Labor Agreement Reached In Advance Of Dignity Health Merger

As part of an agreement for 15,000 health care workers in California, 608 workers at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach have entered into a five-year contract with Dignity Health, the organization that operates the hospital. Dignity Health is preparing to merge with Catholic Health Initiatives, a national nonprofit health system. The deal applies to members of the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West labor union. Workers will continue to receive fully-paid, employer-provided family healthcare, according to a statement from the union. They will also receive 13% raises spread over five years, a 1% bonus in the second year and will maintain their defined benefit pension. Dignity Health has committed to paying $500,000 per year to a program to help workers keep up-to-date with the changing health care industry.

 

Container Dwell Times Improve At San Pedro Bay Ports

Container dwell times – the number of days shipping containers remain on a terminal after being off-loaded from a vessel – improved at the San Pedro Bay ports in February, according to the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA). PMSA is a nonprofit organization representing shipping lines and terminals along the west coast. The number of containers staying on terminal for more than five days decreased in February despite a 23% increase in cargo volumes at the ports. On average, containers stayed on terminal for 2.63 days, a decrease from 2.87 days in January and 3.08 days in December. Click here to read PMSA’s full report.

 

Anti-Rent Control Advocates Issue A Call To Action

In response to a planned pro-rent control rally at city hall prior to tomorrow’s 5 p.m. city council meeting, Better Housing for Long Beach, a local organization of property owners and managers opposed to rent control, requested its members attend the meeting in a call-to-action e-mail sent yesterday. “We understand this can be a controversial subject to tackle; however, we feel it is important to take a stance against this damaging ordinance,” the e-mail said. Councilmembers requested that the city manager and city attorney review a list of questions related to a proposed rent control ballot initiative, which is on tomorrow’s agenda. Click here to read the item.

 

California’s Corporate Tax Base To Increase Due To Federal Tax Reform

Revenues from California’s corporate income tax could increase by up to 12%, totaling as much as $1.3 billion, as a result of the federal tax reform legislation, according to a study by the State Tax Research Institute. The new law limits companies’ ability to deduct interest payments, exchange property without paying capital gains taxes and write off future research costs immediately. At the federal level, the rate cut offsets the effects of these changes. In a blog post, CalChamber pointed out that federal tax reform “will likely produce even more revenue than would a recently proposed constitutional amendment to impose a 10% surcharge on corporate net incomes of more than $1 million.”

 

Senate Passes Banking Regulation Legislation

Last week, the United States Senate passed the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act,” which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said would “breathe new life into regional and local lenders and, by doing so, provide a major jolt to economic growth and business investment.” The bill amends previous policies and would ease regulations on banks with less than $10 billion in assets, including waiving ability-to-repay requirements for residential mortgage loans and reducing inspection and environmental review requirements, among other items. According to the chamber, the number of small business loans has declined 40% since 2008. The act still requires passage by the House of Representatives.