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Teachers unions for both Twin Rivers Unified and Natomas Unified are seeking increased pay, a reduction in healthcare costs, smaller class sizes and more special education staff, among other things. Twin Rivers teachers and district administrators have a long way to go before they reach an agreement.
The teachers want a 12% increase in salary over two years. TheThe district’s proposal would mean teachers at the top of the salary schedule would earn $152,000 annually, according to aTwin Rivers Unified leaders said that the district’s salaries are among the highest in the state and that class sizes remain low. The teachers union is also asking that the district pay more of the insurance premiums. Twin Rivers currently pays the full premium for a basic plan, but asks teachers to pay for higher-cost health plans, according to the letter. A family of two on the Kaiser family plan pays about $1,600 a month for insurance, and others with more family members pay more, Ward said. The district and union began their negotiations in February and are now working with a state mediator. The parties might end up having the contract negotiations move to a state fact-finding panel because of the district’s reluctance to bargain, Ward said. Twin Rivers United Educators' executive board has already authorized a strike vote, and 80% of its membership signed a petition indicating they are ready to strike if necessary. A strike could happen as soon as March, Ward said. The union has been at odds with the school district before, getting as far as the fact-finding stage, but it has never gone on strike. “This time we are mobilized, and we’re ready,” Ward said. “Our membership is ready. And they see what’s going on in Richmond. They’re seeing things happening around the state, and they’re like, if that’s what it takes, we’re ready. We’re here for it.”is an independent nonprofit organization that provides analysis on key education issues facing California and the nation. LAist republishes articles from EdSource with permission.Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli speaks at a press conference announcing an arrest in the Palisades Fire investigation on October 08, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Essayli announced this morning's arrests in the New Year's Eve plot.Federal authorities say they have thwarted a terrorist attack that was planned for New Year's Eve in Southern California. The Justice Department and FBI have announced the arrests of four people they say are members of an offshoot of the pro-Palestinian group called the"Turtle Island Liberation Front" in connection with the suspected plot.First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli says the four people charged are Audrey Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41. Each is charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device.Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis says the suspects planned a coordinated attack that was meant to happen at midnight on New Year's Eve."The subjects arrested envisioned planting backpacks with improvised explosive devices to be detonated at multiple locations in Southern California targeting U.S. companies," Davis said in a press conference this morning. Two of the suspects are also accused of discussing plans for follow-up attacks after their bombings, which included plans to target ICE agents and vehicles with pipe bombs.Essayli says the four people arrested traveled to the Mojave Desert last Friday to assemble and test the bombs. FBI agents arrested them before they could build a functional explosive.The four defendants will make their initial appearance this afternoon at the federal court in downtown Los Angeles. They are each considered innocent until proven guilty.President Donald Trump disparaged Hollywood director Rob Reiner, who died along with his wife over the weekend in what officials are investigating as a homicide. Their 32-year-old son, Nick, has been arrested.The president posted online, in part,"Rob Reiner ... has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS."Reiner, 78, was a prominent supporter of the Democratic Party and a vocal Trump critic. Tributes for Reiner have been pouring in since late Sunday night, including from former President Barack Obama, who said that"beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people — and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action."died along with his wife over the weekend in what officials are investigating as a homicidein a post on Truth Social Monday morning."Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS." Trump went on to say that Reiner had a"raging obsession" with him,"with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before.", including from former President Barack Obama, who said that"beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people — and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action." The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to a medical aid request at around 3:40 p.m. local time Sunday and discovered the bodies inside the couple's home. Rob Reiner and his wife were tragically killed at the hands of their own son, who reportedly had drug addiction and other issues, and their remaining children are left in serious mourning and heartbreak.Referencing Nick Reiner's history in a post on X, Greene called the incident"a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies."If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.Demonstrators, including healthcare workers, marched to Adventist Health White Memorial in Boyle Heights on Sunday, calling on hospital administrators to uphold the privacy rights of immigrant detainees and protect staff who advocate for patients.It was the last of three stops in a rally organized by the People’s Care Collective, a network of healthcare workers and organizers that, according to a press release, is calling attention to “the health harms caused by immigration raids, ICE detention, the Los Angeles County jail system, and complicit local hospitals.” The rally follows reporting by LAist that administrators at White Memorial allowed agents to influence medical care and restricted doctors from contacting detained patients’ families.The collective wants the LA County Board of Supervisors and all Los Angeles area hospitals to adopt a “Model Policy for Immigration Enforcement in the Healthcare Settings” developed by medical providers and immigrant rights legal advocates.Demonstrators, including healthcare workers, marched to Adventist Health White Memorial in Boyle Heights on Sunday, calling on hospital administrators to uphold the privacy rights of immigrant detainees and protect staff who advocate for patients. It was the last of three stops in a rally organized by the People’s Care Collective, a network of healthcare workers and organizers that, according to a press release, is calling attention to “the health harms caused by immigration raids, ICE detention, the Los Angeles County jail system, and complicit local hospitals.”Protesters began in front of the Japanese American National Museum, stopping at the Metropolitan Detention Center and Men’s Central Jail as they made their way to the hospital. “I’ve seen firsthand for several months many individuals who are coming in critical condition due to delays in care. Not because the care wasn’t available, but because they were afraid,” said a member of the People’s Care Collective, who spoke to the crowd in front of the detention center and declined to be identified for safety reasons. He works as an emergency doctor and professor in L.A. “I’ve seen people with cancer that went untreated and spread because they were afraid to come in,” he said. “People tell us, ‘We need to stay in our own lane. We need to focus on our health work. We need to stay in the clinics, in the hospital.’ But we know this is our lane. Health justice is our collective responsibility,” he continued.They held signs and banners that read, “Health justice has no walls” and “Our hospitals are not your holding cells.” Demonstrators chanted “Out of the clinics and into the streets!” as they neared White Memorial. Several drivers honked in support, some with their fists up in the air as they drove by. Members of social justice group Centro CSO, Union del Barrio, and other community groups were there in support. Healthcare workers were dressed in white coats. One read, “Seize the hospital to serve the people” on the back. Others came in brown, green and blue scrubs. Medical students and trainees were among the crowd. Dr. Abhinaya Narayanan, a family physician in Los Angeles, read a statement written by White Memorial healthcare workers. Recently, according to the statement, “the hospital had to admit that doctors have the right to ask ICE to leave the room to speak privately to patients, but that is not enough.” “We demand that White Memorial put into place additional protections for patient privacy, allow doctors and patients to have free and not controlled contact with patients’ families, and for medical providers and social workers be able to assist patients and families with connection to support and legal representation,” hospital staff said in the statement read by Narayanan. “The government is forcibly disappearing individuals and it’s our responsibility as healthcare workers to reappear them as part of our healing,” Narayanan continued. Gabriel Quiroz with Centro CSO spoke at the rally in front of White Memorial, where he said he and his younger sister were born. “I can only imagine how terrified raza is to enter this hospital,” Quiroz said. “I think of the elders of our neighborhood here in Boyle Heights who are missing medical appointments due to the fear of migra being in the hospital and the hospital administration doing nothing to keep them safe.”has garnered hundreds of signatures. It calls for White Memorial to uphold HIPAA, the federal law that safeguards patient privacy, and to bar U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making medical decisions for patients.Patients at the Central Coast’s Atascadero State Hospital walk the halls in 2006. Due to COVID, patients have at times been confined to their units, but still mingle in bathrooms, the dining hall and common day rooms.California spent hundreds of millions on prison and hospital healthcare staff, auditors found, but vacancy rates rose since 2019, exceeding 30% at three facilities despite bonuses and pay raises, with inadequate oversight and planning.The vacancy rates persisted despite targeted bonuses and wage increases that prison health workers received in contracts and under court order during the Newsom administration. Those includedDespite spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fill vacant medical and mental health positions at prisons and state hospitals, California has little to show for it, according to a new report from the state auditor. Job vacancy rates have increased since 2019 at the three facilities examined in the audit, as has the state’s reliance on pricey temporary workers. Atascadero State Hospital, Porterville Developmental Center and Salinas Valley State Prison had health-related vacancy rates topping 30% during fiscal year 2023-24. At Salinas Valley State Prison more than 50% of health positions were unfilled. Workers contend that the high vacancy rate leads to more on-the-job assaults, mandatory overtime and staff turnover. “A high vacancy rate is a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Dr. Stuart Bussey, president of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, which represents about 1,300 state psychiatrists. The vacancy rates persisted despite targeted bonuses and wage increases that prison health workers received in contracts and under court order during the Newsom administration. Those includedAt face value, some state health workers are comparatively well-compensated. All of the 55 prison employees who earned more than $500,000 in income last year were doctors, dentists, psychiatrists or medical executives, according to— some of the highest paid state employees — can earn more than $397,000 in base pay. They also retire with pensions through the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. In comparison, the mean wage for a psychiatrist in California is $328,560, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But in certain places, local hospitals are offering even more. In Monterey County, $90,000 hiring bonuses are common at private hospitals struggling to fill their own vacancies, staff told state auditors. Despite the pay, vacancy rates were highest among psychiatrists at Atascadero State Hospital and second highest at Porterville Developmental Center and Salinas Valley State Prison, auditors found. All three of the audited facilities house individuals who are either incarcerated or institutionalized because they were deemed by the courts to be dangerous or unfit to stand trial. Federal and state law as well as court rulings require the state to provide adequate medical and mental health care. As a result, most of the facilities are required to have vacancy rates less than 10%.The facilities had a “significant number of vacant positions” that were not filled by temporary workers or staff overtime. Neither the Department of State Hospitals nor the Department of Developmental Services, which houses some people with developmental disabilities in Porterville, had procedures to adequately evaluate or budget for staffing needs annually. The state hospitals and developmental services departments as well as the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation have no process to determine whether facilities are meeting staffing minimums during each shift. In a letter to lawmakers, California State Auditor Grant Parks wrote that the state should conduct a statewide recruitment campaign to hire health care workers “because of the decades-long difficulties the facilities have had in filling vacant health care positions and a current and projected health care professional shortage.” In response to the audit, the developmental services and state hospitals departments partially agreed with the findings in detailed comments. The Department of State Hospitals, however, wrote that the vacancy rates covered during the audit period were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and that salary savings were overstated. “Our hospitals regularly meet or exceed mandated staffing minimums and have self-reported rare occurrences where they have not due to extraordinary circumstances,” department spokesperson Ralph Montano said, in an email to CalMatters. The department has agreed to implement many of the recommendations made in the report, Montano added. In a statement, the corrections department said it was “committed to providing adequate health care for the incarcerated population, while ensuring fiscal responsibility.”Coby Pizzotti, a lobbyist for the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians, which represents about 6,000 mental health clinicians, said the audit confirmed what many of the state worker unions had suspected: The state has continually refused to meaningfully improve wages, benefits and working conditions for employees, while spending money on temporary workers. This, the unions contend, makes the vacancy problem worse. “Effectively, it’s a shadow state employee workforce. They’re just not called civil servants,” Pizzotti said. The departments saved $592 million in payroll over six years by carrying the vacancies, the auditors wrote. But, auditors criticized the state departments for their inability to specifically track how they later spent that money. The departments counter that, generally, the money can be used to offset other costs or it can be given back to the state. But they have also poured money into temporary positions to meet court-mandated minimums. During the six-year audit period, the state spent $239 million on contract workers to fill staff vacancies. The departments were authorized to spend more than $1 billion on temporary workers during that time period, though they used only a fraction of the money, according to the audit. Contract workers, while making up less than 10% of the health care workforce, are paid so much that they cost more per hour than state workers even after accounting for benefits, auditors also found. State workers’ unions say that’s more evidence toward their argument that these arrangements don’t save the state money. “Contracting out is not a great way to do business. It’s expensive,” said Doug Chiappetta, executive director of the psychiatrists union. Instead, state health worker unions want the state to increase salaries and benefits, to make permanent positions more attractive to candidates rather than spending it on highly paid contract workers. The psychiatric technicians union, psychiatrists union and the state nurses union said that contract workers get paid two to three times more per hour than state employees, according to job advertisements from contracting agencies they have collected. Those companies are also able to offer generous benefits and scheduling flexibility that state jobs don’t have. “It’s been a slap to our faces to see how the state doesn’t care for our nurses,” said Vanessa Seastrong, chair of Bargaining Unit 17 for SEIU Local 1000, which represents about 5,100 registered nurses. “You’re standing next to a nurse that is doing less work than you and getting paid more than you. How does that bring up morale?”Even relying on temporary contract workers, the state has in many cases still failed to maintain staffing minimums for health care positions. Vacancy rates increased significantly between 2019 and 2024. Salinas Valley State Prison saw vacancies jump 62% during the audit period, and more than half of mental health and medical positions were unfilled during fiscal year 2023-24. Atascadero State Hospital’s vacancy rate rose 39% over the audit period for a total vacancy rate of about 30%. During the last three years of the audit period, Atascadero also lost 90% of its staff to attrition. Porterville Developmental Center’s vacancy rate increased by just 6% over the audit period, but more than a third of its positions remained unfilled in the final year of the audit. In interviews with auditors, administrators at the facilities said that the COVID-19 pandemic caused higher staff turnover as well as an increased reliance on contract workers to fill gaps. All three facilities, which are located along the Central Coast or in the Central Valley, face additional barriers to recruitment. These areas suffer from health care professional shortages. The area along the coast where Atascadero State Hospital and Salinas Valley State Prison are located faces a medium shortage of behavioral health workers, while Porterville Developmental Center is in an area with a severe shortage, according to the “Places like the Central Valley have substantially fewer mental health professionals per population than compared to the rest of the state,” said Janet Coffman, a professor at UCSF’s Institute for Health Policy Studies who studies workforce issues. “Particularly for Porterville, that’s a big part of the issue.” At the same time, demand for mental health services has increased in the general population, Coffman said. Combined, that makes it more difficult for the state to compete with the private sector, which is also struggling to hire health care workers. Other barriers are difficult to address with money alone. The patient population can make the work dangerous. Staff are frequently verbally or physically assaulted. Unsafe conditions make it harder to recruit new workers and sometimes cause long-time workers to retire early.The audit recommended that the state conduct a market analysis of all health care positions to determine whether payment was competitive, streamline the hiring process, and conduct a statewide recruitment campaign. Supported by the California Health Care Foundation , which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.
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