Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff
Oakland trash collectors sign contract with waste management after seven months.
Oakland trash collectors announce on April 3 that Waste Management has finally signed a contract, ending the labor dispute which began last summer when the company locked out 500 workers for four weeks.
The announcement was made at the AFl-CIO Alameda Labor Council’s annual dinner.
The group will also look ahead to the coming summer when contracts for 50,000 workers throughout the County will expire by midnight on June 30. These include workers providing vital public services such as teachers, nurses, janitors, and private sector workers.
“It’s going to be another long, hot summer,” said Sharon Cornu, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Alameda Labor Council, AFL-CIO. “And just like when Waste Management locked out its workers, we know that the public will be there to working people and protect retirement, healthcare, and living wages.”
Local business extend support to county education amid budget cuts
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget cuts in the state are creating unprecedented pain in every level of the economy.
However, The RCEF an all volunteer, community based education foundation in Redwood City is not sitting down doing nothing.
An April 25 RCEF’S fundraising event, called Benefi t for a Brighter Future, which they organize every year, has already collected $10,000 from local merchants, which include, Mi Rancho Supermarket, Lyngso Garden Materials, and the Kastrop Group Architects.
This amount will be added to approximately $56,000 received from local corportations such as Oracle, Cargill, and the Port of Redwood City.
We raise funds to help pay for enrichment activities for the students in the kindergarten through eighth grade Redwood City School District (RSCD). We work closely with the School District to ensure that the academic, music and art, and wellness programs we support meet the needs of our children.
The RCEF provides essential programs such as music instruction, the Outdoor Education science program, and Wellness education to the 8,000 students of the Redwood City School District.
Nutrition program for moms, kids will add fresh produce and grains next year
As food prices rise along with poverty and obesity rates, the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program is revising the foods it provides to 1.4 million low income women and children in California.
For the first time in its 35-year history, families will be able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and soy products with their WIC checks. These nutrient-dense, lower-fat items will replace some of the juice, milk, cheese and eggs currently offered by WIC.
Close to 300 people attended a public summit today sponsored by California WIC Association and PolicyLink, to discuss the changes, which will be implemented in 2009. The statewide meeting, entitled Making Change Matter: Maximizing the Health Impact of the New WIC Foods, gathered input from a diverse crowd of nutrition experts, small grocers, and public health advocates on ways to maximize the community health benefits of these historic changes. “If planned carefully and leveraged by strategic partnerships, the implementation of the new WIC food changes could result in dramatic health improvements in communities most impacted by the obesity epidemic,” says Laurie True, executive director for the California WIC Association.
