VICA Weekly: VICA Urges Union Leaders to End Teacher Strike

January 18, 2019

In This Issue

"This is the housing crisis - it's not an exaggeration ... The California dream is in peril unless we address this issue."

- Governor Gavin Newsom discusses the housing crisis

Media Mentions

What Do We Want? Homes! When Do We Want Them? Now!

Fox and Hounds Daily

January 14

Bob Hertzberg Embraces an Active Final Term in California Legislature

Los Angeles Daily News

January 15

21 pastors call on UTLA to return to the table to end LAUSD teacher strike because 'the fortunes of African-American children do not improve on a picket line'

LA School Report

January 16

Members

VICA Thanks Our Renewing Members

____________________

GOLD MEMBER

(2012)

__________________

Discovery Cube of Los Angeles

(2015)

Mid Valley Family YMCA

(2015)

The Termo Company

(2014)

__________________

VICA Welcomes Our New Member

__________________

Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing

Calendar

The Week Ahead

Sacramento Advocacy Day

Wednesday, Jan. 23

Sacramento

Click here to RSVP

Save the Date

Ambassador Committee

Tuesday, Jan. 29

8:30 to 10:00 a.m.

VICA Office

16600 Sherman Way, Suite 170, Van Nuys

Click here to RSVP

Labor & Employment Committee

Hosted by Hilton Universal City

Wednesday, Feb. 6

8:30 to 10:00 a.m.

Hilton Universal City

555 Universal Hollywood Drive, Universal City

Click here to RSVP

Education Committee

Thursday, Feb. 7

8:30 to 10:00 a.m.

VICA Office

16600 Sherman Way, Suite 170, Van Nuys

Click here to RSVP

Host or sponsor this committee by clicking here

Land Use Committee

Hosted by The Garland

Tuesday, Feb. 12

8:00 to 10:00 a.m.

The Garland

4222 Vineland Ave., North Hollywood

Click here to RSVP

Sacramento Advocacy Day

Wednesday, Feb. 13

Sacramento

Click here to RSVP

Energy Environment & Utilities Committee

Sponsored by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Thursday, Feb. 14

12:00 to 1:30 p.m.

VICA Office

16600 Sherman Way, Suite 170, Van Nuys

Click here to RSVP

Government Affairs Committee

Wednesday, Feb. 20

8:30 to 10:00 a.m.

VICA Office

1 6600 Sherman Way, Suite 170, Van Nuys

Click here to RSVP

State Officeholders Dinner

Presented by Comcast NBCUniversal

Friday, Feb. 22

5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Sound Stage 29 Universal Studios Hollywood

100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City

Click here to RSVP

VIEW FULL CALENDAR HERE

Hot Issues

Political Donations

Councilmembers propose to ban political donations from real estate developers seeking city approval for their projects.

Energy

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) will file for bankruptcy in an attempt to sort out the estimated $30 billion in claims it's facing from Northern California's wildfires.

Education

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to provide $10 million for healthcare at schools and to create programs for the thousands of students missing class during the impasse.

Housing

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors moved forward with a motion to prohibit landlords from denying renters who use Section 8 vouchers. The motion was spurred by a Community Development Commission report that discriminatory practices limit options for renters with Section 8 vouchers.

Aerospace

SpaceX will no longer be developing and building its Mars spaceship and rocket booster system at the Port of Los Angeles. Instead, the work will be done in south Texas.

Transportation

Metro CEO Phil Washington told members of the agency's congestion, highway and roads committee that staffers would recommend pursuing a form of congestion pricing at the board of directors meeting next week.

VICA Urges Teachers Union to Negotiate End to Strike

VICA urged United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) President Alex Caputo-Pearl to return to the bargaining table with a reasonable plan to end the strike. VICA was especially concerned that no negotiations had taken place for six days. This represents nearly a week of lost negotiation time and days of lost instruction time that could have been avoided. We are increasingly concerned about the harm being done to students as they miss critical instruction and disappointed that UTLA leadership was on the picket line rather than actively seeking an end to the strike.

Click here to view the letter.

Access D.C.

Monday, March 11th - Wednesday, March 13th

Join more than 200 civic and business leaders for the region's premier advocacy trip to the nation's capitol. Attendees will meet with members of Congress and senior Administration officials on priorities important to Southern California.

Register with VICA for an extra day of meetings and a private lunch in the Members' Dining Room with Representative Brad Sherman.

This trip is in conjunction with the Greater Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.

Early Bird registration fee: $850 (before February 8)

Registration fee after February 8: $950

Click here to reserve your spot for Access D.C.

Valley Legislators Appointed to Leadership Positions in Sacramento

As bills are being introduced for the 2019-2020 legislative session and begin making their way through committees, we are proud to have Assemblymembers and State Senators from the San Fernando Valley serving in leadership roles and as chairs of influential committees. An important part of VICA's advocacy efforts are the legislators who represent us in Sacramento and their support to enhance the Valley for businesses and working- and middle-class families. We welcome the appointments and committee assignments made by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, and look forward to working with our local state legislators in 2019.

Assembly

Assistant Majority Whip - Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel

Chair, Natural Resource Committee - Assemblymember Laura Friedman

Chair, Aging and Long-Term Care Committee - Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian

Chair, Legislative Ethics - Assemblymember Luz Rivas

Senate

Senate Majority Leader - Senator Bob Hertzberg

Chair, Appropriations Committee - Senator Anthony Portantino

Chair, Natural Resources and Water - Senator Henry Stern

Vice Chair, Agriculture Committee; Vice Chair, Education Committee; Vice Chair, Governmental Organization Committee; Vice Chair, Rules Committee - Senator Scott Wilk

Click here to view VICA's press release.

Friday,

February 22, 2019

5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Universal Studios Hollywood,

Sound Stage 29

VICA invites you to dinner with your state lawmakers!

VICA provides a rare opportunity for Valley business leaders to connect with state lawmakers and have a fun time during its annual State Officeholders Dinner.

Confirmed Speakers as of 1/18/19:

Senators :

Ben Allen

Steven Bradford

Bob Hertzberg

Holly Mitchell

Assemblymembers :

Laura Friedman

Sydney Kamlager-Dove

Miguel Santiago

Statewide Elected Officials :

Controller Betty Yee

Click here to RSVP

Welcome Back Councilmember Greig Smith

VICA welcomes the appointment of Greig Smith to the Office of Council District 12. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved Smith to replace former Councilmember Mitch Englander, who resigned on January 1st. Greig previously represented Council District 12 from 2003 - 2011. We look forward to working with the councilmember over the next few months on important issues facing the San Fernando Valley and the City of Los Angeles until the special election is held on June 4th and the runoff on August 13th.

Click here to learn more

Committee Report

Government Affairs Committee (01/16)

Breakfast provided by Western Bagel Baking Corporation

Sarah Angel, Chief of Staff to LAUSD Board Member Nick Melvoin, gave an update on the negotiations between the district and the labor union to end the teacher strike. Angel discussed the demands of both parties and how to bridge the gap between them.
Denise Kniter, office of State Senator Henry Stern, presented on the emergency response to the Woolsey Fire. Kniter highlighted the emergency response and described the various tools available to those impacted by the fire.
The committee recommended guiding principles for the reinstatement of redevelopment agencies.
The committee recommended to support Assembly Bill 147 (Burke) which would allow the state to collect sales tax from online retailers who sell $500,000 in goods for delivery in California.
The committee recommended to support Senate Bill 47 (Allen) which would require signature gatherers for any state or local initiative to show petition signers a valid list of top funders for the initiative.

Member Messages:

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ABOUT VICA

Presenting the business perspective on behalf of employers in the San Fernando Valley cities of Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, San Fernando and Santa Clarita.