Ochoa Law

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it!

With the Governor's Regional Stay-At-Home Order taking effect today in Southern California due to a worrying spike in COVID-19 cases and shortage of ICU capacity, our offices will once again be closed for the time being and our staff will be working remotely.

Thank you to the ABA Section of Labor & Employment Law for inviting our Managing Attorney, Ricardo Ochoa, to be a panelist at its Annual Conference and present this morning from the labor union perspective on anti-SLAPP motions in employment-related litigation.

Please welcome Ricardo Martinez on his first day at Ochoa|Law! Ricardo is a 2020 graduate of King Hall at UC Davis, and a former fellowship recipient from the Peggy Browning Fund. He is currently awaiting Bar results but is already hard at work supporting our firm's efforts on behalf of the Labor Movement.

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT We are excited to announce the ratification of our Collective Bargaining Agreement with Future PAC, Oregon House Democrats. Our agreement ...covers workers on thirteen Democratic State House campaigns and spans three years, so workers next cycle will be hired into a union shop. This is the SEVENTH CWG contract in Oregon - we’ve represented workers on nineteen campaigns! Join us in celebrating just some of the game changing wins in our contract: Immediate pay raises for all workers Increased pay step for multilingual workers 100% employer paid health, vision, and dental insurance Paid time off and holidays 1 full day off per week before GOTV Guaranteed daily rest and meal breaks Language protecting a broad list of vulnerable workers, from immigrants to people with disabilities Required harassment and assault trainings and complaint and investigation processes to ensure all workers are safe at work Bargaining team member David Ramos says it best: My grandparents migrated to this country from Mexico in search of a brighter future -- working tirelessly as farmworkers under harsh conditions and for little pay, so that our family could have a chance at a better life. They always encouraged me to put my best foot forward so that one day I wouldn’t have to make the same sacrifices they did. To me, this union contract symbolizes a first step toward doing just that. Being a part of the Campaign Workers Guild empowered me to stand up for what I believe in. I’m so proud of the precedent we’re setting with this contract, and look forward to continuing to fight for worker’s rights. Si se puede! #ClipboardsAndContracts #1u [image captions: Members of the FuturePAC Union smiling with a Campaign Workers Guild and FuturePAC Union Frame overlayed on their images]

As the imperative for labor law reform grows, this is a good reminder that any sectoral bargaining system must be built on the foundation of democratic and worker-led unions, or risks being a corporatist lash-up -- and that who wins the Presidential election in 43 days will make a critical difference in whether or not workers' ability to win democracy at work will be strengthened by Biden or further undermined by Trump.

Ocho años de Ochoa|Law! Thanks to all for your support. We look forward to many more years of serving the labor community. Ocho años de Ochoa|Law! Thanks to all for your support. We look forward to many more years of serving the labor community.

Pleased to sponsor the 38th Annual John Lyons Memorial Foundation Dinner, this year a "virtual dinner," honoring Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, Lucas O'Connor, and our Essential Workers.

Ocho años de Ochoa|Law! Thanks to all for your support. We look forward to many more years of serving the labor community. Ocho años de Ochoa|Law! Thanks to all for your support. We look forward to many more years of serving the labor community.

At Ochoa Law, we are taking current public health guidance seriously. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our offices are currently not open, and the firm is instead working remotely.

Congratulations to the Campaign Workers Guild and the NextGen Field Staff Union on securing a collective bargaining agreement for 137 organizing staff members in 11 different states! This contract provides the workers with just cause protection, increased compensation, and 100% employer-paid dependent health coverage (on top of the existing 100% employer-paid employee health coverage), and it single-handedly increases CWG's membership by 25%.

The Trump Administration continues to utilize the Coronavirus pandemic to attack workplace protections. The latest? At a time the President is whipping up anti-Chinese bigotry related to COVID-19, his Department of Labor has exempted all federal contracts from equal employment opportunity (EEO) requirements for the next three months. Shameful.

Attention union members who have been laid off or lost hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic Unionized grocery stores in San Diego County, represented by UFCW Local 135 are in need of temporary part-time staff right now. If you need additional income right now, feel free to apply directly at the stores.

The wave of campaign worker unionization throughout the country has now reached the coast of San Diego. Congratulations to the Campaign Workers Guild on another victory, and to the workers for winning power on the job.

An anti-union developer is proposing "poor doors" to segregate tenants of affordable units from the market rate tenants. Kudos to Armando Nuñez from Union Carpenters local 619 and Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher for calling this out and working to put a stop to it.

Solidarity with the staff of #TYT as they fight for recognition of IATSE as their union. #UnionBustingIsDisgusting #HypocrisyIsTheGreatestLuxury

Federal judge denies request by the right-wing Pacific Legal Foundation to temporarily block enforcement of #AB5. #DisruptInequality #DefendAB5

California employers have begun received letters such as this from the state informing them about the upcoming implementation of #AB5, which combats the rampant misclassification of employees as "independent contractors" by corporations seeking to evade their responsibilities as employers. As part of the implementation of AB 5, the state has launched a new website with relevant information: https://labor.ca.gov/employmentstatus Ochoa Law would like to take this opportunity to thank Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher for authoring AB 5, and for being a consistent voice for working people.

Congratulations to Mid-City CAN (Community Advocacy Network) on its 30th Anniversary gala!