The Boondoggle Archipelago

By Edward Ring
11/20/2019
Across California, there is a growing string of islands, exquisite gems in the urban ocean. Dredged from the pockets of taxpayers, and constructed by elite artisans, these pristine islands have been created at stupefying expense. But their beauty is seductive. Each time an island is completed, or even proposed, glowing reports are logged across the...

TAGS: California Environmental Quality Act, San Francisco, Venice Beach

The Density Delusion

By Edward Ring
08/20/2019
For decades, American workers have watched as their ability to enjoy middle class lifestyles erodes away. Conventional explanations abound. American industry in the immediate aftermath of World War II was uniquely unscathed, and with a near monopoly on global manufacturing, it was able to pass much of the ample profits on to workers. It wasn’t...

TAGS: California, California Environmental Quality Act, Edward Ring, financialization, government pensions, Housing, UC Berkeley, United Nations

How Project Labor Agreements Elevate Costs to Taxpayers

By Edward Ring
11/17/2015
When considering the labor movement in the United States, there is a huge distinction between government unions and private sector unions. Government unions elect their own bosses, they operate within agencies that collect taxes instead of having to make a profit by enticing consumers to buy their products, and they operate the machinery of government...

TAGS: California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, Project Labor Agreements

California Union Uses "Greenmail," Manufacturer Takes Plans Out of State

By Loren Kaye
10/21/2014
When it comes to organized labor, California is a friendly state. We long ago eschewed right-to-work status. Labor unions enjoy a web of laws that ease organizing workers, like  farmworkers,refinery employees, teachers, and state and local government workers. Other laws give union contracts special status unavailable to nonunion employees, such as the ability to work longer days without triggering overtime and avoid the new sick...

TAGS: California Environmental Quality Act, card check, CEQA