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord.

Will Starbucks Really be Sued for ‘Running a Homeless Shelter’ or is This Another Hollywood Publicity Stunt?

DEEGAN ON LA—-Arnold Schwarzenegger had Columbia Pictures promote one of his movies by painting the title logo on the main fuselage of an unmanned rocket that was then launched into outer space by NASA. Anything to get attention: although in the case of his 1993 movie "Last Action Hero” even that stratospheric publicity stunt could not help.