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The union that represents healthcare workers in California announced it had arranged the purchase of 39 million N95 masks for hospitals and government agencies that badly need the protective equipment. Among the intended recipients was Kaiser Permanente, which placed orders for 6 million masks. A week later, none of those masks have materialized, and Kaiser is cooperating with a federal fraud investigation into the deal, a spokesman for the health plan confirmed.

And the middle of a national emergency, in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of a time when everyone is making sacrifices, union members are threatening Amazon: Do what I say. Or Else.

U.S. carmaker Ford backtracked Tuesday on its plans to reopen multiple key automotive plants in the United States in two weeks -- a move that drew concern from union workers over the ongoing coronavirus emergency. The automaker said last week it planned to reopen plants in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Kansas City, Mo., on April 14, and a plant in Mexico a week earlier. The United Auto Workers union responded with alarm, saying it had "great concern" about the plan due to the ongoing coronavirus threat. Tuesday, Ford said it's postponed the plans. "The health and safety of our workforce,...

JUNEAU — Alaska’s largest public-employee union has sued the state in Superior Court, alleging it has failed to properly protect workers from the coronavirus pandemic. State workers have grown increasingly vocal in the past week, saying the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy is putting them in danger by keeping offices open while ordering private businesses to close. The governor has said he views the work of government employees as vital to society and civilization. The Alaska State Employees Association’s lawsuit, filed on behalf of 7,900 members, states in part that “the state is failing to provide a safe environment for...

President Trump lead another Coronavirus task force briefing from the White House on Monday evening. The President was joined by Vice President Mike Pence, US Attorney General Bill Barr and others. Trump signed a second executive order to providing authority to address hoarding and price gouging that threatens the supply of medical supplies. Attorney General Bill Barr put hoarders on notice and said they will get a knock on the door if they are sitting on a large amount of supplies. “We have started to see some evidence of potential hoarding and price gouging,” said Barr. “So, earlier today the...

DETROIT -- The United Auto Workers union wants Detroit's three automakers to shut down their factories for two weeks to keep its members safe from the spreading novel coronavirus. But union President Rory Gamble says in an email to members obtained by the Associated Press that the companies were not willing to stop production. Gamble says the union gave Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler two days to put together plans to safeguard workers. That period ends Tuesday afternoon. The companies and union will meet this evening to discuss the safety measures. But Gamble says if the union isn't satisfied...

TEMECULA, Calif.—Temecula-based destination wedding and event planner Michelle Garibay has run her business for the past 14 years without employees. Garibay has appeared in some of the nation’s most prestigious bridal magazines, including Style Me Pretty, The Knot, and Southern California Bride. However, Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) has impeded her latest business operations, along with many others in her industry who use independent contractors. AB5 essentially prohibits freelance work, with a few exceptions; it mandates that businesses hire employees instead of paying contractors. “This industry isn’t well suited to having employees, because the work isn’t steady,” Garibay said. “And the...

The National Education Association (NEA) endorsed Joe Biden for president. The nation’s largest labor union was never going to endorse anyone else but Joe Biden so finally coming out and doing so isn’t exactly a surprise announcement. There is also the fact that a very high profile public figure is a member of the union – Jill Biden, wife of sleepy Joe. Last month the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the other teachers union, took a cowardly approach and endorsed three top candidates at the time – Biden, Sanders, and Warren. Then as Warren’s campaign was flaming out, the president...

Joe Biden needs to win Michigan. It’s a swing state the President won in 2016, so winning the primary will do more than give Biden more delegates. It will solidify his reputation as being better than Bernie Sanders at defeating President Trump. But at a campaign stop at a factory today, Biden got a little agitated over a question about the 2nd Amendment. So far, we’ve found two versions of the video. The one above is longer and seems to have better audio, while the one below from Benny Johnson gives a clearer picture of Biden’s angered facial features as...

Former United Auto Workers (UAW) president Gary Jones was charged Thursday by federal prosecutors with embezzling more than $1 million of UAW funds for personal use. The Detroit News reported Thursday that Jones was charged in a criminal information, indicating that he could plead guilty to the charges in the weeks ahead. Several of his former aides have already admitted to stealing UAW funds for travel and other personal expenses. He faces two counts, one involving conspiracy to embezzle union funds and another for using an interstate commerce facility to engage in racketeering. Both of the charges have maximum prison...

DETROIT – Former United Auto Workers President Gary Jones was charged with embezzlement and defrauding the U.S. government as part of a multiyear corruption probe into one of America’s most prominent unions, according to the documents unsealed Thursday. The documents suggests more charges of union officials could follow as federal prosecutors identified four other unnamed co-conspirators in the scheme that allegedly included embezzling more than $1 million of union funds. Jones resigned from leading the union effective Nov. 20 — the same day the UAW International Executive Board started the process under the union’s constitution to remove him from office....

Federal prosecutors have charged former United Auto Workers President Gary Jones with conspiracy to embezzle union funds, making him the highest-ranking ex-union official to be ensnared in the Justice Department’s yearslong corruption probe. Mr. Jones, who led the UAW through contract negotiations late last year with the Detroit car makers and a 40-day strike at General Motors Co., is alleged to have been a part of a group of senior UAW leaders who embezzled more than $1 million to pay for private villas, liquor, golf and other luxuries, according to charging documents filed with a Michigan federal court and made...

WASHINGTON — The head of the nation’s third-largest labor union said that the Democratic Party should not change its rules to award Bernie Sanders or any other candidate the nomination if they finish the primary with the most delegates but less than a majority. “We can’t change it. We can’t change it. We’ve got to live with the process, and I believe that there were improvements in that process,” Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), told Yahoo News. Saunders’s comments, in a 45-minute interview for Yahoo News’ podcast “The Long Game,” came...

President Carmen Twillie Ambar’s Feb. 18 announcement that the College is formally considering outsourcing 108 dining and custodial jobs currently held by United Automobile Worker union members incited a campus-wide conversation and student-led protests and demonstrations. As activism in support of UAW continues, the College is in the midst of considering how best to approach its relationship with student activists. One approach taken by the Division of Student Life is to assemble a Rapid Response Team, meant to engage with student activism on campus in a constructive way. The team intends to inform students about different demonstration policies — such...

This is the kind of situation that makes campaign managers want to hide. It was Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who was speaking to a normally supportive crowd: workers striking for higher wages. But watch this Time magazine video that shows him cutting his comments short and fleeing to his waiting limousine:

A large crowd comprised of Oberlin College students, employees and community members gathered Feb. 19 inside the campus’ King Hall to protest the institution's recent announcement that 108 college workers could lose their jobs. The protest, consisting of roughly over 800 people, took place during an Oberlin College faculty meeting.

Chiu’s bill comes as the state and local governments are ramping up their spending on homelessness, but the number of people on the street continues to rise. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently proposed spending more than $1 billion on homelessness in his 2020-21 budget, including $750 million to build housing for the homeless and help prevent struggling families from ending up on the streets. His last budget also included about $1 billion to fight homelessness — including $650 million for cities and counties. Meanwhile, the crisis keeps getting worse. The homeless population grew by 42% between 2017 and 2019 in San...

...The financial impact of the Gibson’s Bakery loss is not yet clear. It will be interesting to see if the negative publicity impacts the incoming class, and how much in grant money needs to be spent to maintain quality and quantity. But clearly Oberlin College has suffered a public relations body blow from the case. The seriousness of the situation is further revealed in a campus announcement that Oberlin College will seek to replace UAW union workers in the dining hall and custodial services with outsourced contractors...

Days ahead of the Nevada caucuses the state’s influential culinary union decided to sit this one out. They’re not endorsing anyone. Why? Well, because right now, they all suck. And if they don’t suck, they’re peddling action items that will screw them over. It’s become nasty between the Culinary Workers Union and the Bernie Sanders campaign after the former distributed leaflets to their members about the dangers concerning Sanders’ Medicare for All proposals that will gut 150+ million private health care plans. And a lot of union members’ health care plans will be shredded by a Sanders administration. For the...

Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson criticized former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg Wednesday for a tweet defending private health insurance, that appeared to characterize the employer-provided health benefits as gains won by union workers. Buttigieg defended his proposed “Medicare for All Who Want It” plan, saying 14 million union members have “fought hard for strong employer-provided health benefits” in a tweet Wednesday morning. Nelson, who played a key role in ending the federal government shutdown last year, called the invocation of labor rights “offensive and dangerous.” “Stop perpetuating this gross myth. Not every union member has union...