The Worker Agency

How'd the Ballers get so good, so fast? They made a play at home At the core of the Oakland team's success? Baseball players from Northern California reveling in the chance to play professionally close to their hometown.

The @oaklandballers.bsky.social tap into the rich well of local talent to end the first half of the season with the Pioneer League's best record. Now they're setting their sights on a title in the team's second year of existence (via @oaklandside.org):

oaklandside.org/2025/07/31/o...

UC Davis Veterinary Technicians Demand Action Amid Staffing Crisis - Davis Vanguard Veterinary technicians at the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital are demanding immediate action to address a critical staffing crisis that endangers animal patients and drives away experie...

Great piece on the @uptecwa.bsky.social veterinary tech action in Davis yesterday!

"Dozens of technicians, many represented by the union UPTE-CWA 9119, gathered outside the hospital holding signs that read, “Love Animals? Support Workers!”"

davisvanguard.org/2025/07/uc-d...

Supes let mayor cut affordable housing, raise fees on working people ... - 48 hills ... and declare war on the unhoused. Welcome the the Lurie budget.

The Coalition on Homelessness holds a rally and silent vigil at SF city hall as Lurie cuts affordable housing, via @timredmondsf.bsky.social @48hills.bsky.social:

48hills.org/2025/07/supe...

"Are these people who are the mothers or fathers, sons or daughters of American citizens? Are they criminals or law-abiding people? Are they members of community service groups that give back to society? ICE doesn't care. They just want bodies"

Read more: hardresetmedia.substack.com/p/trump-was-...

"Juvenile offenders deserve a chance to prove themselves as adults" - Jaubrae Dixon on fighting for AB 1279 and other related juvenile justice bills:

www.bakersfield.com/opinion/comm...

Trump and Kennedy Throw Head Start Into Reverse How the administration seeks to use the venerable children's care program as an anti-immigrant weapon.

Trump and Kennedy Throw Head Start Into Reverse:

capitalandmain.com/trump-and-ke...

via @capitalandmain.bsky.social

Venture capital-backed AI law firms: malpractice machines or democratizing tools? A new "law firm" funded by Sequoia Capital has set up a structure so that non-lawyers (i.e. AI) can analyze contracts

Is the world ready for "AI-powered" law firms? This week Hard Reset talked to experts from many different backgrounds to get their perspectives on whether legal services can be performed by emergent companies like Crosby AI. Read the full article: hardresetmedia.substack.com/p/venture-ca...

‘From something that was terrible’ to amazing: Foundations step up as federal government cancels grants - The Boston Globe Numerous foundations have stepped in to help replace funding that the federal government has recently cut.

The @bostonglobe.com covers the amazing work that the @caseygrants.bsky.social and others have done to step up and help nonprofits as the Trump administration has axed funding:

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/12/n...

The Promise of Divestment Retirement systems and municipal treasuries hold billions of dollars of investments in companies like Tesla and nations like Israel. That means those funds hold enormous potential leverage over such c...

Great article by @saqibbhatti.bsky.social of @acrecampaigns.bsky.social in @jacobinmag.bsky.social on the power of divestment strategies in this moment to exert leverage over companies like Tesla and nations like Israel:

jacobin.com/2025/07/dive...

Has America learned anything from the George Floyd uprisings? | Eric Morrison-Smith and David Turner III The response to the demonstrations fell short. But they marked the beginning of a new era that calls for action

Incredible piece in @theguardian.com by @ericms.bsky.social of Alliance for Boys and Men of Color on where we stand five years after the uprisings of 2020:

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Meet the new gig work behind AI, same as the old gig work The machine magic of AI relies on one of the oldest technologies of all: human labor. This week we look at Scale AI, one of the companies behind the booming data annotation industry.

@elirosenberg.bsky.social interview with Glenn Danas, a lawyer and partner at Clarkson Law Firm, which is representing workers in the misclassification lawsuit against Scale AI, for @theworkeragency.com’s Hard Reset newsletter:
hardresetmedia.substack.com/p/meet-the-n...

PODCAST: How the “Big Beautiful Bill” could impact California kids Hundreds of thousands of children could lose federally-funded food stamps and health care under the new law.

Clarissa Doutherd, Executive Director of Parent Voices Oakland, joins the @edsource.org podcast to discuss the devastating impact of Trump's budget on California kids:

edsource.org/podcast/scho...

@parentvoicesca.bsky.social

What Trump’s budget and tax law means for California students $6.2 billion recently withheld from schools and $12 billion in proposed education cuts are separate from the bill signed last week.

Important piece from @edsource.org on the devastating impact Trump's cuts will have on California families, with Parent Voices Oakland hammering home exactly what this will mean to vulnerable populations:

edsource.org/2025/medicai...

@parentvoicesca.bsky.social

Patients, employees worried about Oakland hospital’s future after strike Employees of Oakland’s children’s hospital are set to become UCSF employees, represented by a new union, on Sunday, July 6.

We helped our client Parent Voices Oakland emphasize how important Children's Hospital is to the community in the Mercury News this week:

www.mercurynews.com/2025/07/03/p...

Palantir whistleblower: how Marc Andreessen and Palantir are coordinating an attack on our First and Fourth Amendment rights In a video interview, Hard Reset goes deeper with ex-Palantir employee Juan Sebastián Pinto. We talk surveillance states, the people behind automation (and their ideologies), and AI legislation

Palantir whistleblower: how Marc Andreessen and Palantir are coordinating an attack on our First and Fourth Amendment rights

open.substack.com/pub/hardrese...

The Irishman who's 'kind of directly involved in trying to stop what Trump is doing with the support of corporate America' Waterford native William Fitzgerald on quitting a career in tech to fight for workers’ rights

Our founder and partner @williamfitz.bsky.social was profiled in the @irishtimes.com explaining some of the work we do, and his career journey.

www.irishtimes.com/business/202...

California expands historic commitment to local journalism fellowships ______________________________________________________________________________________________ California expands historic commitment to local journalism fellowships Media Release July 1, 2025 Califor...

GREAT NEWS! California expands commitment to local journalism with a $15 million allocation!

“This funding strengthens the people and organizations anchoring local journalism in communities across California." - @reynoldspost.bsky.social

journalism.berkeley.edu/15-million-t...

State committee considers $15M funding to extend California Local News Fellowship - Local News Matters CALIFORNIA’S LOCAL NEWSROOMS got attention at the state Capitol this week, when the Senate Budget Committee, chaired by Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz,

Our mission is to win campaigns that change people's lives for the better. Independent journalism, which underpins a citizen-informed democracy, does that. Honored to help make this happen. Follow @maynardinstitute.bsky.social & @berkeleyjournalism.bsky.social.

localnewsmatters.org/2025/05/23/s...

Bay Area day laborers say they live in fear of ICE raids: ‘We just come here to find work’ Laborers hired for jobs by customers looking for skilled help at a low price are fearful that the public way they solicit work might make them targets of President Trump’s mass deportation effort.

This week the @sfchronicle.com covered community efforts to support day laborers in Oakland, despite budgetary cuts, highlighting the work of our client @workingeastbay.bsky.social:

www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

Union alleges Google did not give required notice of mass layoffs in Mountain View A labor union has filed a complaint with the state alleging that Google did not provide adequate notice of mass layoffs.

Right in their own backyard, the Mountain View Voice covered Google’s failure to give notice prior to mass layoffs, and highlighted the work our client @alphabetworkersunion.org is doing:

www.mv-voice.com/city-governm...

Kilmar Abrego Garcia's hearings in Nashville stir up memories of ICE raids Exactly one month before Abrego's arraignment, ICE arrested nearly 200 people in raids that shook Music City's immigrant community.

Important piece here in @allrisenews.com covering the trauma in Nashville’s immigrant community brought about by ICE raids and highlighting the work of the Tennessee Immigration & Refugee Rights Coalition @lisashermanluna.bsky.social:

www.allrisenews.com/p/abrego-vas...

‘My heart just aches,’ UC San Diego Health staff recalls abrupt layoffs “My heart just aches. I’ve worked there for 8 years.” Evans is one of 230 UC San Diego Health employees laid off Monday. She was the front desk coordinator in Hillcrest and abruptly rec…

This week we helped bring coverage to our client @uptecwa.bsky.social pushing back against UC San Diego’s layoff of over 200 employees, covered here by Fox 5 San Diego:

fox5sandiego.com/news/local-n...

Activists Flood SF City Hall to Protest Immigrant Support and Legal Aid Cuts | KQED Mayor Daniel Lurie’s budget plan restricts funding that activists say is essential for immigrants and working-class residents to fight back against threats from the Trump administration.

In San Francisco, our client SF People's Budget Coalition flooded city hall to protest proposed budget cuts on the backs of local nonprofits, covered by KQED among other outlets:

www.kqed.org/news/1204555...

Valley billboards target Republican lawmaker over Trump budget bill The billboards, which highlight how Trump’s budget benefits the rich, are showing up in GOP Rep. David Schweikert’s district.

This week the Phoenix New Times covered @moreperfectunion.bsky.social's billboard highlighting how Trump’s budget benefits the rich and calling out an Arizona GOP lawmaker:

www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/phoenix...

A powerful tool in Trump’s immigration crackdown: The routine traffic stop ICE is working with local police to arrest more undocumented immigrants at traffic stops. In a break with the past, many arrestees have no violent criminal record.

ICE is weaponizing routine traffic stops to terrorize and detain undocumented immigrants, as the Washington Post covered in this story that highlights our client TIRRC and @lisashermanluna.bsky.social's work to fight back for immigrant rights:

www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

Op-Ed | Endless Probation Didn’t Help Me—It Hurt Me. California Youth Deserve Better. - Davis Vanguard AB 1376 would allow youth to be removed from probation after nine months, requiring that conditions be individually tailored and in the best interest of the young person.

And, a former youth offender working with the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color shares this story on why the bill to end endless probation should pass: davisvanguard.org/2025/06/prob...

With childcare among the top issues for Bay Area residents, providers celebrate $209 million passed by Alameda County The funding addresses continuing issues within Alameda County’s childcare industry since the 2008 recession.

Childcare providers and families across Alameda County are finally able to access funds from Measure C to help care for children in the Bay Area: www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/06/17/w...

The Oakland Coliseum was abandoned. Cricket will gladly take it The second-most popular sport in the world finally got its major league moment in the Bay Area as the Unicorns made their home debut.

The Ballers’ visit to the Coliseum was part of the effort by @MLC (Major League Cricket) to launch in California. 25,000+ people attended Major League Cricket’s season opener, making it clear that cricket in Oakland is just getting started: sfstandard.com/2025/06/18/m...

Oakland Ballers take their swings in new-look Coliseum, now a cricket stadium? Oakland Ballers slugger Lou Helmig made like Babe Ruth on Monday, turning baseball power into cricket prowess during a cross-sport demonstration at the Coliseum.

The @oaklandballers.bsky.social got a lesson this week in how to play cricket at the Oakland Coliseum. Did “Basecricket” just become a thing?: www.sfchronicle.com/sports/artic...

Inequality.org Your online portal to data, analysis, and commentary on income and wealth inequality.

This week, the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color questioned racial equality and belonging in an editorial for @inequality.org titled “What Does It Mean to Build a Country That Was Never Meant for You?”: inequality.org/article/what...