Nevada

Lombardo says Nevada teachers should not be allowed to strike

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2024

Press Room

Lombardo says Nevada teachers should not be allowed to strike

By Rocio Hernandez

The Nevada Independent

Gov. Joe Lombardo is opposing an initiative by the Clark County teachers union that would allow Nevada public school teachers to go on strike.

Under Nevada law, strikes by public employees — including teachers — are illegal.

Rocio Hernandez/The Nevada Independent
Faten Alkulifi, left, gathers signatures on March 6, 2024, for a petition by the Clark County teachers
union that seeks to change the state’s anti-strike law.

The governor’s opposition, which he expressed during The Nevada Independent’s IndyTalks event Wednesday came two months after the Clark County Education Association (CCEA) filed a petition to put a measure on the ballot that, if enacted, would exempt public school teachers from the state’s strike prohibition. It came about a month after the union’s contract dispute with the district came to an end following a nine-month battle that entered into the arbitration process when the district, then led by former Superintendent Jesus Jara, declared an impasse in September.

State law defines a strike as any concerted stoppage of work, slowdown or interruption of operations by public employees, including absences based on false pretenses, such as illness.

It’s illegal for teachers to go on strike in 37 states, including Nevada, and Washington, D.C.

During the Wednesday event, Lombardo said he did not think teachers should be able to go on strike. He said he thought the state’s current collective bargaining process works, and called it a successful model.

“I think their decision to want to strike was out of frustration on the previous negotiations and I think the issues with that angst and that frustration should be addressed,” Lombardo said during Wednesday’s event.

CCEA Executive Director John Vellardita pushed back on Lombardo’s comments in a Thursday interview, and called the arbitration process that kicked in after the school district declared an impasse “destructive.” The union has said its contract negotiations with the district have entered lengthy arbitration processes four times in the past 12 years.

“It takes too long to find resolution and it bleeds into the school year, and sure, it’s easy for us to say it affects teachers when it clearly affects students and their learning,” he said.

Last year, as the district and the union butted heads over proposed pay increase for teachers, an unprecedented number of teacher absences or sickouts led to canceled classes at 10 schools — a situation the court declared to be a form of a strike. CCEA denied any involvement in the rolling sickouts that took place in September.

The labor dispute was resolved in December, when the school district and CCEA settled on a new contract that was approved by an arbitrator.

Lombardo’s comments came about two weeks after the union began gathering signatures from voters.

Vellardita said the union hired Advanced Micro Targeting, a company headed by Republican former Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, to gather signatures. CCEA worked with the political consulting firm in 2021 when it was pushing forward two initiatives that would have raised gaming and sales taxes.

Vellardita said the petition hasn’t received any challenges so far.

In order to get an initiative or referendum on the ballot that proposes or repeals language for state law, a petitioner must obtain signatures from at least 10 percent of the voters in the previous general election. This means it needs at least 102,362 valid signatures from registered Nevada voters. At least 25,591 signatures would need to come from each of the state’s four congressional districts.

The deadline for submitting these signatures to the county clerk or registrar of voters for verification is Nov. 20.

Vellardita said he’s confident that the union will have the signatures it needs well before that deadline and isn’t deterred by the governor’s opposition.

If the union is able to gather the necessary amount of signatures, the petition goes before the state Legislature for consideration in the 2025 session. If the Legislature approves the initiative, it becomes law. However, if the Legislature rejects the initiative or fails to take action on the initiative within 40 days, the initiative is presented to the voters at the next general election in 2026.

Vellardita said he continues to be open to considering other solutions suggested by Lombardo and state lawmakers.

“There’s an opportunity in the ‘25 session to find some solution and if there isn’t a solution in the ‘25 session, clearly the law allows the voters to be the final judge on this,” Vellardita said.

During a January press conference, Vellardita said if a compromise on an alternative solution was reached, the union could withdraw the initiative as it did in 2021 when it used the two tax-hiking ballot initiatives as leverage to secure more mining tax revenue for schools.

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Nevada

Nevada City community rebuilds house for widow 1 year after fire

Published

11 hours ago

January 14, 2026

Press Room

Nevada City community rebuilds house for widow 1 year after fire

Lori Wisniewski lost her Nevada City home in a fire last year and has been living in a 150-square-foot tiny home while she waits for her house to be rebuilt.

It’s being rebuilt at little to no cost to her, thanks to her community stepping up to help.

“I had to jump off the deck, and I thought the dogs would be coming out too, and they didn’t, so that’s very sad,” she said, recounting the day of the fire on January 27, 2025.

Wisniewski lost her pets and home after an accident with her wood-burning stove. She says she wasn’t sure how to move forward without proper insurance and navigating the process without her husband, who died from cancer.

“In First James, it talks about serving widows and orphans as being true religion. So when I saw Lori’s story come across my path, I knew that was an opportunity to put my money where my mouth is with my faith,” said Matthew Sutherlin, CEO of Green Bee Construction.

Sutherlin is spearheading the rebuild of Wisniewski’s home with the help of donated time, labor and materials from other local tradespeople and businesses.

“Who am I to have a designer? And part of me, too, is when I have to choose everything, I always try to go for the least expensive item or tile or front door,” she said.

“Everybody has been shaving things off and donating things and getting reduced costs all the way across the board. That’s what has made it possible for this project to have worked,” said Sutherlin.

It’s been all hands on deck during the last year.

Wisniewski was excited to show us the inside of the house and what’s to come. As a former post-surgical nurse, she even decided an accessible room would be a nice touch for friends or anyone who lent a hand.

“If somebody has to recover or needs a few days to get around after a surgery, they can come and stay in here,” she said.

The builders say the weather has been posing a challenge, especially coupled with hazardous materials leftover from the fire. But they’re getting through it together.

“Every person has stepped up to offer their help. The timing with all the different processes has worked out in our favor. I really believe the whole thing has a blessing on it, really,” said Sutherlin.

Builders expect to be finished with the house in late spring or early summer.

“This community, a lot of them have seen your reports. At Grocery Outlet, ‘oh, you’re the one whose house burned down,’ and I always go into the most important thing about this is what people from the community are doing for this purpose or cause. I sometimes wonder why me? Why am I getting this opportunity? So that’s where I am today,” said Wisniewski.

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Nevada

LIVE: Nevada Attorney General shares status of lawsuits against Trump administration

Published

23 hours ago

January 13, 2026

Press Room

LIVE: Nevada Attorney General shares status of lawsuits against Trump administration

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is set to hold a press conference to discuss the status of multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration.

Officials say the address will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 13. The conference will cover both the financial and nonfinancial wins regarding claims that the Trump administration has “practiced destructive overreach.”

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Nevada

Monday’s high school scores, top performances

Published

1 day ago

January 13, 2026

Press Room

Top performances

Boys basketball

■ Mekhi Carter, Canyon Springs: The sophomore collected 17 points, five assists and two steals while leading the Pioneers to a 63-49 win over Tech.

■ Gian Haddock, Desert Oasis: The senior scored 23 points as the Diamondbacks outlasted Silverado for a 70-68 triple-overtime win.

■ Rylan Hearns, Arbor View: The senior finished with 28 points in the Aggies’ 71-55 win over Foothill.

■ Uzo Nwapa, The Meadows: The junior scored 18 points to help the Mustangs hold off Shadow Ridge for a 57-54 victory.

■ David Quesada, Cimarron-Memorial: The sophomore racked up 28 points and eight rebounds to lead the Spartans past Del Sol 84-49.

Girls basketball

■ Samantha Chesnut, Liberty: The senior led a balanced attack with 11 points as the Patriots rolled past Las Vegas 68-14.

■ Greta Piepkorn, Rancho: The sophomore collected 12 points and five steals while leading the Rams to a 42-34 win over Green Valley.

■ Bella Robinson, Coral Academy: The senior finished with 29 points, 14 rebounds, 13 steals and six assists in the Falcons’ 59-20 victory over Eldorado.

■ Sabrina Stewart, Del Sol: The sophomore scored 27 points and the Dragons rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Canyon Springs 62-58.

■ Nation Williams, Centennial: The senior posted 16 points in the Bulldogs’ 76-24 victory over Faith Lutheran.

Flag football

■ Amaya Mackey, Legacy: The sophomore had three interceptions to help the Longhorns secure a 19-6 victory over Moapa Valley.

■ Manahere Peters, Sloan Canyon: The junior caught 10 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns in the Pirates’ 41-24 loss to Bishop Gorman.

■ Charli Taylor, Liberty: The freshman completed 23 of 48 passes for 384 yards and four TDs to lead the Patriots beat Green Valley 35-6.

Scores

Boys basketball

Arbor View 71, Foothill 55

Canyon Springs 63, Tech 49

Cimarron-Memorial 84, Del Sol 49

Desert Oasis 70, Silverado 68 (3OT)

Laughlin 72, Liberty Baptist 52