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California advances bill allowing farmworkers to vote by mail in union elections

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California advances bill allowing farmworkers to vote by mail in union elections


(The Middle Sq.) – California might quickly enable farmworkers to vote by mail in union elections underneath a invoice that was superior by Meeting lawmakers.

Below the laws, farmworkers could be given the choice to decide on whether or not they wish to vote for unionization by mail, at a bodily location or by dropping off their illustration poll card on the Agricultural Labor Relations Board workplace.

The invoice handed the Meeting in a 49-22 vote final week and now strikes on to the Senate.

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Supporters of the invoice say a mail-in poll possibility is critical for farmworkers who typically face intimidation from supervisors and forepersons to vote in opposition to unionizing. Below the prevailing Agricultural Labor Relations Act, union elections are required to happen onsite and sometimes happen at a grower’s property, which supporters of AB 2183 say results in outdoors affect when it comes time to vote.

Roman Pinal, organizing director with the United Farm Staff, instructed The Middle Sq. in April that “creating an atmosphere that reduces intimidation could be very interesting for farm staff who’d wish to unionize.”

Along with permitting mail-in voting, the invoice would additionally enable a labor group to acquire an worker listing with names and phone info after offering written discover of an intention to prepare staff. Employers could be required to reply with an worker listing or written arguments in opposition to offering a listing inside 5 days. If an employer fails to reply, they might be fined as much as $10,000.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed an analogous measure final yr after it handed the Meeting and Senate. In his veto message, Newsom mentioned the invoice contained “numerous inconsistencies and procedural points associated to the gathering and evaluate of poll playing cards” that may have run afoul with a 2021 U.S. Supreme Courtroom resolution over agricultural unionizing.

The invoice’s creator, Assemblymember Mark Stone, D-Monterey Bay, instructed lawmakers final week that he has agreed to simply accept amendments and had “actually productive discussions with the governor and with the opposite stakeholders who’re on this invoice.” He famous, nonetheless, that the invoice will not be one which “governor fully agrees but,” although he’s working with Newsom’s workplace to resolve points. 

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“What [the bill] represents proper now could be a really viable answer to permit farmworkers to have the ability to vote on union elections, organizing elections using a mail poll like all of us do in our different elections in California,” Stone mentioned final week.

The invoice confronted opposition from a number of organizations, together with the California Chamber of Commerce and the Western Growers Affiliation. In an announcement, the Western Growers Affiliation that “the invoice implicitly condones the coercion and intimidation of farm staff,” including that “a union in search of recognition underneath the AB 2183 ‘poll card’ course of could select which staff obtain a poll and when (and even whether or not or not) the election happens.”

“Ought to a union fulfill the situations set forth in AB 2183 to win illustration rights, some farmworkers included within the bargaining unit won’t ever have an opportunity to specific a choice for or in opposition to illustration,” the affiliation wrote.

The invoice will now transfer to the Senate Guidelines Committee, the place will probably be assigned to different Senate committees.

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California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says state will provide rebates if Trump removes tax credit for electric vehicles

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom says state will provide rebates if Trump removes tax credit for electric vehicles


California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will provide rebates to residents if President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration does away with a federal tax credit for electric vehicles.

In a news release issued Monday, Newsom said he would restart the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which provided financial incentives on more than 590,000 vehicles before it was phased out late 2023.

“We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California,” Newsom said. “We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”

The federal rebates on new and used electric vehicles were implemented in the Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. When Trump’s second term in office begins next year, he could work with Congress to change the rules around those rebates. Those potential changes could limit the federal rebates, including by reducing the amount of money available or limiting who is eligible.

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Limiting federal subsidies on electric vehicle purchases would hurt many American automakers, including Ford, General Motors and the EV startup Rivian. Tesla, which also builds its automobiles in the United States, would take a smaller hit since that company currently sells more EVs and has a higher profit margin than any other EV manufacturer.

Newsom also announced earlier this month that he will convene a special session “to protect California values,” including fundamental civil rights and reproductive rights, that he said “are under attack by this incoming administration.”

“Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate action — we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked,” Newsom said on X on Nov. 7.

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This isn’t the first time California will be taking action against the Trump’s administration concerning clean transportation legislation.

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In 2019, California and 22 other states sued his administration for revoking its ability to set standards for greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for vehicles, The Associated Press reported.

California sued the Trump administration over 100 times during his first term, primarily on matters including gun control, health care, education and immigration, the Los Angeles Times reported.



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45 Years Later, California Murder Mystery Solved Through DNA Evidence

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45 Years Later, California Murder Mystery Solved Through DNA Evidence


A 45-year-old cold case of a 17-year-old girl brutally raped and murdered has been resolved, bringing closure to the family. On February 9, 1979, Esther Gonzalez walked from her parents’ home to her sister’s in Banning, California, roughly 137 km east of Los Angeles. She never arrived. The next day, her body was discovered in a snowpack near a highway in Riverside County, California. Authorities determined she had been raped and bludgeoned to death, leading to an investigation that spanned decades.

The lab was able to match the DNA to a man named Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson, who died in 2014. Williamson, a US Marine Corps veteran, called authorities on the fateful day to report finding Ms Gonzalez’s body. At the time, he claimed he could not identify whether the body was male or female. Described as “argumentative” by deputies, Williamson was asked to take a polygraph test, which he passed, clearing him of suspicion in the pre-DNA era. He had faced assault allegations in the past but was never convicted of any violent crimes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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Despite limited leads, the Riverside County cold case homicide team didn’t give up. A semen sample recovered from Ms Gonzalez’s body in 1979 was preserved but remained unmatched in the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for decades.

In 2023, forensic technology finally caught up. The homicide team collaborated with a genetic lab in Texas that specialises in forensic genealogy. A sample of Williamson’s blood from his 2014 autopsy provided the DNA match needed to confirm him as the 17-year-old’s rapist and killer.

The Gonzalez family had mixed emotions—relief at finally having answers and sadness knowing Williamson would not face justice, as he died in Florida ten years ago. Ms Gonzalez, remembered by her family as a shy yet funny and mild-mannered young woman, was the fourth of seven children. Her oldest brother, Eddie Gonzalez, wrote on Facebook, “The Gonzalez family would like to thank the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on a job well done. After 40 years, the Gonzalez family has closure.”

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“We are very happy that we finally have closure,” Ms Gonzalez’s sister, Elizabeth, 64, shared with CNN. “We are happy about it but, since the guy has died, a little sad that he won’t spend any time for her murder.”




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Bird Flu Virus Identified In Raw Milk Sold In California

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Bird Flu Virus Identified In Raw Milk Sold In California


The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has detected the avian influenza or “bird flu” virus in a sample of a raw milk product. The product which was for sale at retailers at the time of the testing has now been recalled by the producer after the state of California requested it’s withdrawal from sale.

The affected product is cream top, whole raw milk produced and packaged by Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County with lot code 2024110. The best buy date of the batch is 11. Nov, 2024 meaning consumers could still have it in their homes. No illnesses have currently been reported from this batch of milk, but people can take several days to develop bird flu after exposure. According to the World Health Organization, most people develop symptoms within 2-5 days, but can take up to 17 days to develop.

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According to the CDC, bird flu symptoms may include fever or feeling feverish or chills, eye redness or irritation, and respiratory symptoms, such as cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, and tiredness.

Customers should not consume any product matching the description above and should return the product to stores or dispose of it. The CDPH is also in the process of informing re also in the process of informing retailers about the infected product to notify them to remove it from their shelves. The CDPH has since visited both locations of the company’s farms and has found no further evidence of bird flu. The CDPH will continue to test the farm’s milk twice a week.

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The CDPH stresses that there is no risk of consuming pasteurized milk as the milk is heated to temperatures which inactivate bacteria and viruses. However raw milk does not go through this process, meaning any bacteria or viruses in the milk can be transferred to the consumer. Public health departments, as well as the CDC have long warned against the dangers of consuming raw milk, which has been responsible for outbreaks of Listeria, E. coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella, among other microbes.

California has been hit with bird flu outbreaks in both dairy cow herds and poultry farms with over 400 dairy herds affected as of 22. November. Twenty-nine human cases have also been recorded in the state, mostly individuals who have had close contact with infected livestock. The numbers of infected individuals are likely to be under reported and very little is known about the severity of disease in humans so far. Just two days ago, the CDC confirmed a case of H5N1 bird flu in a child in California with no known contact with livestock.



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