California Divide

Empower workers or government overreach? California’s fast food bill tests labor laws

As union representation has bottomed out in some of the country’s lowest-paid industries, a group of California lawmakers and labor leaders are pushing to test a version of sectoral bargaining, a labor strategy common in other high-income countries. Progressives are pushing for a state-appointed council for the fast food industry to set wages and work conditions, which have historically been negotiated privately between employers and worker unions.

By

Jackie Botts

and

Jesse Bedayn

• January 10, 2022

California Divide

California’s racial inequality: What can state do with $31 billion?

A new report found stark racial inequality across California. Advocates hope that the 2022 state budget will offer some solutions.

By

Jesse Bedayn

• December 24, 2021

The offices of the California Employment Development Department in Sacramento on Dec. 18, 2020. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

California Divide

Researchers worry that low-income Californians may have trouble repaying unemployment benefits

California is requiring unemployment recipients to retroactively prove their work history – but experts say low-income recipients could be forced to repay money they don’t have. Some even say ineligible recipients should get a pass.

By

Jesse Bedayn

• December 20, 2021

Jesús Martinez, an NFT artist and crypto investor, outside his family's home in Eagle Rock on Dec. 3, 2021. Photo by Bing Guan for CalMatters

California Divide

From street vendor to crypto artist: How digital assets offer minorities new opportunities

A Los Angeles artist who once sold flowers with his immigrant parents on street corners breaks into the world of NFTs. In doing so, he’s also found a nontraditional way to generate wealth in crypto currency.

By

Jacqueline Garcia

• December 8, 2021

Farmworkers work at the Heringer Estates Family Vineyards and Winery in Clarksburg on March 24, 2020. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

California Divide

Thousands of farmworkers will get pay raises thanks to a lawsuit

Guest farmworkers will see pay increases in 2022 thanks to a lawsuit to stop a Trump-era wage freeze. President Trump proposed the freeze in an attempt to help farmers who lost profit and fallowed land during the pandemic shutdown in 2020. But farmworker advocates sued the Department of Agriculture to stop the freeze from taking effect.

By

Melissa Montalvo

• December 2, 2021

Hundred dollar bills. Image via iStock Photo

California Divide

$500 a month without strings: Bay Area’s latest guaranteed income program

Lea este artículo en español. South San Francisco this month sent out the first $500 monthly checks to around 150 low-income families to spend however they see fit. South San Francisco is the latest Bay Area city to launch a guaranteed income pilot program – in which participants receive monthly cash payments with no strings attached – […]

By

Jesse Bedayn

• November 30, 2021

Jorge Mijango of Ken's Rototilling and Landscaping uses a chainsaw to cut trees for fire mitigation at a property along Via Floreado road in Orinda on Nov. 16, 2021. The landscaping company owns around 50 gas powered tools that could be impacted by a state ban on new small gas motors. Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group

California Divide

A 50% coupon for one tool? Gardeners call California’s subsidy inadequate

California will ban most new gas-powered lawn equipment starting in 2024, but landscapers and gardeners warn the transition will cost them money and jobs. Industry officials say the technology isn’t ready for commercial use and called a $30 million incentive program for small operators inadequate. One state lawmaker who co-authored the bill says he’s open to more funding.

By

Jesse Bedayn

• November 24, 2021

Supporters of the movement to change the name of Squaw Valley gather in front of the Hall of Records, before the Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting Nov. 16, 2021. Photo by John Walker, the Fresno Bee

California Divide

Should the community of Squaw Valley change its name?

Resident and activists are urging Fresno County change the name of Squaw Valley community. They say it's derogatory to Native American women.

By

Melissa Montalvo

• November 19, 2021

A food bank volunteer waits to load an incoming vehicle at the Regional Food Bank's distribution event at Franklin D. Roosevelt Park, in Los Angeles, on March 23, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake

California Divide

Most Californians say economic inequality is getting worse, new survey shows

Seven in 10 Californians say the gap between rich and poor is getting larger, according to a statewide survey.

By

Melissa Montalvo

• November 11, 2021

Luis Philipe Ruiz Gonzalez inside of his RV in San Mateo on Nov. 1, 2021. Ruiz Gonzalez lived in the RV with his wife during the pandemic. Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group

California Divide

New study finds millions of workers are ‘functionally unemployed’

California’s official unemployment rate is 7.5%. But a newer method of measuring unemployment reveals a far larger portion of the state is struggling to find full-time employment that pays enough to cover the cost of living.

By

Jesse Bedayn

• November 4, 2021

California Divide

Covering income inequality across the state