Page 5 - Sonoma County Gazette Sept 2017

OPINION: Adressing Low Wages
By John Baskerville
Let’s call this musings from the dark side. I’m a News Junkie I watch MSNBC
CNN sometimes I’ll even hold my nose and listen to Fox just assure myself they are still peddling the same old snake oil. This subject of what’s wrong with America comes up a lot especially especially during these politically Torrid times have you ever seen such a mess. Anyways I’ve yet to see anybody address what I think is the root cause of the low wages in this country or so they say. In 1987 President Ronald Reagan red air tra c controllers of which I was one. This was not a spontaneous Wildcat job action it was a peeing contest between the administration representing big business and the union leaders the union leaders were looking for a job action that would be Unbreakable
UPDATE on Immigration Initiative
Earlier this year, the County started the Sonoma County Immigration Initiative to address the heightened fear and insecurity caused by new federal actions by nding ways to support our immigrant communities and nonpro t partners who serve them. Each Supervisor will be hosting a community meeting in their district to bring attention to this issue, help inform residents of their rights and available services, provide a forum for service providers, and receive input and feedback from the community. Community meetings will consist of a presentation followed by a resource fair with local organizations and legal service providers.
The following community meetings will be held:
Supervisor Hopkins – District 5
Date/Time: Monday, August 28, 2017, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Location: Roseland Village, 779 Sebastopol Rd., Santa Rosa
Supervisor Susan Gorin - District 1
Date/Time: Thursday, September 14, 2017, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Location: Altimira Middle School, 17805 Arnold Drive, Sonoma
Supervisor David Rabbitt - District 2
Date/Time: Wednesday, September 20, 2017, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Location: Lucchesi Community Center, 320 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma
Supervisor Zane – District 3
Date/Time: Wednesday, September 28, 2017, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Location: Kawana Springs Elementary School, 2121 Moraga Dr, Santa Rosa
Supervisor James Gore - District 4 Date/Time/ Locatio: TBA Please see the full initiative at www.SonomaCountyGazette.com - SEARCH:
Immigration AND on page 30 of this issue.
and the air tra c controllers stepped into The Fray. But the administration
was ready and as history has shown they had a action plan in place which was to re V controllers give military controllers or anybody with just a passing understanding of the job early outs from the military put them in those positions. In the short term it was a disaster for the air tra c control system it was purely the grace of God that there wasn’t a major Calamity attributed to that action take against our country by our country against its own people. I have no real issue with how that turned out and it’s not about whether it was right or wrong this is about the fact that that event marked the death knell for unionism in this country they has not to my recollection been a major job action in years there is no Union power left in this country. And the reality of the fact is when unions won concession from big business it it not only raised the level of living for the union members but in order to stay competitive non-union shops whatever or wherever they might be had to raise wages to stay competitive. Republican sparred with the unions through every major election that I can remember nally accomplished their goal and it happened rather quietly one minute there were unions and the next minute they’re gone and with it one of the major and catalyst for our economy.
OPINION: Mis-guided Bill - AB 1461
By Michaela Worona
California has long been proud of our innovative, entrepreneurial spirit,
which has fostered new companies and business models that have reshaped how we go about our everyday lives. However, this spirit of innovation will be squashed by misguided bills like AB 1461 that add new, cumbersome regulations to these new business models, making it harder for existing companies to grow and expand here and for companies to bring their jobs here instead of locating in Nevada, Texas or elsewhere.
By requiring certain businesses to adhere to multiple layers of redundant regulation, AB 1461 reveals itself as a poorly written bill that fails to take into account the ways in which California’s economy is evolving. If our state wants to continue to be a hub for technology and innovation, our legislators should reject misguided bills like AB 1461.
9/17 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5