Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce
Our mission is to advance the economic vitality of greater Irvine.
Our mission is to advance the economic vitality of greater Irvine.
Edison International recently recognized the Latina Leadership Conference at Concordia University Irvine for its outreach to students in underserved communities with a $10,000 grant. The grant, part of Edison’s commitment to cultivate access to higher education in underserved communities, supports the free half-day Conference for first-generation high school and community college girls and parents to learn how to navigate the road to college. The award marks the first time that the Conference—only in its third year—is recognized with a grant award. With nearly a quarter of its undergraduate student population identifying as Hispanic or Latino, Greater Irvine Chamber Leaders Circle member Concordia University Irvine is expecting to reach Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation in the next couple of academic years. To lay the ground work for this commitment, CUI launched its inaugural Latina Leadership Conference in 2016. The theme of the conference each year is “college is not a dream, it’s a plan.” The U.S. Labor Department estimates that by 2024, nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce will be Hispanic. At Christian colleges and universities, one in three students are first-generation—the first in their family to attend college. Granted by the U.S. Department of Education to nonprofit two-year and four-year colleges and universities—public or...
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As the new year begins, a number of international trade agreements are pending between the United States and major trading partners. Trade agreements can ensure that the United States may continue to gain access to world markets, which will result in an improved economy and additional employment of Americans. U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement First is the 2018 negotiated U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement, with the objectives to eliminate barriers to trade, promote conditions of fair competition, increase investment opportunities, provide adequate protection of intellectual property rights, establish effective procedures for implementing and applying the agreements and resolving disputes, and to further trilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation. The California Chamber of Commerce actively supported the creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the United States, Canada and Mexico, comprising 489.5 million people with combined annual trade with the United States being around $1.139 trillion in 2017. In August 2018, the U.S. and Mexico reached a preliminary agreement, while the U.S. continued separate negotiations with Canada. In October, Canada and the U.S. came to an agreement, reassuring the deal would remain trilateral. The pact was rebranded the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). CalChamber support for the USMCA is based on an assessment that it serves the employment, trading and...
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Delta Air Lines can’t get eight new aircraft in the air. Roughly a million government employees and contractors aren’t being paid. Some Americans who are trying to start small businesses face delays in obtaining the required tax identification number from the IRS. As the partial government shutdown moves through its fourth week with no end in sight, the economic blow is being felt not only by federal workers but also by business people, households and travelers across the country. And while the hit to the overall economy so far remains slight, economist foresee real damage if the shutdown drags into February or beyond. “Even if the shutdown is over by the end of the month, the hit to growth will be material,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a research note. Shepherdson projects that after growing for nearly 10 years, the economy might even contract in this year’s first quarter if the shutdown lasts through March. Other forecasts are less dire. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, thinks that if the shutdown extends that long, the economy would slow by 0.5 percentage point but would remain on solid footing. Kevin Hassett, a top economist in the White House, acknowledged that...
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Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1300 (Jackson) on Sept. 30, 2018 as Chapter 955. Among other provisions, this comprehensive bill makes a number of statutory changes for litigating sexual harassment claims and prohibits employers from requiring employees to sign a release of claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act in exchange for a raise or as a condition of employment. Effective Jan.1, 2019, the bill amends Sections 12940 and 12965 of and adds Sections 12923, 12950.2 and 12964.5 to the Government Code. This article first examines the statutory changes made by SB 1300 and then reviews the legislative intent language adopted. Part I – Statutory Changes Existing state law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment to engage in harassment of an employee or other specified persons. FEHA also makes harassment of those persons by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. SB 1300 amends the FEHA statute to specify that...
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