California Armenian American Democrats chartered
After a year and a half of work, the California Armenian American Democrats has received provisional ratification as the first organization chartered by the executive board of the state Democratic Party.
Caro Avanessian, interim chairman of the new group, said he started trying to form an Armenian American caucus after he went to the California Democratic convention a few years ago and saw so many groups represented by caucuses, ranging from Filipinos to senior citizens. Avanessian is also president of the Glendale Democratic Club.
But when he approached the state party about forming a caucus, he was told caucuses were no longer being approved because they had lost a lot of their authority due to recent federal legislation. A party representative suggested Avanessian form an Armenian American charter group, which can collect money and endorse candidates.
A stipulation before formal ratification can move forward is a review of the organization’s bylaws. Berdj Karapetian, a Glendale Democratic Club member, will be on the committee performing the review.
The California Armenian American Democrats will also hold an election of officers, Avanessian said.
Democratic club meeting Thursday at Pacific Park
The Glendale Democratic Club will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at Pacific Park Community Center, 501 S. Pacific Ave.
For more information, visit www.glendaledemocrat.com.
Gov. signs bill backing statutory-payroll firms
Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a measure, introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake), to continue recognizing statutory-payroll companies, which he said are a vital part of the film industry and the employer-of-record for most industry jobs.
Production companies often exist only for the duration of a project and are dissolved when it concludes, leaving employees, tax-collecting entities and health-care providers without an entity to manage work-related issues, such as workers’ compensation, union negotiations, payroll and work-related taxes.
Statutory-payroll companies provide those services through contracts with production companies.
However, a provision in California law that recognized statutory-payroll companies was set to expire on Jan. 1. When the original measure was passed, legislators didn’t know if the companies would be effective, so an expiration date was included.
Now the companies can operate permanently.
