Union

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Dec 15 2011

Union to post results Friday

While about 100 parents, community stakeholders and school officials spent Saturday and Monday vetting plans to operate three Los Angeles Unified School campuses as part of the Public School Choice program, the next step in the process to select new operators will depend on how members of United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) vote on a proposed agreement.
 

Marisol Aguilar  |   OW Contributor
Oct 7 2010

Film pushes for charter schools

“Waiting for Superman” is a documentary by Davis Guggenheim, director of “An Inconvenient Truth,” that focuses on the deteriorating public school system.

Guggenheim’s film follows five optimistic children and their families (that he selected from across the country), who hope to win the lottery—the charter school lottery that is.

Charter schools are portrayed as the possible saviors of these five children. However, there are not many available seats for all the applicants, and only a few lucky ones will win the game.

Aug 27 2010

Hyatt Regency Century Plaza and Hyatt Andaz targeted

LOS ANGELES  - A union representing employees at two Hyatt hotels announced today that workers have voted to authorize a strike.

This past Thursday, employees at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza and the Hyatt Andaz voted to strike, if necessary, said Leigh Shelton of UNITE HERE Local 11.

Shelton said the vote "represents a major escalation of a labor dispute with the Hyatt Corporation, which has become the target of labor demonstrations across North America in recent weeks.''

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”