According to the Los Angeles Times, California’s unions grew by 139,000 new members in the year 2019. New members include fellow educators, health workers, animation artists, researchers, and mechanics.

• Elsewhere in the US, employees of General Motors–members of the UAW–found it necessary to strike to protect pay and benefits. Lasting six weeks, it was the longest auto strike in 50 years. That action shuttered 31 factories and numerous other facilities. The strike benefited employees, and did no harm to GM. Workers’ rights were protected, salaries increased, and benefits were preserved. GM still turned a $6.7 billion profit.
• On Super Tuesday, Trustee Jim Osterling was re-elected, and Tammy Silver replaced Hoyt Hillsman.
• An FA member was shopping at a local supermarket, where four new “Self-Checkout” stations had recently appeared. He, and the man in line in front of him both declined an invitation to leave the human-staffed checkout lines for the self-service devices. In conversation, they discovered that not only were they both pro-labor, (preferring workers over corporate profit machines), but the new acquaintance was a graduate of the professor’s program …