Farida Jhabvala Romero is a Labor Correspondent for KQED. She previously covered immigration. Farida was named one of the 10 Most Influential Latina Journalists in California in 2022 by the California Chicano News Media Association. Her work has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists (Northern California), as well as a national and regional Edward M. Murrow Award for the collaborative reporting projects “Dangerous Air” and “Graying California.” Before joining KQED, Farida worked as a producer at Radio Bilingüe, a national public radio network. Farida earned her master’s degree in journalism from Stanford University.
CSU Staff Rally in Hayward for Pay Raises as Contract Talks Continue
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UC Reaches Contract Deal With Service, Hospital Workers, Averting Strike
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-state-university\">California State University\u003c/a> employees rallied for pay increases at several campuses on Tuesday, as management and union representatives in Hayward negotiated a contract for about 15,000 staffers statewide. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A vocal group of groundskeepers, clerical, academic support and other employees at the nation’s largest four-year public university system cheered after an organizer yelled “Show us the money!” to the university’s bargaining team heading into a session at a Cal State East Bay library room.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Several longtime employees in blue union T-shirts told KQED they resented that the university, which has struggled with multi-billion budget deficits and layoffs in recent years, approved controversial pay raises for campus presidents and top administrators last fall and winter. CSU \u003ca href=\"https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/transparency-accountability/executive-compensation/Documents/compensation-faq.pdf\">argued\u003c/a> its executive compensation had fallen behind compared to other public universities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1777\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-CSUStrike-FJR-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094955\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-CSUStrike-FJR-01.jpg 1777w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-CSUStrike-FJR-01-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260812-CSUStrike-FJR-01-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1777px) 100vw, 1777px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">CSU staffers from Northern California campuses and organizers with the CSU Employees Union rally ahead of a bargaining session at Cal State East Bay in Hayward on Aug. 11, 2026. (Farida Jhabvala Romero)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Who does the job is us, the people, the 9-to-5. So, why don’t we get a yearly raise for the cost of living?” said Carmen Crum, admissions and outreach coordinator for a program supporting low-income, first-generation college students. “The problem here is that staff don’t get raises — higher-ups do.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We just want our fair shake,” said Jerry Gibbs, a student services coordinator handling student transcripts. He has worked at CSU for 25 years. “Everything’s going up around us, right? Gas prices, property taxes. It’s California.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CSU Employees Union, which represents a total of about 36,000 university workers, said it’s pushing to limit the use of contract and temporary staffers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the top priority since bargaining began in January remains members’ compensation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>CSU’s budget woes have arguably lightened for the 2026-27 academic year after securing $710 million in new operating funds — mostly from increased state funding, but also tuition revenue and enrollment growth. The university plans to dedicate more than half of those funds to compensation and health benefits, according to a Board of Trustees \u003ca href=\"https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/board-of-trustees/MeetingHandouts/July%2020-22,%202026/FIN%20Item%203%20-%202026-27%20Final%20Budget%20-%20HANDOUT%20BOTv1.pdf\">presentation\u003c/a> last month. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The CSU is committed to bargaining in good faith with CSUEU and achieving an agreement that recognizes and supports the work of our staff in fulfilling CSU’s mission,” Amy Bentley-Smith, a CSU spokesperson, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The protest ahead of Tuesday’s bargaining session comes as CSU, which enrolled more than \u003ca href=\"https://tableau.calstate.edu/views/SelfEnrollmentDashboard/EnrollmentSummary?iframeSizedToWindow=true&:embed=y&:showAppBanner=false&:display_count=no&:showVizHome=no\">470,000\u003c/a> students at its 22 universities last year, is \u003ca href=\"https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/faculty-staff/labor-and-employee-relations/Pages/CSU-Bargaining-Update-Multiple-Units-7-17-26.aspx\">meeting\u003c/a> with multiple units on new or recurring contracts covering tens of thousands in its workforce, including faculty, skilled trades and student workers.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cp>An initiative to establish the nation’s highest minimum wage in parts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/alameda-county\">Alameda County\u003c/a> will not make it onto the November ballot, after the county’s Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to further study its economic impact.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The measure, which would gradually raise the minimum wage in unincorporated areas and county buildings to $30 an hour, will now miss a deadline to go before voters on Nov. 3, even though proponents collected more than the 49,000 required voter signatures. Voters could still decide the proposal in March 2028 or sooner, if a special election is called. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the initiative by the Living Wage for All coalition, large employers with 100 or more employees and annual revenues exceeding $1 billion and janitorial firms would have until July 2030 to make the full jump. Smaller employers would have additional years to adjust.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Supervisor Nate Miley, whose district includes parts of Oakland and the unincorporated communities of Ashland and Castro Valley, called the board’s decision “the prudent thing to do.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to impact the quality of life in unincorporated areas without a study … so we can get all questions answered,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"680\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut-1020x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11989385\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nate Miley of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors speaks during a California Reparations Listening Session at the California Ballroom in Oakland on May 28, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A full-time worker without dependents must make at least $32.31 to support themselves in Alameda County, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator. The highest minimum wage countywide is the city of Emeryville’s $20.34 per hour.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Low-income workers said they increasingly struggled to afford the basics in one of the country’s most expensive regions. But many local restaurant owners, retailers and other small business representatives urged supervisors to better understand the potential impacts of the proposed measure before sending it to voters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I would respectfully ask that this board do its fiduciary responsibility to the voters, the workers, and the business owners of Alameda in seeking a full and well-regarded economic study as to the repercussions,” Scott Rodrick, a second-generation business owner, said during the 90-minute public comment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Supervisors Miley, David Haubert and Lena Tam directed county staff to bring back a report within a month examining the measure’s effects, including on jobs, consumer prices, and the county’s own finances. Supervisors Elisa Márquez and Nikki Fortunato Bas said they shared their colleagues’ concerns, but voted to approve placing the coalition’s petition on this year’s ballot — noting that they did not want to interfere with the will of voters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The coalition followed our democratic processes, which is why the registrar is bringing this item forward to us,” Fortunato Bas said. “We should honor the will of those voters and place this on the ballot in November.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the lengthy and at times contentious meeting, Board President Haubert sparred with worker advocates in pink “Alameda County $30 living wage for all” T-shirts. He threatened to clear the room and at one point, called for a brief recess. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Micole Edwards, a single parent of three, was one in a long line of people telling supervisors that workers urgently need higher wages to continue living in the county.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Poverty simply says we don’t have enough,” Edwards said. “I have one child. Her father is dead due to poverty. I have another child. Her dad is incarcerated, facing 10 to life because of poverty.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I really beg you, please push this forward now,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Living Wage for All also submitted signatures for a similar measure in Oakland that has yet to be certified. The nationwide alliance pointed to a study by Movement Economics that suggested more than 182,000 workers in Alameda County — about one in five — would get a raise, while the number of jobs would grow, although the findings were questioned by small business owners at the meeting. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Workers do not need another study to tell them that their wages are too low to afford groceries and rent,” the Alameda County Living Wage for All Steering Committee said in a statement. “Yesterday’s procedural vote will not prevent a living wage for all from reaching the ballot in Alameda County. It simply means voters will pass these critical reforms in the next election.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In recent years, California has tried to boost pay for struggling working people. Lawmakers mandated a wage hike for most \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985277/impact-of-california-fast-food-worker-wage-increase-still-too-early-to-gauge\">fast food restaurant employees\u003c/a> to at least $20 an hour in 2024, as well as additional raises for the lowest-paid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12009797/california-health-care-employers-required-raise-minimum-pay\">healthcare workers\u003c/a>. But that same year, voters turned down a ballot initiative that would have pushed the statewide minimum wage to $18 an hour, amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010912/california-minimum-wage-voter-support-falters-as-inflation-worries-linger\">inflation concerns\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fast food and healthcare industries have since seemingly absorbed the higher payroll costs, but economists debate the extent of the move’s impact on jobs, working hours and consumer prices.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>An initiative to establish the nation’s highest minimum wage in parts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/alameda-county\">Alameda County\u003c/a> will not make it onto the November ballot, after the county’s Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to further study its economic impact.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The measure, which would gradually raise the minimum wage in unincorporated areas and county buildings to $30 an hour, will now miss a deadline to go before voters on Nov. 3, even though proponents collected more than the 49,000 required voter signatures. Voters could still decide the proposal in March 2028 or sooner, if a special election is called. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under the initiative by the Living Wage for All coalition, large employers with 100 or more employees and annual revenues exceeding $1 billion and janitorial firms would have until July 2030 to make the full jump. Smaller employers would have additional years to adjust.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Supervisor Nate Miley, whose district includes parts of Oakland and the unincorporated communities of Ashland and Castro Valley, called the board’s decision “the prudent thing to do.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to impact the quality of life in unincorporated areas without a study … so we can get all questions answered,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A full-time worker without dependents must make at least $32.31 to support themselves in Alameda County, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator. The highest minimum wage countywide is the city of Emeryville’s $20.34 per hour.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Low-income workers said they increasingly struggled to afford the basics in one of the country’s most expensive regions. But many local restaurant owners, retailers and other small business representatives urged supervisors to better understand the potential impacts of the proposed measure before sending it to voters. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Low-income workers said they increasingly struggled to afford the basics in one of the country’s most expensive regions. But many local restaurant owners, retailers and other small business representatives urged supervisors to better understand the potential impacts of the proposed measure before sending it to voters. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I would respectfully ask that this board do its fiduciary responsibility to the voters, the workers, and the business owners of Alameda in seeking a full and well-regarded economic study as to the repercussions,” Scott Rodrick, a second-generation business owner, said during the 90-minute public comment. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Supervisors Miley, David Haubert and Lena Tam directed county staff to bring back a report within a month examining the measure’s effects, including on jobs, consumer prices, and the county’s own finances. Supervisors Elisa Márquez and Nikki Fortunato Bas said they shared their colleagues’ concerns, but voted to approve placing the coalition’s petition on this year’s ballot — noting that they did not want to interfere with the will of voters.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The coalition followed our democratic processes, which is why the registrar is bringing this item forward to us,” Fortunato Bas said. “We should honor the will of those voters and place this on the ballot in November.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During the lengthy and at times contentious meeting, Board President Haubert sparred with worker advocates in pink “Alameda County $30 living wage for all” T-shirts. He threatened to clear the room and at one point, called for a brief recess. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Micole Edwards, a single parent of three, was one in a long line of people telling supervisors that workers urgently need higher wages to continue living in the county.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Poverty simply says we don’t have enough,” Edwards said. “I have one child. Her father is dead due to poverty. I have another child. Her dad is incarcerated, facing 10 to life because of poverty.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I really beg you, please push this forward now,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Living Wage for All also submitted signatures for a similar measure in Oakland that has yet to be certified. The nationwide alliance pointed to a study by Movement Economics that suggested more than 182,000 workers in Alameda County — about one in five — would get a raise, while the number of jobs would grow, although the findings were questioned by small business owners at the meeting. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Workers do not need another study to tell them that their wages are too low to afford groceries and rent,” the Alameda County Living Wage for All Steering Committee said in a statement. “Yesterday’s procedural vote will not prevent a living wage for all from reaching the ballot in Alameda County. It simply means voters will pass these critical reforms in the next election.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Workers do not need another study to tell them that their wages are too low to afford groceries and rent,” the Alameda County Living Wage for All Steering Committee said in a statement. “Yesterday’s procedural vote will not prevent a living wage for all from reaching the ballot in Alameda County. It simply means voters will pass these critical reforms in the next election.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In recent years, California has tried to boost pay for struggling working people. Lawmakers mandated a wage hike for most \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985277/impact-of-california-fast-food-worker-wage-increase-still-too-early-to-gauge\">fast food restaurant employees\u003c/a> to at least $20 an hour in 2024, as well as additional raises for the lowest-paid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12009797/california-health-care-employers-required-raise-minimum-pay\">healthcare workers\u003c/a>. But that same year, voters turned down a ballot initiative that would have pushed the statewide minimum wage to $18 an hour, amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010912/california-minimum-wage-voter-support-falters-as-inflation-worries-linger\">inflation concerns\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In recent years, California has tried to boost pay for struggling working people. Lawmakers mandated a wage hike for most \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985277/impact-of-california-fast-food-worker-wage-increase-still-too-early-to-gauge\">fast food restaurant employees\u003c/a> to at least $20 an hour in 2024, as well as additional raises for the lowest-paid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12009797/california-health-care-employers-required-raise-minimum-pay\">healthcare workers\u003c/a>. But that same year, voters turned down a ballot initiative that would have pushed the statewide minimum wage to $18 an hour, amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010912/california-minimum-wage-voter-support-falters-as-inflation-worries-linger\">inflation concerns\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fast food and healthcare industries have since seemingly absorbed the higher payroll costs, but economists debate the extent of the move’s impact on jobs, working hours and consumer prices.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Supervisors voted 3-2 to study the economic impacts of the initiative, which would raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour in unincorporated areas and on county property, before sending it to voters.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>An initiative to establish the nation’s highest minimum wage in parts of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/alameda-county\">Alameda County\u003c/a> will not make it onto the November ballot, after the county’s Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to further study its economic impact.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The measure, which would gradually raise the minimum wage in unincorporated areas and county buildings to $30 an hour, will now miss a deadline to go before voters on Nov. 3, even though proponents collected more than the 49,000 required voter signatures. Voters could still decide the proposal in March 2028 or sooner, if a special election is called. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the initiative by the Living Wage for All coalition, large employers with 100 or more employees and annual revenues exceeding $1 billion and janitorial firms would have until July 2030 to make the full jump. Smaller employers would have additional years to adjust.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Supervisor Nate Miley, whose district includes parts of Oakland and the unincorporated communities of Ashland and Castro Valley, called the board’s decision “the prudent thing to do.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to impact the quality of life in unincorporated areas without a study … so we can get all questions answered,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"680\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut-1020x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11989385\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/018_KQED_OaklandReparationsListeningSession_05282022_qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nate Miley of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors speaks during a California Reparations Listening Session at the California Ballroom in Oakland on May 28, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A full-time worker without dependents must make at least $32.31 to support themselves in Alameda County, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator. The highest minimum wage countywide is the city of Emeryville’s $20.34 per hour.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Low-income workers said they increasingly struggled to afford the basics in one of the country’s most expensive regions. But many local restaurant owners, retailers and other small business representatives urged supervisors to better understand the potential impacts of the proposed measure before sending it to voters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I would respectfully ask that this board do its fiduciary responsibility to the voters, the workers, and the business owners of Alameda in seeking a full and well-regarded economic study as to the repercussions,” Scott Rodrick, a second-generation business owner, said during the 90-minute public comment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Supervisors Miley, David Haubert and Lena Tam directed county staff to bring back a report within a month examining the measure’s effects, including on jobs, consumer prices, and the county’s own finances. Supervisors Elisa Márquez and Nikki Fortunato Bas said they shared their colleagues’ concerns, but voted to approve placing the coalition’s petition on this year’s ballot — noting that they did not want to interfere with the will of voters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The coalition followed our democratic processes, which is why the registrar is bringing this item forward to us,” Fortunato Bas said. “We should honor the will of those voters and place this on the ballot in November.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the lengthy and at times contentious meeting, Board President Haubert sparred with worker advocates in pink “Alameda County $30 living wage for all” T-shirts. He threatened to clear the room and at one point, called for a brief recess. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Micole Edwards, a single parent of three, was one in a long line of people telling supervisors that workers urgently need higher wages to continue living in the county.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Poverty simply says we don’t have enough,” Edwards said. “I have one child. Her father is dead due to poverty. I have another child. Her dad is incarcerated, facing 10 to life because of poverty.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I really beg you, please push this forward now,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Living Wage for All also submitted signatures for a similar measure in Oakland that has yet to be certified. The nationwide alliance pointed to a study by Movement Economics that suggested more than 182,000 workers in Alameda County — about one in five — would get a raise, while the number of jobs would grow, although the findings were questioned by small business owners at the meeting. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Workers do not need another study to tell them that their wages are too low to afford groceries and rent,” the Alameda County Living Wage for All Steering Committee said in a statement. “Yesterday’s procedural vote will not prevent a living wage for all from reaching the ballot in Alameda County. It simply means voters will pass these critical reforms in the next election.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In recent years, California has tried to boost pay for struggling working people. Lawmakers mandated a wage hike for most \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985277/impact-of-california-fast-food-worker-wage-increase-still-too-early-to-gauge\">fast food restaurant employees\u003c/a> to at least $20 an hour in 2024, as well as additional raises for the lowest-paid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12009797/california-health-care-employers-required-raise-minimum-pay\">healthcare workers\u003c/a>. But that same year, voters turned down a ballot initiative that would have pushed the statewide minimum wage to $18 an hour, amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010912/california-minimum-wage-voter-support-falters-as-inflation-worries-linger\">inflation concerns\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fast food and healthcare industries have since seemingly absorbed the higher payroll costs, but economists debate the extent of the move’s impact on jobs, working hours and consumer prices.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Dozens of chocolatiers, cashiers and other employees at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company’s flagship store in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> entered the second day of a strike on Friday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The walkout, expected to end Saturday night, aims to pressure the company to agree to concessions after more than a year of contract negotiations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Picketers at Ghirardelli Square urged consumers to boycott the brand’s popular business at one of the city’s most iconic tourist destinations. The strike at the Original Ghirardelli Chocolate & Ice Cream Shop is the first in more than 40 years, and comes as unionized employees oppose a company proposal they said would gut their health care benefits, making them more expensive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093346\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Workers picket outside Ghirardelli’s flagship store in San Francisco on July 30, 2026. (Courtesy of Unite Here)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fredrick Jones, a greeter at the shop for 17 years, told KQED he fears not being able to afford medication that keeps his body from rejecting a heart transplant he underwent last October.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This benefit that we have right now is very important to us. It helped me out big time with my heart transplant,” Jones, a 47-year-old San Francisco resident, said. “That’s why we’re doing this strike, to let people know that the company is not respecting employees like they should.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the Lindt & Sprüngli Group, which owns Ghirardelli, said in a statement that the company values and respects its employees. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ghirardelli, one of the nation’s oldest chocolate companies, was founded in San Francisco during the Gold Rush by Italian chocolatier Domenico “Domingo” Ghirardelli.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are currently in active contract negotiations with the union and are committed to bargaining in good faith,” the spokesperson wrote in an e-mail. “Our main focus right now is on reaching an agreement that supports our employees and ensures the long-term success of our business.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lindt & Sprüngli, headquartered in Switzerland, posted nearly 6 billion Swiss francs in sales \u003ca href=\"https://www.lindt-spruengli.com/investors/financial-reporting/annual-report-2025\">last year\u003c/a>, or more than $7.3 billion. Its operating profits totaled 970 million francs, or about $1.2 billion, after expenses and the costs of goods.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union representing the 45 strikers accused the company of bargaining in bad faith by refusing to share relevant information, such as how much it profits from a 6% “healthcare fee” charged to customers at Ghirardelli Plaza locations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Management aims to switch employees’ health plan to one that would impose unaffordable co-payments for emergency room visits or critical services, said Sonya Karabel, campaign researcher at Unite Here Local 2.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091961\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Josh Sokolski (left) and Brenda Hinaga (right), both occupational therapists from Kaiser Walnut Creek, march while on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center on Feb. 19, 2026. Kaiser workers on the picket lines have gone without their paychecks for four weeks, and many are facing financial and other difficulties. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Customers expect, ‘Oh, okay, this [fee] is gonna cover workers’ health insurance.’ And yet, Ghirardelli is trying to cut their health insurance,” Karabel said. “They need to be transparent about what kind of resources they’re getting from customers that are supposed to be dedicated to paying for health care coverage.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last year, disputes over health benefits became a flash point driving work stoppages nationwide, as medical coverage costs continued to rise, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/faculty-and-research/labor-action-tracker-2025\">a report\u003c/a> by researchers at Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent months, Bay Area \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083589/uc-reaches-contract-deal-with-service-hospital-workers-averting-strike\">service workers\u003c/a> at the University of California, warehouse staff at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092155/arrests-injuries-at-ch-sugar-protest-as-strike-at-crockett-refinery-enters-sixth-week\">C&H Sugar refinery\u003c/a> in Crockett and patient care \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074265/widespread-kaiser-strike-to-end-after-4-weeks-with-no-deal-yet\">employees at Kaiser Permanente\u003c/a> have said that protecting or improving their health insurance was a main reason for striking.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Picketers at Ghirardelli Square urged consumers to boycott the brand’s popular business at one of the city’s most iconic tourist destinations. The strike at the Original Ghirardelli Chocolate & Ice Cream Shop is the first in more than 40 years, and comes as unionized employees oppose a company proposal they said would gut their health care benefits, making them more expensive.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093346\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Workers picket outside Ghirardelli’s flagship store in San Francisco on July 30, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fredrick Jones, a greeter at the shop for 17 years, told KQED he fears not being able to afford medication that keeps his body from rejecting a heart transplant he underwent last October.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This benefit that we have right now is very important to us. It helped me out big time with my heart transplant,” Jones, a 47-year-old San Francisco resident, said. “That’s why we’re doing this strike, to let people know that the company is not respecting employees like they should.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the Lindt & Sprüngli Group, which owns Ghirardelli, said in a statement that the company values and respects its employees. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ghirardelli, one of the nation’s oldest chocolate companies, was founded in San Francisco during the Gold Rush by Italian chocolatier Domenico “Domingo” Ghirardelli.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are currently in active contract negotiations with the union and are committed to bargaining in good faith,” the spokesperson wrote in an e-mail. “Our main focus right now is on reaching an agreement that supports our employees and ensures the long-term success of our business.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lindt & Sprüngli, headquartered in Switzerland, posted nearly 6 billion Swiss francs in sales \u003ca href=\"https://www.lindt-spruengli.com/investors/financial-reporting/annual-report-2025\">last year\u003c/a>, or more than $7.3 billion. Its operating profits totaled 970 million francs, or about $1.2 billion, after expenses and the costs of goods.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The union representing the 45 strikers accused the company of bargaining in bad faith by refusing to share relevant information, such as how much it profits from a 6% “healthcare fee” charged to customers at Ghirardelli Plaza locations. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Management aims to switch employees’ health plan to one that would impose unaffordable co-payments for emergency room visits or critical services, said Sonya Karabel, campaign researcher at Unite Here Local 2.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091961\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Josh Sokolski (left) and Brenda Hinaga (right), both occupational therapists from Kaiser Walnut Creek, march while on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center on Feb. 19, 2026. Kaiser workers on the picket lines have gone without their paychecks for four weeks, and many are facing financial and other difficulties.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Customers expect, ‘Oh, okay, this [fee] is gonna cover workers’ health insurance.’ And yet, Ghirardelli is trying to cut their health insurance,” Karabel said. “They need to be transparent about what kind of resources they’re getting from customers that are supposed to be dedicated to paying for health care coverage.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last year, disputes over health benefits became a flash point driving work stoppages nationwide, as medical coverage costs continued to rise, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/faculty-and-research/labor-action-tracker-2025\">a report\u003c/a> by researchers at Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In recent months, Bay Area \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083589/uc-reaches-contract-deal-with-service-hospital-workers-averting-strike\">service workers\u003c/a> at the University of California, warehouse staff at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092155/arrests-injuries-at-ch-sugar-protest-as-strike-at-crockett-refinery-enters-sixth-week\">C&H Sugar refinery\u003c/a> in Crockett and patient care \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074265/widespread-kaiser-strike-to-end-after-4-weeks-with-no-deal-yet\">employees at Kaiser Permanente\u003c/a> have said that protecting or improving their health insurance was a main reason for striking.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Striking workers say the Bay Area chocolate maker is proposing to raise employee healthcare costs.\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Dozens of chocolatiers, cashiers and other employees at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company’s flagship store in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> entered the second day of a strike on Friday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The walkout, expected to end Saturday night, aims to pressure the company to agree to concessions after more than a year of contract negotiations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Picketers at Ghirardelli Square urged consumers to boycott the brand’s popular business at one of the city’s most iconic tourist destinations. The strike at the Original Ghirardelli Chocolate & Ice Cream Shop is the first in more than 40 years, and comes as unionized employees oppose a company proposal they said would gut their health care benefits, making them more expensive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093346\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260730-GHIRARDELLI-STRIKE-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Workers picket outside Ghirardelli’s flagship store in San Francisco on July 30, 2026. (Courtesy of Unite Here)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fredrick Jones, a greeter at the shop for 17 years, told KQED he fears not being able to afford medication that keeps his body from rejecting a heart transplant he underwent last October.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This benefit that we have right now is very important to us. It helped me out big time with my heart transplant,” Jones, a 47-year-old San Francisco resident, said. “That’s why we’re doing this strike, to let people know that the company is not respecting employees like they should.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the Lindt & Sprüngli Group, which owns Ghirardelli, said in a statement that the company values and respects its employees. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ghirardelli, one of the nation’s oldest chocolate companies, was founded in San Francisco during the Gold Rush by Italian chocolatier Domenico “Domingo” Ghirardelli.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are currently in active contract negotiations with the union and are committed to bargaining in good faith,” the spokesperson wrote in an e-mail. “Our main focus right now is on reaching an agreement that supports our employees and ensures the long-term success of our business.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lindt & Sprüngli, headquartered in Switzerland, posted nearly 6 billion Swiss francs in sales \u003ca href=\"https://www.lindt-spruengli.com/investors/financial-reporting/annual-report-2025\">last year\u003c/a>, or more than $7.3 billion. Its operating profits totaled 970 million francs, or about $1.2 billion, after expenses and the costs of goods.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union representing the 45 strikers accused the company of bargaining in bad faith by refusing to share relevant information, such as how much it profits from a 6% “healthcare fee” charged to customers at Ghirardelli Plaza locations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Management aims to switch employees’ health plan to one that would impose unaffordable co-payments for emergency room visits or critical services, said Sonya Karabel, campaign researcher at Unite Here Local 2.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091961\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260219-strikingkaiserworkers00781_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Josh Sokolski (left) and Brenda Hinaga (right), both occupational therapists from Kaiser Walnut Creek, march while on strike at the picket line outside Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center on Feb. 19, 2026. Kaiser workers on the picket lines have gone without their paychecks for four weeks, and many are facing financial and other difficulties. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Customers expect, ‘Oh, okay, this [fee] is gonna cover workers’ health insurance.’ And yet, Ghirardelli is trying to cut their health insurance,” Karabel said. “They need to be transparent about what kind of resources they’re getting from customers that are supposed to be dedicated to paying for health care coverage.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last year, disputes over health benefits became a flash point driving work stoppages nationwide, as medical coverage costs continued to rise, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/faculty-and-research/labor-action-tracker-2025\">a report\u003c/a> by researchers at Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent months, Bay Area \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083589/uc-reaches-contract-deal-with-service-hospital-workers-averting-strike\">service workers\u003c/a> at the University of California, warehouse staff at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092155/arrests-injuries-at-ch-sugar-protest-as-strike-at-crockett-refinery-enters-sixth-week\">C&H Sugar refinery\u003c/a> in Crockett and patient care \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074265/widespread-kaiser-strike-to-end-after-4-weeks-with-no-deal-yet\">employees at Kaiser Permanente\u003c/a> have said that protecting or improving their health insurance was a main reason for striking.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "UC Doctors Seek to Unionize 10,000 Colleagues in Massive Campaign",
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"content": "\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/university-of-california\">University of California\u003c/a> is confronting a large unionization effort among employees who have historically stayed outside of unions: doctors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Thursday, physicians announced their plans to form a union with SEIU Doctors United — a partnership between Doctors Council, Service Employees International Union and Committee of Interns and Residents that represents more than 45,000 doctors nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The move points to a marked shift in the healthcare industry, where in the past, it has been somewhat rare for generally highly paid doctors to join unions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But interest in collective bargaining within the medical profession has accelerated, particularly post-pandemic, as more physicians report deteriorating working conditions and a loss of clinical autonomy amidst an increasingly consolidated and profit-driven industry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092511\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doctors attend a press conference held by UCSF attending doctors to announce the UC unionization effort with SEIU Doctors United at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on July 23, 2026, in San Francisco, California. (Thos Robinson/Getty Images for SEIU Doctors United)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Attending physicians at UC, who make clinical decisions and often supervise residents and medical students, said they are stretched thin with unsustainable patient loads, understaffing and less decision-making power — concerns often echoed by nurses and other patient care workers with higher union participation rates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes I do feel, especially as a primary care physician, overwhelmed,” Dr. Radhika Rajan, a UCSF pediatrician at SF General, told KQED. “The work that we have to do does not stop when we are leaving [the] clinic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“So many of us are excited to unionize because the goal is to be able to have the resources to provide better care for our patients,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, UC said it takes concerns about physicians’ workload, staffing and professional support seriously, adding that burnout is a nationwide challenge driven by workforce shortages and other factors. UC Health leaders regularly work with staff physicians to improve the job environment and evaluate hiring and retention needs, the university said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to listening to physicians and clinical faculty, addressing concerns and continuously improving the experience of the people who make UC Health’s clinical, educational and research missions possible,” UC’s statement said. “UC Health locations continually assess staffing, recruitment, security practices and workplace needs, recognizing that conditions vary across specialties, departments and care settings.”\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>About $24 billion, \u003ca href=\"https://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/sites/default/files/2025-02/uc-health-fact-sheet-web.pdf\">nearly 40%\u003c/a> of the university’s total revenue last year, came from its six academic health centers, serving 2.5 million Californians. UC is the state’s second largest employer and the nation’s largest public healthcare system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Labor experts said it’s unlikely that university executives would welcome a new large doctors’ union. If the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdoctorsunited.org/\">UC Doctors United\u003c/a> organizing campaign is successful, it could inspire doctors elsewhere to seek a collective voice on the job, according to John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A second union, University Professional & Technical Employees, is also \u003ca href=\"https://uc-physicians.org/\">organizing\u003c/a> attending physicians at UC. According to Logan, over half of these doctors systemwide would have to show union support in order for the university to be required to recognize them as a unit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People who run the university undoubtedly will not want 10,000 doctors at the UC system to unionize and to have to bargain collectively over things that they can unilaterally decide at the moment,” Logan said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The university this month reached a \u003ca href=\"https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/uc-and-cir-seiu-reach-tentative-contract-agreement\">tentative agreement\u003c/a> with the Committee of Interns and Residents, which represents 6,400 resident physicians and fellows who generally earn lower incomes than attending doctors. The deal includes an 18% salary increase and improvements to address emergency room capacity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In California, attending physicians earn more than $200,000 per year on average, depending on location, experience and specialty, according to Salary.com.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nationwide, \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11221793/\">less than 10%\u003c/a> of practicing physicians are union members.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was updated to include a comment from the University of California, which did not respond before original publication.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Thursday, physicians announced their plans to form a union with SEIU Doctors United — a partnership between Doctors Council, Service Employees International Union and Committee of Interns and Residents that represents more than 45,000 doctors nationwide.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But interest in collective bargaining within the medical profession has accelerated, particularly post-pandemic, as more physicians report deteriorating working conditions and a loss of clinical autonomy amidst an increasingly consolidated and profit-driven industry.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092511\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doctors attend a press conference held by UCSF attending doctors to announce the UC unionization effort with SEIU Doctors United at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on July 23, 2026, in San Francisco, California. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Attending physicians at UC, who make clinical decisions and often supervise residents and medical students, said they are stretched thin with unsustainable patient loads, understaffing and less decision-making power — concerns often echoed by nurses and other patient care workers with higher union participation rates.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Sometimes I do feel, especially as a primary care physician, overwhelmed,” Dr. Radhika Rajan, a UCSF pediatrician at SF General, told KQED. “The work that we have to do does not stop when we are leaving [the] clinic.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“So many of us are excited to unionize because the goal is to be able to have the resources to provide better care for our patients,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a statement, UC said it takes concerns about physicians’ workload, staffing and professional support seriously, adding that burnout is a nationwide challenge driven by workforce shortages and other factors. UC Health leaders regularly work with staff physicians to improve the job environment and evaluate hiring and retention needs, the university said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to listening to physicians and clinical faculty, addressing concerns and continuously improving the experience of the people who make UC Health’s clinical, educational and research missions possible,” UC’s statement said. “UC Health locations continually assess staffing, recruitment, security practices and workplace needs, recognizing that conditions vary across specialties, departments and care settings.”\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>About $24 billion, \u003ca href=\"https://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/sites/default/files/2025-02/uc-health-fact-sheet-web.pdf\">nearly 40%\u003c/a> of the university’s total revenue last year, came from its six academic health centers, serving 2.5 million Californians. UC is the state’s second largest employer and the nation’s largest public healthcare system.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>About $24 billion, \u003ca href=\"https://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/sites/default/files/2025-02/uc-health-fact-sheet-web.pdf\">nearly 40%\u003c/a> of the university’s total revenue last year, came from its six academic health centers, serving 2.5 million Californians. UC is the state’s second largest employer and the nation’s largest public healthcare system.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Labor experts said it’s unlikely that university executives would welcome a new large doctors’ union. If the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdoctorsunited.org/\">UC Doctors United\u003c/a> organizing campaign is successful, it could inspire doctors elsewhere to seek a collective voice on the job, according to John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A second union, University Professional & Technical Employees, is also \u003ca href=\"https://uc-physicians.org/\">organizing\u003c/a> attending physicians at UC. According to Logan, over half of these doctors systemwide would have to show union support in order for the university to be required to recognize them as a unit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A second union, University Professional & Technical Employees, is also \u003ca href=\"https://uc-physicians.org/\">organizing\u003c/a> attending physicians at UC. According to Logan, over half of these doctors systemwide would have to show union support in order for the university to be required to recognize them as a unit.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“People who run the university undoubtedly will not want 10,000 doctors at the UC system to unionize and to have to bargain collectively over things that they can unilaterally decide at the moment,” Logan said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The university this month reached a \u003ca href=\"https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/uc-and-cir-seiu-reach-tentative-contract-agreement\">tentative agreement\u003c/a> with the Committee of Interns and Residents, which represents 6,400 resident physicians and fellows who generally earn lower incomes than attending doctors. The deal includes an 18% salary increase and improvements to address emergency room capacity.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In California, attending physicians earn more than $200,000 per year on average, depending on location, experience and specialty, according to Salary.com.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nationwide, \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11221793/\">less than 10%\u003c/a> of practicing physicians are union members.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was updated to include a comment from the University of California, which did not respond before original publication.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The University of California is the state’s second largest employer and its health centers serve 2.5 million Californians across the state each year. ",
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"title": "UC Doctors Seek to Unionize 10,000 Colleagues in Massive Campaign | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/university-of-california\">University of California\u003c/a> is confronting a large unionization effort among employees who have historically stayed outside of unions: doctors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Thursday, physicians announced their plans to form a union with SEIU Doctors United — a partnership between Doctors Council, Service Employees International Union and Committee of Interns and Residents that represents more than 45,000 doctors nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The move points to a marked shift in the healthcare industry, where in the past, it has been somewhat rare for generally highly paid doctors to join unions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But interest in collective bargaining within the medical profession has accelerated, particularly post-pandemic, as more physicians report deteriorating working conditions and a loss of clinical autonomy amidst an increasingly consolidated and profit-driven industry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092511\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/UCDoctors3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doctors attend a press conference held by UCSF attending doctors to announce the UC unionization effort with SEIU Doctors United at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on July 23, 2026, in San Francisco, California. (Thos Robinson/Getty Images for SEIU Doctors United)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Attending physicians at UC, who make clinical decisions and often supervise residents and medical students, said they are stretched thin with unsustainable patient loads, understaffing and less decision-making power — concerns often echoed by nurses and other patient care workers with higher union participation rates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes I do feel, especially as a primary care physician, overwhelmed,” Dr. Radhika Rajan, a UCSF pediatrician at SF General, told KQED. “The work that we have to do does not stop when we are leaving [the] clinic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“So many of us are excited to unionize because the goal is to be able to have the resources to provide better care for our patients,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, UC said it takes concerns about physicians’ workload, staffing and professional support seriously, adding that burnout is a nationwide challenge driven by workforce shortages and other factors. UC Health leaders regularly work with staff physicians to improve the job environment and evaluate hiring and retention needs, the university said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to listening to physicians and clinical faculty, addressing concerns and continuously improving the experience of the people who make UC Health’s clinical, educational and research missions possible,” UC’s statement said. “UC Health locations continually assess staffing, recruitment, security practices and workplace needs, recognizing that conditions vary across specialties, departments and care settings.”\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>About $24 billion, \u003ca href=\"https://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/sites/default/files/2025-02/uc-health-fact-sheet-web.pdf\">nearly 40%\u003c/a> of the university’s total revenue last year, came from its six academic health centers, serving 2.5 million Californians. UC is the state’s second largest employer and the nation’s largest public healthcare system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Labor experts said it’s unlikely that university executives would welcome a new large doctors’ union. If the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdoctorsunited.org/\">UC Doctors United\u003c/a> organizing campaign is successful, it could inspire doctors elsewhere to seek a collective voice on the job, according to John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A second union, University Professional & Technical Employees, is also \u003ca href=\"https://uc-physicians.org/\">organizing\u003c/a> attending physicians at UC. According to Logan, over half of these doctors systemwide would have to show union support in order for the university to be required to recognize them as a unit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People who run the university undoubtedly will not want 10,000 doctors at the UC system to unionize and to have to bargain collectively over things that they can unilaterally decide at the moment,” Logan said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The university this month reached a \u003ca href=\"https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/uc-and-cir-seiu-reach-tentative-contract-agreement\">tentative agreement\u003c/a> with the Committee of Interns and Residents, which represents 6,400 resident physicians and fellows who generally earn lower incomes than attending doctors. The deal includes an 18% salary increase and improvements to address emergency room capacity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In California, attending physicians earn more than $200,000 per year on average, depending on location, experience and specialty, according to Salary.com.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nationwide, \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11221793/\">less than 10%\u003c/a> of practicing physicians are union members.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was updated to include a comment from the University of California, which did not respond before original publication.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "unacceptable-san-francisco-officials-question-kaisers-approach-to-ai-in-mental-health",
"title": "‘Unacceptable’: San Francisco Officials Question Kaiser’s Approach to AI in Mental Health",
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"headTitle": "‘Unacceptable’: San Francisco Officials Question Kaiser’s Approach to AI in Mental Health | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Unlicensed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073839/kaiser-therapists-take-key-step-toward-1-day-strike\">phone operators and algorithms\u003c/a> directing patients to inadequate telehealth services. Controversial \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999553/will-ai-replace-your-therapist-kaiser-wont-say-no\">artificial intelligence technologies\u003c/a> are increasingly deployed at clinics. Distraught patients who can’t get an appointment with a human for weeks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those were some of the alarms raised by Kaiser Permanente clinicians who told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors the healthcare giant has failed to significantly improve its mental-health services, even after recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073484/kaiser-workers-say-patients-deserve-better-mental-health-care-after-31m-settlement\">sanctions by state and federal regulators\u003c/a> for denying or delaying care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The hearing Tuesday examined Kaiser’s \u003ca href=\"https://nuhw.org/wp-content/uploads/Kaiser_IBHS_fact_sheet_SFBOS_hearing_20260701.pdf\">contract \u003c/a>proposals during labor negotiations, which the union said would allow the employer to expand its use of AI tools in mental-health care and lay off more therapists who currently provide it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Experts said these changes could degrade care by giving the company a free pass to outsource patients to companies that use chatbots and squeeze overworked professionals — claims Kaiser denies. The clinicians pleaded with supervisors to pressure their employer to strengthen patient care and support its staff.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The things that we discussed today are infuriating, concerning and unacceptable,” said Supervisor Chyanne Chen, who called the hearing after multiple constituents, including Kaiser employees, complained about the healthcare company’s approach.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chen said she’ll introduce a resolution next week calling on the state’s largest health plan to agree to contract language stating it will use AI to help therapists — not replace them — and back off a proposal that would allow it to refer more patients to third-party contractors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaiser executives declined to attend the hearing, a move several supervisors decried as disappointing or even “disrespectful.” The city of San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District and other public employers paid Kaiser $508 million in health premiums last year to cover more than 39,000 employees and retirees, according to the San Francisco Health Service System. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076763\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Kaiser Permanente building at 1800 Harrison (center-top) in Oakland on March 16, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Their nonpresence suggests to me that the picture that’s being painted by the workers is pretty accurate,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said. “We do not want to be subjecting our employees and our retirees to a situation where they can’t actually get the care that they need.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said it does not use AI to diagnose patients or make clinical decisions, and that it remains focused on providing timely, high-quality mental-health care while reaching a fair agreement with the therapists’ union. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 2023, Kaiser has agreed to pay more than $231 million in settlements after investigations into the company’s behavioral treatment access by the U.S. Department of Labor and the California Department of Managed Health Care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The nonprofit health organization said it has invested more than $2 billion since 2020 to expand its mental-health facilities and provider networks, and now consistently meets California law requiring health plans to provide timely access to care. Kaiser, headquartered in Oakland, made a net income of $9.3 billion last year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the yearlong contract talks, Kaiser has resisted language stating that the company won’t use AI to replace therapists and proposed making it easier to lay them off, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents 2,400 psychologists, licensed clinical social workers and other behavioral health professionals at Kaiser in Northern California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union, which staged a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076753/northern-california-kaiser-therapists-hold-1-day-strike-over-ai-patient-care-concerns\">one-day strike\u003c/a> earlier this year and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11929713/kaiser-mental-health-workers-appove-new-contract-ending-10-week-strike\">10-week strike\u003c/a> in 2022, said the parties are set to start mediation next month.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Monday, the union filed its latest complaint with the California Department of Managed Health Care alleging that a Kaiser triage system that initially screens patients seeking mental-health care violates California law because it relies on automated algorithms and unlicensed clerical staff — instead of licensed clinicians — to recommend care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s violating patient care standards and putting patients at risk. Artificial intelligence and algorithms don’t capture what trained humans can,” Ilana Marcucci-Morris, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Kaiser in Oakland, told supervisors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marcucci-Morris said she has seen AI making patient care errors at work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This isn’t about genuine innovation. It’s about saving a buck at the expense of patient care and public health. If we don’t stop them now, we won’t stand a chance down the road,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaiser argued that clerical staff who make appointments for patients are trained to escalate an emergency to clinical staff, and its behavioral health e-visit tool helps connect members to care more quickly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is an additional path to getting care — not the only path,” the company’s statement said. “On every screen throughout the e-visit process, the patient is provided a phone number that they can call at any time to talk to a live person.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Unlicensed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073839/kaiser-therapists-take-key-step-toward-1-day-strike\">phone operators and algorithms\u003c/a> directing patients to inadequate telehealth services. Controversial \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999553/will-ai-replace-your-therapist-kaiser-wont-say-no\">artificial intelligence technologies\u003c/a> are increasingly deployed at clinics. Distraught patients who can’t get an appointment with a human for weeks. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those were some of the alarms raised by Kaiser Permanente clinicians who told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors the healthcare giant has failed to significantly improve its mental-health services, even after recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073484/kaiser-workers-say-patients-deserve-better-mental-health-care-after-31m-settlement\">sanctions by state and federal regulators\u003c/a> for denying or delaying care.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The hearing Tuesday examined Kaiser’s \u003ca href=\"https://nuhw.org/wp-content/uploads/Kaiser_IBHS_fact_sheet_SFBOS_hearing_20260701.pdf\">contract \u003c/a>proposals during labor negotiations, which the union said would allow the employer to expand its use of AI tools in mental-health care and lay off more therapists who currently provide it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Experts said these changes could degrade care by giving the company a free pass to outsource patients to companies that use chatbots and squeeze overworked professionals — claims Kaiser denies. The clinicians pleaded with supervisors to pressure their employer to strengthen patient care and support its staff.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The things that we discussed today are infuriating, concerning and unacceptable,” said Supervisor Chyanne Chen, who called the hearing after multiple constituents, including Kaiser employees, complained about the healthcare company’s approach.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chen said she’ll introduce a resolution next week calling on the state’s largest health plan to agree to contract language stating it will use AI to help therapists — not replace them — and back off a proposal that would allow it to refer more patients to third-party contractors. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kaiser executives declined to attend the hearing, a move several supervisors decried as disappointing or even “disrespectful.” The city of San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District and other public employers paid Kaiser $508 million in health premiums last year to cover more than 39,000 employees and retirees, according to the San Francisco Health Service System. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Their nonpresence suggests to me that the picture that’s being painted by the workers is pretty accurate,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said. “We do not want to be subjecting our employees and our retirees to a situation where they can’t actually get the care that they need.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The nonprofit health organization said it has invested more than $2 billion since 2020 to expand its mental-health facilities and provider networks, and now consistently meets California law requiring health plans to provide timely access to care. Kaiser, headquartered in Oakland, made a net income of $9.3 billion last year. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During the yearlong contract talks, Kaiser has resisted language stating that the company won’t use AI to replace therapists and proposed making it easier to lay them off, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents 2,400 psychologists, licensed clinical social workers and other behavioral health professionals at Kaiser in Northern California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Monday, the union filed its latest complaint with the California Department of Managed Health Care alleging that a Kaiser triage system that initially screens patients seeking mental-health care violates California law because it relies on automated algorithms and unlicensed clerical staff — instead of licensed clinicians — to recommend care. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s violating patient care standards and putting patients at risk. Artificial intelligence and algorithms don’t capture what trained humans can,” Ilana Marcucci-Morris, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Kaiser in Oakland, told supervisors. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This isn’t about genuine innovation. It’s about saving a buck at the expense of patient care and public health. If we don’t stop them now, we won’t stand a chance down the road,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It is an additional path to getting care — not the only path,” the company’s statement said. “On every screen throughout the e-visit process, the patient is provided a phone number that they can call at any time to talk to a live person.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In a hearing, therapists decried Kaiser’s proposed contract terms during labor negotiations, which they argued would undermine mental health services. The largest health insurer for city employees said it remains focused on providing timely, high-quality mental health services.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chen said she’ll introduce a resolution next week calling on the state’s largest health plan to agree to contract language stating it will use AI to help therapists — not replace them — and back off a proposal that would allow it to refer more patients to third-party contractors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaiser executives declined to attend the hearing, a move several supervisors decried as disappointing or even “disrespectful.” The city of San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District and other public employers paid Kaiser $508 million in health premiums last year to cover more than 39,000 employees and retirees, according to the San Francisco Health Service System. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076763\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260317-KAISER-RETREATS-MD-09-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Kaiser Permanente building at 1800 Harrison (center-top) in Oakland on March 16, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Their nonpresence suggests to me that the picture that’s being painted by the workers is pretty accurate,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said. “We do not want to be subjecting our employees and our retirees to a situation where they can’t actually get the care that they need.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kaiser said it does not use AI to diagnose patients or make clinical decisions, and that it remains focused on providing timely, high-quality mental-health care while reaching a fair agreement with the therapists’ union. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 2023, Kaiser has agreed to pay more than $231 million in settlements after investigations into the company’s behavioral treatment access by the U.S. Department of Labor and the California Department of Managed Health Care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The nonprofit health organization said it has invested more than $2 billion since 2020 to expand its mental-health facilities and provider networks, and now consistently meets California law requiring health plans to provide timely access to care. Kaiser, headquartered in Oakland, made a net income of $9.3 billion last year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the yearlong contract talks, Kaiser has resisted language stating that the company won’t use AI to replace therapists and proposed making it easier to lay them off, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents 2,400 psychologists, licensed clinical social workers and other behavioral health professionals at Kaiser in Northern California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union, which staged a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076753/northern-california-kaiser-therapists-hold-1-day-strike-over-ai-patient-care-concerns\">one-day strike\u003c/a> earlier this year and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11929713/kaiser-mental-health-workers-appove-new-contract-ending-10-week-strike\">10-week strike\u003c/a> in 2022, said the parties are set to start mediation next month.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Monday, the union filed its latest complaint with the California Department of Managed Health Care alleging that a Kaiser triage system that initially screens patients seeking mental-health care violates California law because it relies on automated algorithms and unlicensed clerical staff — instead of licensed clinicians — to recommend care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s violating patient care standards and putting patients at risk. Artificial intelligence and algorithms don’t capture what trained humans can,” Ilana Marcucci-Morris, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Kaiser in Oakland, told supervisors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marcucci-Morris said she has seen AI making patient care errors at work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This isn’t about genuine innovation. It’s about saving a buck at the expense of patient care and public health. If we don’t stop them now, we won’t stand a chance down the road,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kaiser argued that clerical staff who make appointments for patients are trained to escalate an emergency to clinical staff, and its behavioral health e-visit tool helps connect members to care more quickly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is an additional path to getting care — not the only path,” the company’s statement said. “On every screen throughout the e-visit process, the patient is provided a phone number that they can call at any time to talk to a live person.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On the morning of Jan. 1, 2025, Oakland airport skycap Keiana Vernon collapsed while helping passengers check luggage outside Terminal 2. Coworkers rushed to lift her to her feet, but she could barely walk. Pain radiated from the right side of her body, where she said she felt the impact most. Her supervisors were alerted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was in excruciating pain,” Vernon, 47, said. “It was very painful to walk on my leg because I lost a lot of movement in my right leg. And that’s what’s bothering me to this day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incident and her employer’s response became a turning point that unraveled her life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The once-active Oakland native now spends her days in a wheelchair, living at an Alameda County skilled nursing facility with no income. Vernon blames her employer, Prospect Airport Services, for allegedly failing to follow California’s requirements for responding to workplace injuries. As weeks passed without her returning to work, Vernon’s job was terminated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s workers’ compensation system is intended to ensure employees injured on the job quickly receive medical care while claims are investigated. Benefits may also include partial wage replacement during recovery. But interviews with Vernon, several coworkers and a former supervisor suggest those protections may have broken down in her case, illustrating how workers can fall through the system’s cracks with devastating financial and medical consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vernon lost her housing, car and life’s savings after 22 years of working for airline services contractors at the Oakland airport, she said, including five years as a Prospect employee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s unfair. I needed a lot of help throughout the process, and I felt like they failed me. I didn’t know where to begin as far as medical coverage, how to seek any type of support,” Vernon said. “I hit rock bottom. I became homeless because of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087350\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12087350 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keiana Vernon holds a photo of herself at work at Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport on her phone outside Fairmont Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in San Leandro on June 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most California employers are responsible for arranging prompt medical attention for a work-related injury. State law also required the company to give Vernon a workers’ compensation claim form within a day and report the incident to its insurance company within five days, both critical steps to beginning the benefits process. None of that happened, according to Vernon and a former supervisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Vernon said her manager, Salesh Prasad, told her to go home shortly after her fall. He directed a coworker to drive her to the airport employee parking lot, where she was left alone in her car, with no clear guidance about medical care. She tried contacting Prasad in the days that followed, but he became unresponsive, she said, finally asking her to turn in her security badge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attempts to reach Prospect Airport Services were unsuccessful. Unifi Aviation, which owns Prospect, declined several requests for comment. Unifi, North America’s largest provider of aviation services, operates at more than 240 airports. The Atlanta-based\u003ca href=\"https://www.carlyle.com/media-room/news-release-archive/carlyle-announces-strategic-financing-unifi-aviation\"> company\u003c/a>, which generates about $2 billion in revenue, is a subsidiary of the privately held Argenbright Holdings, its majority owner, and Delta Air Lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Southwest Airlines, which contracts with Prospect at OAK, deferred questions to the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to labor experts, the chain of contractors servicing airlines incentivizes cost-cutting, leaving low-wage workers who push passengers in wheelchairs, clean airplane cabins and handle baggage with eroded benefits and job conditions, particularly if they are not unionized, as is the case with Prospect’s Oakland baggage handlers.[aside postID=news_12084053 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1438-KQED.jpg']It’s unclear whether the company’s alleged failure to respond to Vernon’s injury as required by law was an isolated incident or part of a broader pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Failures to follow workers’ compensation laws are often the result of employers not properly training or overseeing their managers, said Jason Marcus, former president of the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association, whose members represent injured workers in the workers’ compensation system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve certainly seen my fair share of what we kind of refer to as horror stories,” said Marcus, who has nearly two decades of experience. “Somebody gets hurt, suffers a serious injury, and is kind of left to their own devices without any real help or guidance from their employer. And that’s just not how it’s supposed to work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time Nicole Owens visited Vernon at her home in March, she was dismayed to find her long-time friend mostly immobile, in pain and depressed. The last time the pair — who refer to each other as sisters — had seen each other was in September 2024, when they’d danced together at the Oakland Arena during an Usher show, Vernon’s favorite performer, Owens said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was very shocking, I’ll be honest with you, because I’m used to my sister working two jobs and being very mobile, full of life, always moving around,” said Owens, 48, a program manager at PG&E. “So to see her in this state, it was just very disheartening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Owens said that, after calling Prospect three times without receiving a response, she helped Vernon, who is estranged from relatives, find medical help. Doctors at Alameda Health System have since diagnosed Vernon with a nerve disorder, chronic bilateral low back pain and right-sided sciatica. At the Fairmont Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, where Vernon has lived for about a year, she continues to take cortisone shots to manage her pain. She remains unable to walk without fearing she will fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Prospect supervisor who was not present at the airport the morning of Vernon’s accident but later checked on her case in the company’s computer system said he found no evidence of an on-the-job injury report, a medical filing, an insurance claim or other paperwork indicating that proper procedures were followed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046383\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/240412-OAKAirport-009-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/240412-OAKAirport-009-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/240412-OAKAirport-009-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/240412-OAKAirport-009-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign for the Oakland International Airport hangs above a BART station at the airport in Oakland on April 12, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a complete negligence on the part of the company,” said Alan Norris, a Prospect training supervisor who said he helped Vernon file a formal complaint with Cal/OSHA, which is investigating. “She should have had a good outcome, at least a reasonable outcome. ‘Hey, she got injured, OK, let’s get you the help.’ But no, she was completely ignored, thrown under the bus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norris was fired earlier this year. He believes he was retaliated against for reporting what he described as a “toxic work environment” to Prospect’s human resources department and Southwest. According to Norris, Vernon and a current employee who declined to be identified for fear of retaliation, some Prospect managers allowed favoritism, harassment and other problems to fester at OAK while the company failed to address conduct they described as illegal or incompetent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2023, Prospect agreed to a confidential settlement to resolve a lawsuit by a female dispatcher at the airport who alleged she was wrongly terminated after managers, including Prasad, failed to prevent a supervisor’s sexual harassment, which she claimed began weeks after she was hired, according to KQED’s review of public records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad stopped working for Prospect in February, according to his LinkedIn profile. Reached by phone, Prasad confirmed he was no longer working for the company and declined to answer questions about Vernon. “Better contact the company,” he said before hanging up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087349\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087349\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keiana Vernon (center) talks with fellow residents who have become friends outside Fairmont Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in San Leandro on June 11, 2026. Vernon suffered a workplace injury while working for an airport services contractor and is now living at the long-term care facility after developing chronic injuries and mobility limitations. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In April, Vernon and other airline service contractors at the Oakland airport spoke about safety hazards and other alleged labor law violations before the Port of Oakland Board of Commissioners, which oversees the airport. Accompanying the workers were organizers with SEIU-USWW, calling on the Port to adopt policies that the union said would incentivize regulatory compliance by contractors, which operate under agreements with the airlines — not the airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said the Port is considering a measure that would affirm workers’ rights to unionize without retaliation, similar to one already in place at the San Francisco International Airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Port requires all contractors and employers operating at the airport to comply with applicable federal, state and local labor laws, but it’s up to separate enforcement agencies to investigate any alleged violations, said Justin Berton, communications director for the Port. The Port, however, is reviewing its tenant labor standards and discussing the airport contractor concerns raised by workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re taking these issues very, very seriously,” Andreas Cluver, president of the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners, told workers during the April 9 meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On the morning of Jan. 1, 2025, Oakland airport skycap Keiana Vernon collapsed while helping passengers check luggage outside Terminal 2. Coworkers rushed to lift her to her feet, but she could barely walk. Pain radiated from the right side of her body, where she said she felt the impact most. Her supervisors were alerted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was in excruciating pain,” Vernon, 47, said. “It was very painful to walk on my leg because I lost a lot of movement in my right leg. And that’s what’s bothering me to this day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incident and her employer’s response became a turning point that unraveled her life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The once-active Oakland native now spends her days in a wheelchair, living at an Alameda County skilled nursing facility with no income. Vernon blames her employer, Prospect Airport Services, for allegedly failing to follow California’s requirements for responding to workplace injuries. As weeks passed without her returning to work, Vernon’s job was terminated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s workers’ compensation system is intended to ensure employees injured on the job quickly receive medical care while claims are investigated. Benefits may also include partial wage replacement during recovery. But interviews with Vernon, several coworkers and a former supervisor suggest those protections may have broken down in her case, illustrating how workers can fall through the system’s cracks with devastating financial and medical consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vernon lost her housing, car and life’s savings after 22 years of working for airline services contractors at the Oakland airport, she said, including five years as a Prospect employee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s unfair. I needed a lot of help throughout the process, and I felt like they failed me. I didn’t know where to begin as far as medical coverage, how to seek any type of support,” Vernon said. “I hit rock bottom. I became homeless because of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087350\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12087350 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keiana Vernon holds a photo of herself at work at Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport on her phone outside Fairmont Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in San Leandro on June 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most California employers are responsible for arranging prompt medical attention for a work-related injury. State law also required the company to give Vernon a workers’ compensation claim form within a day and report the incident to its insurance company within five days, both critical steps to beginning the benefits process. None of that happened, according to Vernon and a former supervisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Vernon said her manager, Salesh Prasad, told her to go home shortly after her fall. He directed a coworker to drive her to the airport employee parking lot, where she was left alone in her car, with no clear guidance about medical care. She tried contacting Prasad in the days that followed, but he became unresponsive, she said, finally asking her to turn in her security badge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attempts to reach Prospect Airport Services were unsuccessful. Unifi Aviation, which owns Prospect, declined several requests for comment. Unifi, North America’s largest provider of aviation services, operates at more than 240 airports. The Atlanta-based\u003ca href=\"https://www.carlyle.com/media-room/news-release-archive/carlyle-announces-strategic-financing-unifi-aviation\"> company\u003c/a>, which generates about $2 billion in revenue, is a subsidiary of the privately held Argenbright Holdings, its majority owner, and Delta Air Lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Southwest Airlines, which contracts with Prospect at OAK, deferred questions to the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to labor experts, the chain of contractors servicing airlines incentivizes cost-cutting, leaving low-wage workers who push passengers in wheelchairs, clean airplane cabins and handle baggage with eroded benefits and job conditions, particularly if they are not unionized, as is the case with Prospect’s Oakland baggage handlers.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>It’s unclear whether the company’s alleged failure to respond to Vernon’s injury as required by law was an isolated incident or part of a broader pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Failures to follow workers’ compensation laws are often the result of employers not properly training or overseeing their managers, said Jason Marcus, former president of the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association, whose members represent injured workers in the workers’ compensation system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve certainly seen my fair share of what we kind of refer to as horror stories,” said Marcus, who has nearly two decades of experience. “Somebody gets hurt, suffers a serious injury, and is kind of left to their own devices without any real help or guidance from their employer. And that’s just not how it’s supposed to work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time Nicole Owens visited Vernon at her home in March, she was dismayed to find her long-time friend mostly immobile, in pain and depressed. The last time the pair — who refer to each other as sisters — had seen each other was in September 2024, when they’d danced together at the Oakland Arena during an Usher show, Vernon’s favorite performer, Owens said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was very shocking, I’ll be honest with you, because I’m used to my sister working two jobs and being very mobile, full of life, always moving around,” said Owens, 48, a program manager at PG&E. “So to see her in this state, it was just very disheartening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Owens said that, after calling Prospect three times without receiving a response, she helped Vernon, who is estranged from relatives, find medical help. Doctors at Alameda Health System have since diagnosed Vernon with a nerve disorder, chronic bilateral low back pain and right-sided sciatica. At the Fairmont Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, where Vernon has lived for about a year, she continues to take cortisone shots to manage her pain. She remains unable to walk without fearing she will fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Prospect supervisor who was not present at the airport the morning of Vernon’s accident but later checked on her case in the company’s computer system said he found no evidence of an on-the-job injury report, a medical filing, an insurance claim or other paperwork indicating that proper procedures were followed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046383\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/240412-OAKAirport-009-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/240412-OAKAirport-009-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/240412-OAKAirport-009-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/240412-OAKAirport-009-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign for the Oakland International Airport hangs above a BART station at the airport in Oakland on April 12, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a complete negligence on the part of the company,” said Alan Norris, a Prospect training supervisor who said he helped Vernon file a formal complaint with Cal/OSHA, which is investigating. “She should have had a good outcome, at least a reasonable outcome. ‘Hey, she got injured, OK, let’s get you the help.’ But no, she was completely ignored, thrown under the bus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norris was fired earlier this year. He believes he was retaliated against for reporting what he described as a “toxic work environment” to Prospect’s human resources department and Southwest. According to Norris, Vernon and a current employee who declined to be identified for fear of retaliation, some Prospect managers allowed favoritism, harassment and other problems to fester at OAK while the company failed to address conduct they described as illegal or incompetent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2023, Prospect agreed to a confidential settlement to resolve a lawsuit by a female dispatcher at the airport who alleged she was wrongly terminated after managers, including Prasad, failed to prevent a supervisor’s sexual harassment, which she claimed began weeks after she was hired, according to KQED’s review of public records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad stopped working for Prospect in February, according to his LinkedIn profile. Reached by phone, Prasad confirmed he was no longer working for the company and declined to answer questions about Vernon. “Better contact the company,” he said before hanging up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087349\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087349\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260611-OAKLANDAIRPORTWORKERS-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keiana Vernon (center) talks with fellow residents who have become friends outside Fairmont Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in San Leandro on June 11, 2026. Vernon suffered a workplace injury while working for an airport services contractor and is now living at the long-term care facility after developing chronic injuries and mobility limitations. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In April, Vernon and other airline service contractors at the Oakland airport spoke about safety hazards and other alleged labor law violations before the Port of Oakland Board of Commissioners, which oversees the airport. Accompanying the workers were organizers with SEIU-USWW, calling on the Port to adopt policies that the union said would incentivize regulatory compliance by contractors, which operate under agreements with the airlines — not the airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said the Port is considering a measure that would affirm workers’ rights to unionize without retaliation, similar to one already in place at the San Francisco International Airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Port requires all contractors and employers operating at the airport to comply with applicable federal, state and local labor laws, but it’s up to separate enforcement agencies to investigate any alleged violations, said Justin Berton, communications director for the Port. The Port, however, is reviewing its tenant labor standards and discussing the airport contractor concerns raised by workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re taking these issues very, very seriously,” Andreas Cluver, president of the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners, told workers during the April 9 meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>U.S. Republican lawmakers voted to advance a federal bill on Wednesday that would shield artificial stone manufacturers and distributors from liability as their products are increasingly linked to an incurable lung disease, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084053/california-stoneworkers-with-silicosis-struggle-to-get-workers-comp\">disabling and killing stoneworkers in California\u003c/a> and other states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5437\">H.R. 5437\u003c/a>, authored by California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock, would dismiss about 500 filed lawsuits — and prohibit additional ones — by workers seeking monetary damages for injuries after inhaling toxic silica dust generated when cutting artificial stone to make kitchen and bathroom countertops. Most of the civil cases are from California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s vote along party lines on Wednesday recommended the proposed legislation for a full floor vote, over the objections of Democratic members who argued it would primarily benefit one major U.S. manufacturer and multiple foreign ones while denying recourse for young, ill workers in America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is tragic that the Republican majority showed no interest in stopping this epidemic that is killing workers,” David Michaels, a former assistant secretary of labor at OSHA and an epidemiologist at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, said in a statement. “Passage of this legislation will undoubtedly result in more workers being disabled by deadly dust.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing scientific evidence shows that the crystalline silica dust released by artificial stone is uniquely toxic, and stonecutters get sick with often deadly silicosis even when following safety regulations in sophisticated fabrication shops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Measures such as cutting slabs under a layer of water to suppress dust, ventilation systems and wearing masks are insufficient to protect people, according to multiple doctors and workplace safety experts, including those at agencies such as Cal/OSHA and the California Department of Public Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079665\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079665\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/StoneworkerGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/StoneworkerGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/StoneworkerGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/StoneworkerGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone countertop fabricator wears a mask to help protect against airborne particles which can contribute to silicosis at a shop on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023, in Sun Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But in his comments on Wednesday, McClintock \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069714/as-california-silicosis-cases-rise-engineered-stone-industry-seeks-immunity-in-dc\">echoed a main argument\u003c/a> by Cambria, a Minnesota-based company, and Cosentino, headquartered in Spain, that artificial stone slabs are safe to handle as long as countertop fabrication shops downstream in the supply chain follow proper measures. McClintock and other Republican committee members said the bill is needed to protect businesses targeted by what they called frivolous lawsuits and jobs in a multibillion-dollar industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This legislation addresses a fundamental question of fairness in our civil justice system. Who should be held responsible when workplace safety laws are violated? Who is liable when an otherwise safe product is misused?” McClintock, whose congressional district covers parts of the Central Valley and Sierra foothills, said. “We’re now seeing crippling lawsuits that ignore the guilty fabricators and instead sue the manufacturers, because that’s where the money is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This comes as California took a key step last month \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084910/california-steps-closer-to-ban-on-engineered-stone-after-silicosis-surge\">toward a ban\u003c/a> on artificial stone with more than 1% crystalline silica, in an effort to prevent hundreds more workers from contracting an aggressive form of silicosis that has killed at least 31 people in the state’s industry since 2019.[aside postID=news_12084910 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-5-KQED.jpg']More than 560 people have been confirmed with silicosis in California, the only state \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">actively tracking\u003c/a> the disease. Dozens have undergone lung transplants, while dozens more were found ineligible. The surge in silicosis coincides with a rise in popularity of artificial stone, which has become the top countertop material in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly all silicosis patients in California are low-income Latino men, many of them immigrants who said they didn’t know about the dangers of cutting and polishing artificial stone, also known as engineered stone or quartz, until they or co-workers got sick. The cost of their expensive medical treatment has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084053/california-stoneworkers-with-silicosis-struggle-to-get-workers-comp\">largely shouldered \u003c/a>by state taxpayers, and not by workers’ compensation benefits through employers’ insurance, even though silicosis is job-related.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several lawsuits against manufacturers have led to settlements, said James Nevin, an attorney with Brayton-Purcell, a Novato-based law firm that represents workers in most silicosis claims. So far, two of the three cases that reached verdicts have resulted in jury awards: $52.4 million for a Los Angeles former stonecutter in 2024, which was appealed, and $17.4 million for a 28-year-old stoneworker in Colorado last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevin said only 1% of crystalline silica engineered stone is manufactured in the U.S., with Cambria as the largest domestic producer. The $500 million company employed \u003ca href=\"https://www.cambriausa.com/news-events/press-room/quartz-processing-shift\">1,800 workers \u003c/a>in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Australia became the first country to ban artificial stone in 2024, several major manufacturers have started selling products in the U.S. with lower or no crystalline silica, but Cambria has not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067172\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067172\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone countertop fabricator wears a mask to help protect against airborne particles, which can contribute to silicosis, at a shop on Oct. 31, 2023, in Sun Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A Cambria representative did not immediately respond to KQED’s request for comment on the bill’s progress. Cambria spent $250,000 on lobbying last year, and $50,000 in this year’s first quarter, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?cycle=2025&id=D000095438\">Open Secrets\u003c/a>, a nonprofit tracking money in politics. \u003ca href=\"https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?id=D000100492\">Cosentino\u003c/a> Group spent more than $350,000 on lobbying in 2025 and $80,000 during the first quarter of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the hearing, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin lambasted the proposed legislation as preferential treatment for Cambria’s CEO Marty Davis, a Trump supporter who has asked the federal government \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/05/17/nx-s1-5726366/ceo-trump-donor-quartz-kitchen-countertop-tariffs\">to impose significant tariffs\u003c/a> on imported engineered stone slabs. Raskin noted the bill does not address the growing silicosis epidemic or any solutions to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Check out this legislation, which would protect one super-powerful, super-rich Donald Trump campaign donor from facing any accountability in the courts as young working men die from avoidable lung failure,” Raskin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>U.S. Republican lawmakers voted to advance a federal bill on Wednesday that would shield artificial stone manufacturers and distributors from liability as their products are increasingly linked to an incurable lung disease, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084053/california-stoneworkers-with-silicosis-struggle-to-get-workers-comp\">disabling and killing stoneworkers in California\u003c/a> and other states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5437\">H.R. 5437\u003c/a>, authored by California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock, would dismiss about 500 filed lawsuits — and prohibit additional ones — by workers seeking monetary damages for injuries after inhaling toxic silica dust generated when cutting artificial stone to make kitchen and bathroom countertops. Most of the civil cases are from California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s vote along party lines on Wednesday recommended the proposed legislation for a full floor vote, over the objections of Democratic members who argued it would primarily benefit one major U.S. manufacturer and multiple foreign ones while denying recourse for young, ill workers in America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is tragic that the Republican majority showed no interest in stopping this epidemic that is killing workers,” David Michaels, a former assistant secretary of labor at OSHA and an epidemiologist at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, said in a statement. “Passage of this legislation will undoubtedly result in more workers being disabled by deadly dust.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing scientific evidence shows that the crystalline silica dust released by artificial stone is uniquely toxic, and stonecutters get sick with often deadly silicosis even when following safety regulations in sophisticated fabrication shops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Measures such as cutting slabs under a layer of water to suppress dust, ventilation systems and wearing masks are insufficient to protect people, according to multiple doctors and workplace safety experts, including those at agencies such as Cal/OSHA and the California Department of Public Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079665\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079665\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/StoneworkerGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/StoneworkerGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/StoneworkerGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/StoneworkerGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone countertop fabricator wears a mask to help protect against airborne particles which can contribute to silicosis at a shop on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023, in Sun Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But in his comments on Wednesday, McClintock \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069714/as-california-silicosis-cases-rise-engineered-stone-industry-seeks-immunity-in-dc\">echoed a main argument\u003c/a> by Cambria, a Minnesota-based company, and Cosentino, headquartered in Spain, that artificial stone slabs are safe to handle as long as countertop fabrication shops downstream in the supply chain follow proper measures. McClintock and other Republican committee members said the bill is needed to protect businesses targeted by what they called frivolous lawsuits and jobs in a multibillion-dollar industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This legislation addresses a fundamental question of fairness in our civil justice system. Who should be held responsible when workplace safety laws are violated? Who is liable when an otherwise safe product is misused?” McClintock, whose congressional district covers parts of the Central Valley and Sierra foothills, said. “We’re now seeing crippling lawsuits that ignore the guilty fabricators and instead sue the manufacturers, because that’s where the money is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This comes as California took a key step last month \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084910/california-steps-closer-to-ban-on-engineered-stone-after-silicosis-surge\">toward a ban\u003c/a> on artificial stone with more than 1% crystalline silica, in an effort to prevent hundreds more workers from contracting an aggressive form of silicosis that has killed at least 31 people in the state’s industry since 2019.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>More than 560 people have been confirmed with silicosis in California, the only state \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">actively tracking\u003c/a> the disease. Dozens have undergone lung transplants, while dozens more were found ineligible. The surge in silicosis coincides with a rise in popularity of artificial stone, which has become the top countertop material in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly all silicosis patients in California are low-income Latino men, many of them immigrants who said they didn’t know about the dangers of cutting and polishing artificial stone, also known as engineered stone or quartz, until they or co-workers got sick. The cost of their expensive medical treatment has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084053/california-stoneworkers-with-silicosis-struggle-to-get-workers-comp\">largely shouldered \u003c/a>by state taxpayers, and not by workers’ compensation benefits through employers’ insurance, even though silicosis is job-related.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several lawsuits against manufacturers have led to settlements, said James Nevin, an attorney with Brayton-Purcell, a Novato-based law firm that represents workers in most silicosis claims. So far, two of the three cases that reached verdicts have resulted in jury awards: $52.4 million for a Los Angeles former stonecutter in 2024, which was appealed, and $17.4 million for a 28-year-old stoneworker in Colorado last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevin said only 1% of crystalline silica engineered stone is manufactured in the U.S., with Cambria as the largest domestic producer. The $500 million company employed \u003ca href=\"https://www.cambriausa.com/news-events/press-room/quartz-processing-shift\">1,800 workers \u003c/a>in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Australia became the first country to ban artificial stone in 2024, several major manufacturers have started selling products in the U.S. with lower or no crystalline silica, but Cambria has not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067172\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067172\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone countertop fabricator wears a mask to help protect against airborne particles, which can contribute to silicosis, at a shop on Oct. 31, 2023, in Sun Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A Cambria representative did not immediately respond to KQED’s request for comment on the bill’s progress. Cambria spent $250,000 on lobbying last year, and $50,000 in this year’s first quarter, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?cycle=2025&id=D000095438\">Open Secrets\u003c/a>, a nonprofit tracking money in politics. \u003ca href=\"https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?id=D000100492\">Cosentino\u003c/a> Group spent more than $350,000 on lobbying in 2025 and $80,000 during the first quarter of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the hearing, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin lambasted the proposed legislation as preferential treatment for Cambria’s CEO Marty Davis, a Trump supporter who has asked the federal government \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/05/17/nx-s1-5726366/ceo-trump-donor-quartz-kitchen-countertop-tariffs\">to impose significant tariffs\u003c/a> on imported engineered stone slabs. Raskin noted the bill does not address the growing silicosis epidemic or any solutions to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Check out this legislation, which would protect one super-powerful, super-rich Donald Trump campaign donor from facing any accountability in the courts as young working men die from avoidable lung failure,” Raskin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California regulators voted Thursday to take a key step toward \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079653/california-fabricators-face-artificial-stone-ban-as-silicosis-cases-mount\">banning a popular countertop material\u003c/a> linked to a surging lung disease that is disabling and killing hundreds of stoneworkers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board came after dozens of physicians, job safety experts, and people gravely ill with silicosis testified that artificial stone’s unique toxicity is causing a public health emergency. Current workplace regulations, enforcement and education are insufficient to save lives, they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We as a board have to recognize that we do not know better than the scientists, the physicians, the workers that we’re hearing from. And we have to take effective action to prevent further cases now,” said board member Derek Urwin, a UCLA chemistry professor and Los Angeles County Fire Department engineer. “Control measures are not working, and it’s not the fault of the workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For months, major manufacturers of artificial stone, opposed to the move, argued that their factory-made product is not the problem, but countertop fabrication shops that fail to follow proper safety measures, such as covering stone slabs with water while cutting to suppress dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Representatives for Minnesota-based Cambria, Cosentino, headquartered in Spain, and other companies in the multi-billion dollar industry sought to cast doubt on the need for a prohibition, proposing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070138/stone-industry-proposes-self-policing-as-california-weighs-artificial-stone-ban\">fabricator certification\u003c/a> program and more enforcement instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Banning a product to compensate for failed enforcement is irresponsible,” said Matt Thurston, regional director of Cosentino North America, during the marathon-length public testimony that preceded the vote in Los Angeles. “Allowing illegal fabricators to keep exposing workers to silica dust from other materials like natural stone is not worker protection. Number two, many shops already use these products safely and legally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080596\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12080596 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">José Andrade Peña holds his wife Susana Sanchez’s hand during a presentation on silica at an Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) meeting in Santa Rosa on April 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Statewide, more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">560 stoneworkers\u003c/a> have contracted a more aggressive form of silicosis after inhaling toxic crystalline silica dust generated by artificial stone when it’s cut or polished. At least 31 people have died from the disease since 2019, and nearly 60 have undergone lung transplants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 75% of these cases were confirmed over the last three years. Nearly all of the patients are Latino men, many of them low-income immigrants who said they didn’t know about the hazards of working with artificial stone, also known as quartz or engineered stone, until they or their co-workers got sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rapid rise of silicosis in the industry — with about 1,000 new cases expected in the state over the next two years — coincides with skyrocketing consumer demand for engineered stone countertops in the last two decades, according to officials at the California Department of Public Health and Cal/OSHA. The state is the only one in the U.S. actively tracking the disease, even though more than a hundred cases linked to artificial stone have been identified in Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Florida and other states.[aside postID=news_12084053 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1438-KQED.jpg']“I’ve had a lot of suffering. Last time, I vomited a lot of blood, and my nightmare did not end there,” Demetrio Luna, a California silicosis survivor who recently underwent a lung transplant, said in Spanish as board members neared a vote. “You can stop this because it is not just the patient who suffers, but the entire family. And despite what they say about wearing masks and cutting with water, the particles are so tiny that they enter the lungs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Silicosis lung transplants among miners and all other occupations were relatively rare in the past three decades, with only 93 total nationwide between 1990 and 2022, said Dr. Betsey Noth, a senior industrial hygienist with Cal/OSHA. Since then, artificial stone workers in California have undergone 58 lung transplants, with additional patients found ineligible for the medical procedure because they were too sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Successful lung transplants, which cost $1 million or more each, extend patients’ lives by only a handful of years on average. Dr. Jane Fazio, a UCLA pulmonologist, told OSHSB board members that lung transplantation for the surge in engineered stone silicosis cases is a “very expensive band-aid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a terrible use of resources, and it is endless human suffering,” said Fazio, who has cared for most silicosis patients in the San Fernando Valley, in the U.S. silicosis epicenter. “Do we want to prolong a problem, or do we want a swift solution to a problem that is only getting worse unless we remove a dangerous product that’s really at the heart of the problem?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080590\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080590\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-1-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-1-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-1-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-1-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joseph M. Alioto Jr., chair of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB), speaks during a board meeting in Santa Rosa on April 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A medical association petitioned the state in December to start expedited rulemaking to prohibit the use of engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica to make and install countertops. As part of the petition’s review, a detailed Cal/OSHA evaluation and the board’s own staff determined that removing the product upstream in the distribution chain would be the quickest and most cost-effective way to stem the silicosis epidemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the OSHSB proposed decision language released to the public last week seemed to require two committees to study the matter further, a path championed by chair Joseph Alioto Jr., a trial attorney who has advocated for the criminal prosecution of countertop fabrication shop employers found violating current silica rules. The move raised alarm bells among worker advocates who worried that the additional steps would create unnecessary delays — and derail a ban — in the face of an urgent occupational hazard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adding to the concerns, only three board members were present for the high-stakes vote, instead of seven. Gov. Gavin Newsom, responsible for appointments to the body that approves workplace safety rules, has left two seats vacant for months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the active board members — Alioto, Urwin and industrial hygienist Nola Kennedy — decided to grant the physicians’ petition and kickstart a fast-track process for Cal/OSHA to develop a regulation prohibiting the use of artificial stone with crystalline silica, which would take several months and still require another vote before approval. In a parallel track, the agency was tasked with convening two additional advisory committees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080597\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080597\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-19-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1329\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-19-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-19-KQED-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-19-KQED-1536x1021.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">José Andrade Peña, left, sits with his wife Susana Sanchez, right, during a presentation on silica at an Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) meeting in Santa Rosa on April 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>José Andrade Peña, an Oakland resident who was diagnosed with advanced silicosis in 2024 and who testified in person before the board last month while carrying the oxygen machine he needs to breathe, applauded the decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What great news,” Andrade Peña, 53, said in a text message. “It comes as a huge relief to me and to many of my colleagues that are still working with this highly dangerous material. God is great.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decadeslong countertop fabrication worker, who used to be proud of lifting 60-pound stone slabs and being his family’s main breadwinner, said he can no longer work and is mostly confined to his home. Coughing fits and exhaustion rule days filled with worry for his five children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s painful and frustrating to know that the government still allows these toxic products to continue being sold,” Andrade Peña said. “Artificial stone should have been removed from the market a long, long time ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California regulators voted Thursday to take a key step toward \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079653/california-fabricators-face-artificial-stone-ban-as-silicosis-cases-mount\">banning a popular countertop material\u003c/a> linked to a surging lung disease that is disabling and killing hundreds of stoneworkers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board came after dozens of physicians, job safety experts, and people gravely ill with silicosis testified that artificial stone’s unique toxicity is causing a public health emergency. Current workplace regulations, enforcement and education are insufficient to save lives, they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We as a board have to recognize that we do not know better than the scientists, the physicians, the workers that we’re hearing from. And we have to take effective action to prevent further cases now,” said board member Derek Urwin, a UCLA chemistry professor and Los Angeles County Fire Department engineer. “Control measures are not working, and it’s not the fault of the workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For months, major manufacturers of artificial stone, opposed to the move, argued that their factory-made product is not the problem, but countertop fabrication shops that fail to follow proper safety measures, such as covering stone slabs with water while cutting to suppress dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Representatives for Minnesota-based Cambria, Cosentino, headquartered in Spain, and other companies in the multi-billion dollar industry sought to cast doubt on the need for a prohibition, proposing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070138/stone-industry-proposes-self-policing-as-california-weighs-artificial-stone-ban\">fabricator certification\u003c/a> program and more enforcement instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Banning a product to compensate for failed enforcement is irresponsible,” said Matt Thurston, regional director of Cosentino North America, during the marathon-length public testimony that preceded the vote in Los Angeles. “Allowing illegal fabricators to keep exposing workers to silica dust from other materials like natural stone is not worker protection. Number two, many shops already use these products safely and legally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080596\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12080596 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">José Andrade Peña holds his wife Susana Sanchez’s hand during a presentation on silica at an Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) meeting in Santa Rosa on April 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Statewide, more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">560 stoneworkers\u003c/a> have contracted a more aggressive form of silicosis after inhaling toxic crystalline silica dust generated by artificial stone when it’s cut or polished. At least 31 people have died from the disease since 2019, and nearly 60 have undergone lung transplants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 75% of these cases were confirmed over the last three years. Nearly all of the patients are Latino men, many of them low-income immigrants who said they didn’t know about the hazards of working with artificial stone, also known as quartz or engineered stone, until they or their co-workers got sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rapid rise of silicosis in the industry — with about 1,000 new cases expected in the state over the next two years — coincides with skyrocketing consumer demand for engineered stone countertops in the last two decades, according to officials at the California Department of Public Health and Cal/OSHA. The state is the only one in the U.S. actively tracking the disease, even though more than a hundred cases linked to artificial stone have been identified in Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Florida and other states.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I’ve had a lot of suffering. Last time, I vomited a lot of blood, and my nightmare did not end there,” Demetrio Luna, a California silicosis survivor who recently underwent a lung transplant, said in Spanish as board members neared a vote. “You can stop this because it is not just the patient who suffers, but the entire family. And despite what they say about wearing masks and cutting with water, the particles are so tiny that they enter the lungs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Silicosis lung transplants among miners and all other occupations were relatively rare in the past three decades, with only 93 total nationwide between 1990 and 2022, said Dr. Betsey Noth, a senior industrial hygienist with Cal/OSHA. Since then, artificial stone workers in California have undergone 58 lung transplants, with additional patients found ineligible for the medical procedure because they were too sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Successful lung transplants, which cost $1 million or more each, extend patients’ lives by only a handful of years on average. Dr. Jane Fazio, a UCLA pulmonologist, told OSHSB board members that lung transplantation for the surge in engineered stone silicosis cases is a “very expensive band-aid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a terrible use of resources, and it is endless human suffering,” said Fazio, who has cared for most silicosis patients in the San Fernando Valley, in the U.S. silicosis epicenter. “Do we want to prolong a problem, or do we want a swift solution to a problem that is only getting worse unless we remove a dangerous product that’s really at the heart of the problem?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080590\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080590\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-1-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-1-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-1-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-1-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joseph M. Alioto Jr., chair of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB), speaks during a board meeting in Santa Rosa on April 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A medical association petitioned the state in December to start expedited rulemaking to prohibit the use of engineered stone with more than 1% crystalline silica to make and install countertops. As part of the petition’s review, a detailed Cal/OSHA evaluation and the board’s own staff determined that removing the product upstream in the distribution chain would be the quickest and most cost-effective way to stem the silicosis epidemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the OSHSB proposed decision language released to the public last week seemed to require two committees to study the matter further, a path championed by chair Joseph Alioto Jr., a trial attorney who has advocated for the criminal prosecution of countertop fabrication shop employers found violating current silica rules. The move raised alarm bells among worker advocates who worried that the additional steps would create unnecessary delays — and derail a ban — in the face of an urgent occupational hazard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adding to the concerns, only three board members were present for the high-stakes vote, instead of seven. Gov. Gavin Newsom, responsible for appointments to the body that approves workplace safety rules, has left two seats vacant for months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the active board members — Alioto, Urwin and industrial hygienist Nola Kennedy — decided to grant the physicians’ petition and kickstart a fast-track process for Cal/OSHA to develop a regulation prohibiting the use of artificial stone with crystalline silica, which would take several months and still require another vote before approval. In a parallel track, the agency was tasked with convening two additional advisory committees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080597\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080597\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-19-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1329\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-19-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-19-KQED-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/20260416_SICKSTONECUTTERS_GC-19-KQED-1536x1021.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">José Andrade Peña, left, sits with his wife Susana Sanchez, right, during a presentation on silica at an Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) meeting in Santa Rosa on April 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>José Andrade Peña, an Oakland resident who was diagnosed with advanced silicosis in 2024 and who testified in person before the board last month while carrying the oxygen machine he needs to breathe, applauded the decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What great news,” Andrade Peña, 53, said in a text message. “It comes as a huge relief to me and to many of my colleagues that are still working with this highly dangerous material. God is great.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decadeslong countertop fabrication worker, who used to be proud of lifting 60-pound stone slabs and being his family’s main breadwinner, said he can no longer work and is mostly confined to his home. Coughing fits and exhaustion rule days filled with worry for his five children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s painful and frustrating to know that the government still allows these toxic products to continue being sold,” Andrade Peña said. “Artificial stone should have been removed from the market a long, long time ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Sales specialist Eli Inkelas helps outdoor enthusiasts shop at Recreational Equipment Inc. But on a recent day, the 28-year-old asked potential customers approaching \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037284/frustrated-berkeley-rei-workers-accuse-co-op-union-busting-straying-from-values\">REI’s Berkeley store\u003c/a> to boycott the retailer’s biggest sale of the year in support of unionized workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want REI corporate and their attorneys to treat us respectfully and to bargain in good faith and help us ratify this contract that we’ve been fighting for now for three years,” said Inkelas, a Berkeley native who has also worked at REI in Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hundreds of unionized REI workers are urging customers to boycott the retailer’s anniversary sale through Memorial Day as contract negotiations have stretched for more than three years, escalating pressure on the outdoor co-op to reach a deal while it works to recover from recent financial losses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company said the controversial tactic, also opposed by some employees at union stores, threatens jobs at a time when it’s trying to regain its financial footing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a disappointing move that targets the co‑op. It seems the union’s focus is on harming the financial wellbeing of the business, instead of advancing negotiations,” REI said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-co-op-statement-on-bargaining-status-and-union-s-planned-boycott\">statement\u003c/a>. “The union’s dedication to undermining the business puts jobs, wages, benefits, and future opportunity at risk, and pulls everyone further from the progress our employees deserve.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>REI, a values-based consumer co-op, said it remains committed to bargaining in good faith. The specialty outdoor retailer, headquartered near Seattle, has not finalized an agreement with workers at any of the 11 locations that have unionized since 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084518\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_5408-scaled-e1779300643537.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084518\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_5408-scaled-e1779300643537.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eli Inkelas passes out flyers encouraging REI customers to boycott the outdoors retailer, outside the Berkeley store where he works on May 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>REI has 195 stores across the U.S., employing about 14,000 people. Workers at a 12th store in San Diego are scheduled to vote on whether to join the union next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In North Berkeley, some shoppers entered the San Pablo Avenue store after declining flyers offered by workers in “REI Union” white T-shirts. Other customers chatted with the employees and their supporters, opting to leave without shopping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was kind of a no-brainer. I wasn’t going to cross the line and go in and buy,” said Cristina Cano, a San Francisco public school teacher and union member who lives in Berkeley. “I can buy whatever I need at another place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, REI reported revenue of more than $3.5 billion annually, but also net losses of $311 million in \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-co-op-releases-2023-impact-report-and-financials-reporting-3-76-billion-in-revenue\">2023\u003c/a> and $156.4 million in \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-co-op-releases-2024-impact-report-and-financials-becoming-first-national-retailer-to-achieve-zero-waste\">2024\u003c/a>, even as it opened new stores. The co-op, which invests significantly in member rewards, nonprofit donations and employee incentives and retirement contributions, \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/2025-financials-impact\">posted\u003c/a> a narrower net loss of $54.3 million in 2025, citing “progress toward profitability.”[aside postID=news_12032259 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/REIDublinGetty-1020x680.jpg']Workers supporting the boycott pushed aside concerns that it risks alienating customers beyond the 10-day sale event. As a consumer co-op, REI’s 25 million members can make a difference in how the company approaches bargaining, they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“REI’s only tactic has been to delay and obfuscate and to make the process more difficult to convince us that we don’t need a union,” said Inkelas, who studies city planning and law at UC Berkeley and works part-time at REI, including as a cashier. “I just want them to come back to the table and negotiate fairly with us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said that company negotiators recently floated requiring the labor organization to make a $1 million charitable donation, and limit negative talk about the company — claims that REI said \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/document/some-straightforward-facts-about-rei-co-op-s-union-negotiations\">misrepresented\u003c/a> bargaining discussions that were ultimately not pursued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Private-sector employees have a right to choose whether to organize and bargain collectively in the U.S. But labor experts said employers opposing a union can undermine those rights with little to no accountability, as federal law does not financially penalize violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, investigators with the National Labor Relations Board \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032259/rei-punished-unionized-workers-in-berkeley-by-holding-back-raises-labor-board-alleges\">found evidence\u003c/a> that REI illegally withheld wage raises and bonuses from hundreds of employees — while continuing to give the benefits to nonunion employees — to discourage union membership. The company reached \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050938/unionized-berkeley-rei-workers-get-pay-raises-after-labor-board-alleged-they-were-shut-out\">a settlement agreement \u003c/a>on that complaint, paying impacted workers retroactive raises, in exchange for the union dropping dozens of unfair labor practice charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Samuel Wirt, a Berkeley REI employee who is part of the bargaining team, said workers can’t accept offers of lower pay increases and fewer benefits when compared to nonunion stores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This could be hashed out tomorrow if they’re willing to meet us on an offer that we can actually vote yes on,” he said. “We’re not asking for the sun and the stars here. We want to be able to continue working here in one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Sales specialist Eli Inkelas helps outdoor enthusiasts shop at Recreational Equipment Inc. But on a recent day, the 28-year-old asked potential customers approaching \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037284/frustrated-berkeley-rei-workers-accuse-co-op-union-busting-straying-from-values\">REI’s Berkeley store\u003c/a> to boycott the retailer’s biggest sale of the year in support of unionized workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want REI corporate and their attorneys to treat us respectfully and to bargain in good faith and help us ratify this contract that we’ve been fighting for now for three years,” said Inkelas, a Berkeley native who has also worked at REI in Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hundreds of unionized REI workers are urging customers to boycott the retailer’s anniversary sale through Memorial Day as contract negotiations have stretched for more than three years, escalating pressure on the outdoor co-op to reach a deal while it works to recover from recent financial losses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company said the controversial tactic, also opposed by some employees at union stores, threatens jobs at a time when it’s trying to regain its financial footing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a disappointing move that targets the co‑op. It seems the union’s focus is on harming the financial wellbeing of the business, instead of advancing negotiations,” REI said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-co-op-statement-on-bargaining-status-and-union-s-planned-boycott\">statement\u003c/a>. “The union’s dedication to undermining the business puts jobs, wages, benefits, and future opportunity at risk, and pulls everyone further from the progress our employees deserve.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>REI, a values-based consumer co-op, said it remains committed to bargaining in good faith. The specialty outdoor retailer, headquartered near Seattle, has not finalized an agreement with workers at any of the 11 locations that have unionized since 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084518\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_5408-scaled-e1779300643537.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084518\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_5408-scaled-e1779300643537.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eli Inkelas passes out flyers encouraging REI customers to boycott the outdoors retailer, outside the Berkeley store where he works on May 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>REI has 195 stores across the U.S., employing about 14,000 people. Workers at a 12th store in San Diego are scheduled to vote on whether to join the union next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In North Berkeley, some shoppers entered the San Pablo Avenue store after declining flyers offered by workers in “REI Union” white T-shirts. Other customers chatted with the employees and their supporters, opting to leave without shopping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was kind of a no-brainer. I wasn’t going to cross the line and go in and buy,” said Cristina Cano, a San Francisco public school teacher and union member who lives in Berkeley. “I can buy whatever I need at another place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, REI reported revenue of more than $3.5 billion annually, but also net losses of $311 million in \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-co-op-releases-2023-impact-report-and-financials-reporting-3-76-billion-in-revenue\">2023\u003c/a> and $156.4 million in \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-co-op-releases-2024-impact-report-and-financials-becoming-first-national-retailer-to-achieve-zero-waste\">2024\u003c/a>, even as it opened new stores. The co-op, which invests significantly in member rewards, nonprofit donations and employee incentives and retirement contributions, \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/2025-financials-impact\">posted\u003c/a> a narrower net loss of $54.3 million in 2025, citing “progress toward profitability.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Workers supporting the boycott pushed aside concerns that it risks alienating customers beyond the 10-day sale event. As a consumer co-op, REI’s 25 million members can make a difference in how the company approaches bargaining, they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“REI’s only tactic has been to delay and obfuscate and to make the process more difficult to convince us that we don’t need a union,” said Inkelas, who studies city planning and law at UC Berkeley and works part-time at REI, including as a cashier. “I just want them to come back to the table and negotiate fairly with us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said that company negotiators recently floated requiring the labor organization to make a $1 million charitable donation, and limit negative talk about the company — claims that REI said \u003ca href=\"https://www.rei.com/newsroom/document/some-straightforward-facts-about-rei-co-op-s-union-negotiations\">misrepresented\u003c/a> bargaining discussions that were ultimately not pursued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Private-sector employees have a right to choose whether to organize and bargain collectively in the U.S. But labor experts said employers opposing a union can undermine those rights with little to no accountability, as federal law does not financially penalize violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, investigators with the National Labor Relations Board \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032259/rei-punished-unionized-workers-in-berkeley-by-holding-back-raises-labor-board-alleges\">found evidence\u003c/a> that REI illegally withheld wage raises and bonuses from hundreds of employees — while continuing to give the benefits to nonunion employees — to discourage union membership. The company reached \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050938/unionized-berkeley-rei-workers-get-pay-raises-after-labor-board-alleged-they-were-shut-out\">a settlement agreement \u003c/a>on that complaint, paying impacted workers retroactive raises, in exchange for the union dropping dozens of unfair labor practice charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Samuel Wirt, a Berkeley REI employee who is part of the bargaining team, said workers can’t accept offers of lower pay increases and fewer benefits when compared to nonunion stores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This could be hashed out tomorrow if they’re willing to meet us on an offer that we can actually vote yes on,” he said. “We’re not asking for the sun and the stars here. We want to be able to continue working here in one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Eleazar Resendiz Cortes has seen an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">incurable job-related lung disease\u003c/a> disable six of his coworkers in the countertop fabrication industry. Two of the men in their 50s needed oxygen machines to breathe before they had lung transplants, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes, who was diagnosed with silicosis in 2024, fears a similar fate. The 38-year-old can no longer work. He pursued workers’ compensation insurance benefits that are meant to support people injured on the job, but has received no payment after two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things are really hard,” Resendiz Cortes, a Bakersfield resident who ran out of savings and has no income, told KQED in Spanish. “It’s terrible. As a worker, one wants to improve oneself. But then you are the one who gets sick, you are the one who ends up suffering and struggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s silicosis epidemic is exposing deep failures in the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/WCFaqIW.html\">workers’ compensation\u003c/a> system. As hundreds of countertop fabrication workers become gravely ill from inhaling dust generated by a factory-made stone, many say insurers are delaying or denying benefits meant to cover lost wages and medical care. The disputes are leaving some workers destitute while taxpayers shoulder the cost of expensive treatments, including lung transplants, even as state regulators consider restricting the material linked to the disease’s spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Occupational doctors are simultaneously \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">pressing California regulators\u003c/a> to restrict engineered stone, the countertop material many physicians believe is driving the surge in silicosis cases, a claim disputed by manufacturers of the popular product in a multibillion-dollar industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070138/stone-industry-proposes-self-policing-as-california-weighs-artificial-stone-ban\">oppose\u003c/a> the move to limit engineered stone, also known as quartz or artificial stone, arguing that it’s not their product that’s causing the problem, but fabrication shops that fail to follow proper safety measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taxpayers are bearing the cost of lifesaving medical treatment for many sick stoneworkers, including lung transplants estimated at more than $1 million each. Medi-Cal, the state’s public health insurance program, was the main payer — not workers’ compensation — even though the disease is occupational, according to \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/ajrccm/article/211/Supplement_1/A6310/8338415#google_vignette\">a study\u003c/a> published last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084041\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12084041 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes and his wife prepare lunch with ingredients from his garden on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California. Cortes says the garden has helped keep him busy after he could no longer work. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Ultimately, workers’ comp should be paying for these patients’ medical care, especially if they do not have some other form of insurance, because that is the goal of workers’ comp,” said Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, a pulmonologist at UCSF, who co-authored the report. “Silicosis, there’s no other cause other than work exposure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Insurance, which oversees insurer behavior and the workers’ compensation market, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In 2024, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara requested a \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2024/release030-2024.cfm\">detailed \u003c/a>analysis on silicosis claims to “ensure that affected workers receive the benefits they are entitled to.” But it’s unclear what the outcome was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lara called for an evaluation shortly after a \u003cem>Los Angeles Times\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-11/his-lungs-failed-doctors-blame-work-had-to-fight-workers-comp\">story\u003c/a> detailed the struggles of a lung transplant patient to get workers’ compensation from AmTrust North America, the same insurer that continues to deny Resendiz Cortes’ claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mounting scientific evidence shows people get sick from inhaling toxic crystalline silica particles generated when cutting or polishing artificial stone, even when safety precautions are followed. The silica dust released by engineered stone is much more dangerous than that of granite and other natural stones, doctors say.[aside postID=news_12064693 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-01-KQED-1.jpg']The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board plans \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/agendaMay2026.pdf\">to vote\u003c/a> Thursday on whether to advance a medical association’s petition to ban the fabrication and installation of artificial stone with more than 1% crystalline silica. In an \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-609-staffeval.pdf\">analysis\u003c/a> disclosed last week, the board’s staff concluded a prohibition may be the quickest and most cost-effective way to stem the industry’s silicosis epidemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we keeping a toxic product in our state that is costing taxpayers millions of dollars?” said Gandhi, who cares for dozens of silicosis patients. “It’s not benefiting the California population other than just the way people’s countertops look.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Silicosis is an ancient illness afflicting stonemasons, sandblasters and miners that has resurfaced in the U.S. as artificial stone became the top countertop material. The global market for engineered stone, valued at $26.5 billion in 2025, is estimated to reach $45 billion by 2033.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumers prefer it to natural stones because it’s often cheaper, stain-resistant and available in beautiful designs and colors. But many ignore the risks the material brings to the workers who make and install their kitchen and bathroom countertops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Australia became the first country to ban artificial stone in 2024, and some manufacturers have developed alternatives with lower crystalline silica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, the only state \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">actively tracking\u003c/a> silicosis linked to the material, 31 stoneworkers have died, and nearly 60 have undergone lung transplants since 2019. At least 560 people have been diagnosed with the disease, a figure that’s expected to balloon. Most of these cases, 75%, were confirmed over the last three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084036\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084036\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, points to countertops in his Bakersfield, California, home made from artificial stone leftover from his previous jobs on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Cortes says the material serves as a harsh reminder of his silicosis diagnosis. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nearly all of those sick statewide are low-income Latino immigrants who didn’t know about the dangers of inhaling engineered stone dust until they or coworkers got sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes worked in countertop fabrication shops for a decade, first in the San Fernando Valley, which has become the U.S. silicosis epicenter, and then in Bakersfield. The father of three girls said a back injury, which he attributes to lifting heavy stone slabs on the job, also prevents him from returning to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He received state disability benefits for the maximum period of one year. His family now relies on help from relatives to survive. Resendiz Cortes worries about their economic uncertainty as well as the worsening shortness of breath that keeps him from biking or swimming with his children as he used to. He mourns that his entire life was transformed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see anything positive. Just negative things, and that doesn’t help much,” said Resendiz Cortes, who doesn’t leave his house most days. “What I want is for someone to take responsibility. In this case, the insurance companies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, all employers with more than one employee are required to have workers’ compensation insurance. Workers who suffer an injury or illness on the job should be technically eligible to receive compensation to cover medical care and long-term disability, but the system often does not function well for ill laborers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084039\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084039\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes’ wife shows scans of his chest in their home on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California, that revealed particles around his lungs linked to his silicosis diagnosis. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>AmTrust North America denied all liability in Resendiz Cortes’ case in an August 2024 letter viewed by KQED, citing “no substantial medical, legal or factual evidence to support the cumulative trauma claim.” The Cleveland, Ohio-based company did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A top executive for a second insurer, Omaha National, said the company could not comment on the specifics of Resendiz Cortes’ case but is investigating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to handling every claim fairly and in accordance with policy terms and established processes,” said Chris LaMantia, Omaha National’s chief sales and marketing officer, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes said his last place of employment, Custom Stone Interiors, dry-cut artificial stone slabs, and also used wet methods to tamp the dust down. Although he wore a filter respirator when polishing and cutting countertops, he said, he still found white dust over his face and nostrils at the end of the day. He would blow the dust out of his nose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Custom Stone Interiors declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084038\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084038\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, stands in his garden on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California. Cortes started gardening after he could no longer work and now grows fresh vegetables for his family. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We saw your email but are not interested in a comment,” a company representative said when reached by phone before hanging up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Statewide, at least 80 other sick stonecutters remain without workers’ comp payment after fighting for a year or longer for the benefits, according to Barry Rodich, whose L.A. law firm represents them and Resendiz Cortes. Insurers have an economic incentive to deny or delay the expensive claims, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They will always try to say, ‘Well, there’s a latency period, and it’s not my client that’s responsible. It’s somebody before us,’” said Rodich, whose firm specializes in silicosis cases. “These delays by the insurance company just make my clients worse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laborers can challenge insurance denials at the state Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, but obtaining a resolution can take months or years. About 460 cases were awaiting a judge’s decision at the appeals board last month, a smaller backlog than in recent years, according to the Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees the agencies.[aside postID=news_12070138 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/StoneWorkerGetty2.jpg']“Penalties related to unreasonable delays or refusals are addressed through the adjudication process on a case-by-case basis and depend on the facts and circumstances of each individual matter,” the spokesperson said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the hundreds of California stonecutters with silicosis don’t seek workers’ compensation benefits because they are self-employed or past workplaces lack the insurance. Others decline to apply for benefits that will likely increase costs for their former employers, according to Rodich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of loyalty,” he said. “Some of these individuals feel like they have an allegiance to these employers. And the reason why is because they helped get them a job, they may have helped them in other ways… And so when they find out that their insurance premiums could potentially be affected in the following year, they don’t want to do anything.”\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodich’s firm has settled a handful of silicosis cases for amounts ranging between $1.5 million and $3 million each, usually when the workers’ disease is so advanced that a lung transplant is required, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The high price tag likely elicits extra scrutiny from insurers, which aim to weed out any fraudulent claims. Insurers’ investigations aim to determine whether their client employer indeed hired the injured worker and is liable for illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the countertop fabrication industry, workers often have multiple employers over their careers, and job records might be missing, said Yvonne Lang, who has represented insurers on silicosis claims and helped settle one case recently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084035\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084035\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, points to countertops in his Bakersfield, California, home made from artificial stone leftover from his previous jobs on Thursday, May 14, 2026. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When there’s multiple employers, the employers are going to point the fingers at each other,” said Lang, a former president of the California Workers’ Compensation Defense Attorneys Association. “And if the employers are pointing the fingers at each other, the [insurance] carriers are going to point the fingers at each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance companies are more likely to deny claims for illnesses developed over time, when compared to physical injuries linked to a single accident, such as a ladder fall, according to experts. To fight the insurer’s denial, workers must often enlist an attorney willing to help on time-consuming and costly cases, which is another barrier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sick workers’ struggle to get compensation benefits has led the federal government to intervene and create separate programs to support some of them, such as for Virginia coal miners with black lung disease, and nuclear plant workers with cancer from radiation, said Glenn Shor, a retired public policy and research analyst with the California Department of Industrial Relations, Cal/OSHA, and Division of Workers’ Compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For insurers, “denial is often the first step because they think some of those cases will go away,” said Shor. “If they’re denied, some people will contact a lawyer, but some people just say, I shouldn’t have worked at that place or I should have worn a mask more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Many California countertop workers diagnosed with silicosis from engineered stone are struggling to obtain workers’ compensation benefits as insurers deny claims and taxpayers fund costly lung transplants through Medi-Cal.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Eleazar Resendiz Cortes has seen an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">incurable job-related lung disease\u003c/a> disable six of his coworkers in the countertop fabrication industry. Two of the men in their 50s needed oxygen machines to breathe before they had lung transplants, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes, who was diagnosed with silicosis in 2024, fears a similar fate. The 38-year-old can no longer work. He pursued workers’ compensation insurance benefits that are meant to support people injured on the job, but has received no payment after two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things are really hard,” Resendiz Cortes, a Bakersfield resident who ran out of savings and has no income, told KQED in Spanish. “It’s terrible. As a worker, one wants to improve oneself. But then you are the one who gets sick, you are the one who ends up suffering and struggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s silicosis epidemic is exposing deep failures in the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/WCFaqIW.html\">workers’ compensation\u003c/a> system. As hundreds of countertop fabrication workers become gravely ill from inhaling dust generated by a factory-made stone, many say insurers are delaying or denying benefits meant to cover lost wages and medical care. The disputes are leaving some workers destitute while taxpayers shoulder the cost of expensive treatments, including lung transplants, even as state regulators consider restricting the material linked to the disease’s spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Occupational doctors are simultaneously \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">pressing California regulators\u003c/a> to restrict engineered stone, the countertop material many physicians believe is driving the surge in silicosis cases, a claim disputed by manufacturers of the popular product in a multibillion-dollar industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070138/stone-industry-proposes-self-policing-as-california-weighs-artificial-stone-ban\">oppose\u003c/a> the move to limit engineered stone, also known as quartz or artificial stone, arguing that it’s not their product that’s causing the problem, but fabrication shops that fail to follow proper safety measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taxpayers are bearing the cost of lifesaving medical treatment for many sick stoneworkers, including lung transplants estimated at more than $1 million each. Medi-Cal, the state’s public health insurance program, was the main payer — not workers’ compensation — even though the disease is occupational, according to \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/ajrccm/article/211/Supplement_1/A6310/8338415#google_vignette\">a study\u003c/a> published last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084041\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12084041 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes and his wife prepare lunch with ingredients from his garden on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California. Cortes says the garden has helped keep him busy after he could no longer work. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Ultimately, workers’ comp should be paying for these patients’ medical care, especially if they do not have some other form of insurance, because that is the goal of workers’ comp,” said Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, a pulmonologist at UCSF, who co-authored the report. “Silicosis, there’s no other cause other than work exposure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Insurance, which oversees insurer behavior and the workers’ compensation market, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In 2024, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara requested a \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2024/release030-2024.cfm\">detailed \u003c/a>analysis on silicosis claims to “ensure that affected workers receive the benefits they are entitled to.” But it’s unclear what the outcome was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lara called for an evaluation shortly after a \u003cem>Los Angeles Times\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-11/his-lungs-failed-doctors-blame-work-had-to-fight-workers-comp\">story\u003c/a> detailed the struggles of a lung transplant patient to get workers’ compensation from AmTrust North America, the same insurer that continues to deny Resendiz Cortes’ claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mounting scientific evidence shows people get sick from inhaling toxic crystalline silica particles generated when cutting or polishing artificial stone, even when safety precautions are followed. The silica dust released by engineered stone is much more dangerous than that of granite and other natural stones, doctors say.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board plans \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/agendaMay2026.pdf\">to vote\u003c/a> Thursday on whether to advance a medical association’s petition to ban the fabrication and installation of artificial stone with more than 1% crystalline silica. In an \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-609-staffeval.pdf\">analysis\u003c/a> disclosed last week, the board’s staff concluded a prohibition may be the quickest and most cost-effective way to stem the industry’s silicosis epidemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we keeping a toxic product in our state that is costing taxpayers millions of dollars?” said Gandhi, who cares for dozens of silicosis patients. “It’s not benefiting the California population other than just the way people’s countertops look.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Silicosis is an ancient illness afflicting stonemasons, sandblasters and miners that has resurfaced in the U.S. as artificial stone became the top countertop material. The global market for engineered stone, valued at $26.5 billion in 2025, is estimated to reach $45 billion by 2033.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumers prefer it to natural stones because it’s often cheaper, stain-resistant and available in beautiful designs and colors. But many ignore the risks the material brings to the workers who make and install their kitchen and bathroom countertops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Australia became the first country to ban artificial stone in 2024, and some manufacturers have developed alternatives with lower crystalline silica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, the only state \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">actively tracking\u003c/a> silicosis linked to the material, 31 stoneworkers have died, and nearly 60 have undergone lung transplants since 2019. At least 560 people have been diagnosed with the disease, a figure that’s expected to balloon. Most of these cases, 75%, were confirmed over the last three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084036\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084036\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, points to countertops in his Bakersfield, California, home made from artificial stone leftover from his previous jobs on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Cortes says the material serves as a harsh reminder of his silicosis diagnosis. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nearly all of those sick statewide are low-income Latino immigrants who didn’t know about the dangers of inhaling engineered stone dust until they or coworkers got sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes worked in countertop fabrication shops for a decade, first in the San Fernando Valley, which has become the U.S. silicosis epicenter, and then in Bakersfield. The father of three girls said a back injury, which he attributes to lifting heavy stone slabs on the job, also prevents him from returning to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He received state disability benefits for the maximum period of one year. His family now relies on help from relatives to survive. Resendiz Cortes worries about their economic uncertainty as well as the worsening shortness of breath that keeps him from biking or swimming with his children as he used to. He mourns that his entire life was transformed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see anything positive. Just negative things, and that doesn’t help much,” said Resendiz Cortes, who doesn’t leave his house most days. “What I want is for someone to take responsibility. In this case, the insurance companies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, all employers with more than one employee are required to have workers’ compensation insurance. Workers who suffer an injury or illness on the job should be technically eligible to receive compensation to cover medical care and long-term disability, but the system often does not function well for ill laborers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084039\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084039\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes’ wife shows scans of his chest in their home on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California, that revealed particles around his lungs linked to his silicosis diagnosis. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>AmTrust North America denied all liability in Resendiz Cortes’ case in an August 2024 letter viewed by KQED, citing “no substantial medical, legal or factual evidence to support the cumulative trauma claim.” The Cleveland, Ohio-based company did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A top executive for a second insurer, Omaha National, said the company could not comment on the specifics of Resendiz Cortes’ case but is investigating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to handling every claim fairly and in accordance with policy terms and established processes,” said Chris LaMantia, Omaha National’s chief sales and marketing officer, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes said his last place of employment, Custom Stone Interiors, dry-cut artificial stone slabs, and also used wet methods to tamp the dust down. Although he wore a filter respirator when polishing and cutting countertops, he said, he still found white dust over his face and nostrils at the end of the day. He would blow the dust out of his nose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Custom Stone Interiors declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084038\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084038\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, stands in his garden on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California. Cortes started gardening after he could no longer work and now grows fresh vegetables for his family. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We saw your email but are not interested in a comment,” a company representative said when reached by phone before hanging up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Statewide, at least 80 other sick stonecutters remain without workers’ comp payment after fighting for a year or longer for the benefits, according to Barry Rodich, whose L.A. law firm represents them and Resendiz Cortes. Insurers have an economic incentive to deny or delay the expensive claims, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They will always try to say, ‘Well, there’s a latency period, and it’s not my client that’s responsible. It’s somebody before us,’” said Rodich, whose firm specializes in silicosis cases. “These delays by the insurance company just make my clients worse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laborers can challenge insurance denials at the state Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, but obtaining a resolution can take months or years. About 460 cases were awaiting a judge’s decision at the appeals board last month, a smaller backlog than in recent years, according to the Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees the agencies.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Penalties related to unreasonable delays or refusals are addressed through the adjudication process on a case-by-case basis and depend on the facts and circumstances of each individual matter,” the spokesperson said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the hundreds of California stonecutters with silicosis don’t seek workers’ compensation benefits because they are self-employed or past workplaces lack the insurance. Others decline to apply for benefits that will likely increase costs for their former employers, according to Rodich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of loyalty,” he said. “Some of these individuals feel like they have an allegiance to these employers. And the reason why is because they helped get them a job, they may have helped them in other ways… And so when they find out that their insurance premiums could potentially be affected in the following year, they don’t want to do anything.”\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodich’s firm has settled a handful of silicosis cases for amounts ranging between $1.5 million and $3 million each, usually when the workers’ disease is so advanced that a lung transplant is required, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The high price tag likely elicits extra scrutiny from insurers, which aim to weed out any fraudulent claims. Insurers’ investigations aim to determine whether their client employer indeed hired the injured worker and is liable for illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the countertop fabrication industry, workers often have multiple employers over their careers, and job records might be missing, said Yvonne Lang, who has represented insurers on silicosis claims and helped settle one case recently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084035\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084035\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, points to countertops in his Bakersfield, California, home made from artificial stone leftover from his previous jobs on Thursday, May 14, 2026. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When there’s multiple employers, the employers are going to point the fingers at each other,” said Lang, a former president of the California Workers’ Compensation Defense Attorneys Association. “And if the employers are pointing the fingers at each other, the [insurance] carriers are going to point the fingers at each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance companies are more likely to deny claims for illnesses developed over time, when compared to physical injuries linked to a single accident, such as a ladder fall, according to experts. To fight the insurer’s denial, workers must often enlist an attorney willing to help on time-consuming and costly cases, which is another barrier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sick workers’ struggle to get compensation benefits has led the federal government to intervene and create separate programs to support some of them, such as for Virginia coal miners with black lung disease, and nuclear plant workers with cancer from radiation, said Glenn Shor, a retired public policy and research analyst with the California Department of Industrial Relations, Cal/OSHA, and Division of Workers’ Compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For insurers, “denial is often the first step because they think some of those cases will go away,” said Shor. “If they’re denied, some people will contact a lawyer, but some people just say, I shouldn’t have worked at that place or I should have worn a mask more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/university-of-california\">University of California\u003c/a> reached a tentative contract agreement with the union representing about 40,000 patient care and service employees early Thursday, averting an open-ended systemwide strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 11th-hour deal, after negotiations that stretched over more than two years, includes a reduction in health insurance costs and significant pay increases for members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s about time. It’s been a long time coming. It’s well-deserved for our family, our friends, our community,” said Kat Bedford, reached by KQED while driving home to Stockton from the final bargaining session in Oakland that lasted until past midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory facilities worker said bringing down the cost of monthly healthcare premiums, which had nearly doubled for some coworkers, was a priority for the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are the lowest-paid members with the University of California, so it’s only right that we get a good contract,” said Bedford, who began working for the university as a bus driver in 1997. “This is a huge win for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union representing grounds keepers, cafeteria workers, patient transporters, X-ray technicians and other employees planned \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080047/uc-patient-care-and-service-workers-plan-open-ended-strike-starting-next-month\">to walk off the job\u003c/a> on Thursday with no return date in sight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033113\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033113\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A group walks with an umbrella near the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Dec. 18, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The labor action threatened to cause disruptions for patients, students and other employees at all UC campuses and medical centers, likely at a significant cost to the university.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contentious contract negotiations, which started in January 2024, were marked by five short strikes, with the union accusing California’s second-largest employer of engaging in unfair labor practices, which the UC system denied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This contract delivers meaningful pay increases and addresses some of the real affordability pressures our employees are facing, while allowing us to move forward together focused on UC’s mission of patient care, teaching and research,” said Missy Matella, associate vice president for systemwide employee and labor relations for UC, in a statement.[aside postID=news_12083358 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/GettyImages-1448862196-1-1020x686.jpg']“We’re glad to have reached an agreement with AFSCME that recognizes the important work these employees do every day across UC’s campuses and health centers,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union had also sought for the university to provide emergency financial assistance to workers at risk of eviction or foreclosure, based on a program already in place at UC Davis. But Bedford said that item did not make it into the contract agreement, which workers are set to vote on for ratification next week, starting on May 19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the tentative deal, all union employees are set to earn a percentage or lump sum raise on an annual basis, in addition to extra compensation for working on holidays, ratification bonuses and other benefits, said Kennard Harris, a pharmacy technician at UC Davis Medical Center for 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve gotten some really fabulous raises that we’ve never gotten before,” Harris said, expressing relief that he and thousands of other UC employees would no longer hold picket lines as previously planned. “I can’t wait until my coworkers and all the different AFSCME 3299 members across the state get to see all the benefits of this new contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The last-minute deal includes pay increases and lower healthcare costs for about 40,000 patient care and service employees at UC campuses statewide.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/university-of-california\">University of California\u003c/a> reached a tentative contract agreement with the union representing about 40,000 patient care and service employees early Thursday, averting an open-ended systemwide strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 11th-hour deal, after negotiations that stretched over more than two years, includes a reduction in health insurance costs and significant pay increases for members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s about time. It’s been a long time coming. It’s well-deserved for our family, our friends, our community,” said Kat Bedford, reached by KQED while driving home to Stockton from the final bargaining session in Oakland that lasted until past midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory facilities worker said bringing down the cost of monthly healthcare premiums, which had nearly doubled for some coworkers, was a priority for the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are the lowest-paid members with the University of California, so it’s only right that we get a good contract,” said Bedford, who began working for the university as a bus driver in 1997. “This is a huge win for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union representing grounds keepers, cafeteria workers, patient transporters, X-ray technicians and other employees planned \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080047/uc-patient-care-and-service-workers-plan-open-ended-strike-starting-next-month\">to walk off the job\u003c/a> on Thursday with no return date in sight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033113\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033113\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231218-RainFile-03-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A group walks with an umbrella near the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Dec. 18, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The labor action threatened to cause disruptions for patients, students and other employees at all UC campuses and medical centers, likely at a significant cost to the university.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contentious contract negotiations, which started in January 2024, were marked by five short strikes, with the union accusing California’s second-largest employer of engaging in unfair labor practices, which the UC system denied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This contract delivers meaningful pay increases and addresses some of the real affordability pressures our employees are facing, while allowing us to move forward together focused on UC’s mission of patient care, teaching and research,” said Missy Matella, associate vice president for systemwide employee and labor relations for UC, in a statement.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We’re glad to have reached an agreement with AFSCME that recognizes the important work these employees do every day across UC’s campuses and health centers,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union had also sought for the university to provide emergency financial assistance to workers at risk of eviction or foreclosure, based on a program already in place at UC Davis. But Bedford said that item did not make it into the contract agreement, which workers are set to vote on for ratification next week, starting on May 19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the tentative deal, all union employees are set to earn a percentage or lump sum raise on an annual basis, in addition to extra compensation for working on holidays, ratification bonuses and other benefits, said Kennard Harris, a pharmacy technician at UC Davis Medical Center for 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve gotten some really fabulous raises that we’ve never gotten before,” Harris said, expressing relief that he and thousands of other UC employees would no longer hold picket lines as previously planned. “I can’t wait until my coworkers and all the different AFSCME 3299 members across the state get to see all the benefits of this new contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California ride-hail drivers said Tuesday they are a step closer to establishing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/category/labor\">union\u003c/a> that — if certified by the state — must be recognized by Uber and Lyft for collective bargaining \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057798/california-gives-uber-lyft-drivers-collective-bargaining-rights\">under a new law\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Gig Workers Union requested state regulators to review whether it meets a required threshold of support among at least 10% of active drivers for app-based transportation companies. The first-of-its-kind petition kickstarts a process that could eventually require the rideshare giants to negotiate working conditions and benefits with the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a press conference in Los Angeles, drivers said they seek a greater voice on the job to improve fairness and transparency on issues such as compensation and sudden suspensions from the platforms. Uber and Lyft net multibillion-dollar incomes while pushing many costs and risks onto workers who barely scrape a living behind the wheel, they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Together we can win better pay, safer working conditions and real protection for gig workers across California,” said long-time driver Hector Castellanos, a 56-year-old Antioch resident who has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11928844/rideshare-drivers-rally-for-rights-announce-new-statewide-union\">organized\u003c/a> fellow gig drivers for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castellanos said he was unable to work for months after a 2017 accident that required him to undergo shoulder surgery. His daughter dropped out of college to help pay the bills, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know my story is not unique. So many drivers for Uber and Lyft have been left struggling after getting hurt on the job,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944379\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11944379\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-scaled-e1764810192572.jpg\" alt=\"A closeup shot of a black vehicle with a pink Lyft sticker and a black and white Uber sticker on the left side of its windshield. The vehicle sits idle, waiting to pick up a customer.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Proposition 22 allows gig companies such as Uber, Lyft and the like to classify their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. \u003ccite>(Ericka Cruz Guevarra/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last year, California became the second state in the nation to grant an estimated 800,000 rideshare drivers a legal path to bargain collectively through \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034860/california-bill-would-allow-uber-lyft-drivers-bargain-collectively\">AB 1340, \u003c/a>which the Service Employees International Union sponsored.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber, Lyft and other app-based companies have fought to keep drivers classified as independent contractors, who are excluded from federal law granting employees the right to unionize and earn minimum wage, overtime pay and other protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rideshare companies, which initially opposed the state measure, agreed to support it after \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/08/29/governor-newsom-pro-tem-mcguire-speaker-rivas-announce-support-for-legislation-empowering-gig-workers-improving-rideshare-affordability/\">a deal \u003c/a>they described as “historic” with the governor, legislative leaders and SEIU California, which reduced the companies’ insurance requirements. The law, which does not cover delivery drivers, went into effect this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today’s petition filing is exactly the democratic process the law was designed to enable — drivers exercising their right to organize if they choose,” said Zahid Arab, an Uber spokesperson, in a statement. “We remain committed to working constructively within this framework, which protects the independence and flexibility drivers have consistently said they value most.”[aside postID=news_12083142 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260511-KAISERDACA00192_TV-KQED.jpg']According to Uber, California drivers make, on average, more than $30 an hour while active on a trip, not including tips. The company said a 2024 UC Berkeley Labor Center \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/release-gig-passenger-and-delivery-driver-pay-in-five-metro-areas/\">study\u003c/a> cited by the union that found gig drivers in the state earn a median wage of $5.97 per hour without tips when factoring in all work time, gas, and vehicle wear and tear, was misleading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Gig Workers Union said it submitted thousands of driver signatures authorizing it as their labor representative to the Public Employment Relations Board, which is tasked with certifying app-based driver unions. The agency confirmed it received the petition toward certification on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the first request of this type that has been filed under the Transportation Network Company Drivers Labor Relations Act,” said Joseph Eckhart, interim general counsel at PERB.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency has 30 days to determine whether the union is supported by 10% or more of drivers. If it is, it will be entitled to receive a list of all active drivers at network transportation companies, Eckhart said. The union must later prove that at least 30% of those drivers have chosen it as their representative before it begins negotiations for labor agreements with the companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a big moment for all of us. We are sending a message to Uber and Lyft and all the companies in the state: gig drivers will have a union,” said Margarita Penalosa, who drives full-time for both companies in the Los Angeles area. “We are tired of being treated as disposable. We are tired of the low pay. We’re tired of no support when gas prices rise to historic levels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California ride-hail drivers said Tuesday they are a step closer to establishing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/category/labor\">union\u003c/a> that — if certified by the state — must be recognized by Uber and Lyft for collective bargaining \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057798/california-gives-uber-lyft-drivers-collective-bargaining-rights\">under a new law\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Gig Workers Union requested state regulators to review whether it meets a required threshold of support among at least 10% of active drivers for app-based transportation companies. The first-of-its-kind petition kickstarts a process that could eventually require the rideshare giants to negotiate working conditions and benefits with the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a press conference in Los Angeles, drivers said they seek a greater voice on the job to improve fairness and transparency on issues such as compensation and sudden suspensions from the platforms. Uber and Lyft net multibillion-dollar incomes while pushing many costs and risks onto workers who barely scrape a living behind the wheel, they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Together we can win better pay, safer working conditions and real protection for gig workers across California,” said long-time driver Hector Castellanos, a 56-year-old Antioch resident who has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11928844/rideshare-drivers-rally-for-rights-announce-new-statewide-union\">organized\u003c/a> fellow gig drivers for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castellanos said he was unable to work for months after a 2017 accident that required him to undergo shoulder surgery. His daughter dropped out of college to help pay the bills, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know my story is not unique. So many drivers for Uber and Lyft have been left struggling after getting hurt on the job,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944379\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11944379\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-scaled-e1764810192572.jpg\" alt=\"A closeup shot of a black vehicle with a pink Lyft sticker and a black and white Uber sticker on the left side of its windshield. The vehicle sits idle, waiting to pick up a customer.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Proposition 22 allows gig companies such as Uber, Lyft and the like to classify their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. \u003ccite>(Ericka Cruz Guevarra/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last year, California became the second state in the nation to grant an estimated 800,000 rideshare drivers a legal path to bargain collectively through \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12034860/california-bill-would-allow-uber-lyft-drivers-bargain-collectively\">AB 1340, \u003c/a>which the Service Employees International Union sponsored.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber, Lyft and other app-based companies have fought to keep drivers classified as independent contractors, who are excluded from federal law granting employees the right to unionize and earn minimum wage, overtime pay and other protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rideshare companies, which initially opposed the state measure, agreed to support it after \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/08/29/governor-newsom-pro-tem-mcguire-speaker-rivas-announce-support-for-legislation-empowering-gig-workers-improving-rideshare-affordability/\">a deal \u003c/a>they described as “historic” with the governor, legislative leaders and SEIU California, which reduced the companies’ insurance requirements. The law, which does not cover delivery drivers, went into effect this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today’s petition filing is exactly the democratic process the law was designed to enable — drivers exercising their right to organize if they choose,” said Zahid Arab, an Uber spokesperson, in a statement. “We remain committed to working constructively within this framework, which protects the independence and flexibility drivers have consistently said they value most.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>According to Uber, California drivers make, on average, more than $30 an hour while active on a trip, not including tips. The company said a 2024 UC Berkeley Labor Center \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/release-gig-passenger-and-delivery-driver-pay-in-five-metro-areas/\">study\u003c/a> cited by the union that found gig drivers in the state earn a median wage of $5.97 per hour without tips when factoring in all work time, gas, and vehicle wear and tear, was misleading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Gig Workers Union said it submitted thousands of driver signatures authorizing it as their labor representative to the Public Employment Relations Board, which is tasked with certifying app-based driver unions. The agency confirmed it received the petition toward certification on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the first request of this type that has been filed under the Transportation Network Company Drivers Labor Relations Act,” said Joseph Eckhart, interim general counsel at PERB.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency has 30 days to determine whether the union is supported by 10% or more of drivers. If it is, it will be entitled to receive a list of all active drivers at network transportation companies, Eckhart said. The union must later prove that at least 30% of those drivers have chosen it as their representative before it begins negotiations for labor agreements with the companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a big moment for all of us. We are sending a message to Uber and Lyft and all the companies in the state: gig drivers will have a union,” said Margarita Penalosa, who drives full-time for both companies in the Los Angeles area. “We are tired of being treated as disposable. We are tired of the low pay. We’re tired of no support when gas prices rise to historic levels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
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"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
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"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
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}
},
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"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
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