SEIU 1000 Union Rep of the IE Reports Live from the Frontline

Summary

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Episode Summary: It Could Happen Here — "SEIU 1000 Union Rep of the IE Reports Live from the Frontline"

Podcast: It Could Happen Here (Cool Zone Media / iHeartPodcasts)
Date: September 29, 2025
Host/Main Interviewer: [Unspecified Host, possibly Propaganda]
Guest: Tangent Wiggy, AKA Tristan Ackerman, State Employee & SEIU 1000 Union Rep (IE/Inland Empire)

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Brief Overview of the Episode

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Tristan Ackerman (known artistically as Tangent Wiggy), a state employee, union representative, and community organizer in California's Inland Empire. He provides a firsthand account of labor organizing with SEIU 1000, navigating the unique challenges of public service, current crisis points like ICE raids in San Bernardino, and strategies for union solidarity across diverse—and often divided—communities. The discussion weaves together local specificity, worker rights, broader political realities, and the lived-in context of San Bernardino, California.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction: Colliding Worlds and Union Roles

[02:19–03:59]

• Host reflects on the unexpected intersections between activism and hip hop communities, introducing Tristan (Tangent Wiggy).
• Tristan introduces his roles: Inland Empire state worker, community artist, SEIU 1000 representative, and member of the executive bargaining team.

“I represent state employees from Ontario region to San Bernardino region and in between…on the bargaining team so I go up to Sacramento and help prepare for bargaining against Governor Newsom and his team as well.” – Tristan [03:24]

2. What is SEIU 1000?

[04:38–05:31]

• SEIU 1000 represents over 100,000 California state workers.
• Tristan serves on the Executive Board for DLC 704 (Ontario/San Bernardino region).

3. The Unique Realities of Inland Empire State Workers

[06:50–08:41]

• Challenges unique to the Inland Empire include:
  • The presence of Patton State Hospital (a high-stress, 24-hour facility for the criminally insane).
  • Heavy service to undocumented communities—Tristan processes disability claims for many undocumented workers.

“California doesn’t regulate about documented status the way the federal government does…we don’t care that you’re undocumented. We’re going to pay you because you’re a worker and you need our services.” – Tristan [08:28]

4. Union Advocacy: Wins, Struggles & the Value of Organizing

[09:18–11:40]

• Example of "very reasonable" union asks (like telework) and management resistance.
• Pandemic pivot: After years of lobbying, mass telework only implemented due to COVID crisis.

“It took the quarantine crisis of 2020–2021 to actually get the state to agree to mass implement telework…telework has been something we thought was very reasonable for a long time…” – Tristan [10:01]

• Host shares a personal anecdote about how unions made possible more humane working conditions.
• Union activism also led host's wife to help her nonprofit staff unionize.

5. Dealing with State Leadership

[14:49–16:32]

• Stories of negotiating with Governor Newsom’s team, highlighting the mixed feelings often present with political allies.
• Newsom praised for some progressive actions, criticized for slow-walking state worker negotiations.

“There have been times where … he’s doing something dope. And then other times when he’s not…” – Host [15:14]

6. Case Study: Recent Contract Battle

[16:40–21:14]

• Negotiations in 2022–23 were contentious; offers as low as 1–2% raises for three years.
• Host critiques Newsom for public grandstanding with high-profile union battles while neglecting state workers:

“You’re not negotiating with us, but you’re on TV talking about… ‘I want to help Harrison Ford, I want to help the actors get their contract.’” – Tristan [18:01]

• Union could not strike, but organized a work picket in 102-degree heat, leading to an eventual 8% raise.

“When we fight, we win. When we unite, we win.” – Tristan [20:39]
“The fact that I got my co-workers to march in 102 degree weather with me…a few weeks later they said, you’re going to get an 8% raise.” – Tristan [21:04]

7. Bridging Progressive and Conservative Tensions in Organizing

[22:07–25:43]

• The union is progressive but many rank-and-file Inland Empire members are not, leading to friction.
• Tension between single-issue ("just give me a raise") and intersectional approaches ("immigrant and LGBTQ+ issues also affect labor").

“As a union organizer, I really have to be able to talk with my more conservative members because there are people in the union that are not super progressive warriors like me. They're just workers who want to be represented.” – Tristan [22:56]

• The importance of solidarity across issues and demographics:

“…If the immigrants are being harmed and the laborers are being harmed, if the artists are being harmed, then the nurs[es] are harmed. If the teachers be[ing harmed]…” – Tristan [24:25]

• Recalls union losses—some members quit over broader political stances (ex: Kirk assassination, immigration).

8. Local Context: San Bernardino’s Struggles and Beauty

[29:03–32:41]

• Tristan paints a vivid, complex picture of San Bernardino: deep poverty, high diversity, post-industrial decline, and resilient community arts scenes.
• Describes "zombieland" public perception but highlights local arts and camaraderie.

“...it feels like a zombieland, like just this dark…I remember the Carousel Mall…when people talk about the forgotten man, the forgotten America, I’m like, San Bernardino? …we didn’t gave up on that city…” – Host [29:57]

9. ICE Raids on the Frontline

[33:03–34:54]

• First-hand report of ICE activity in downtown San Bernardino, targeting immigrants near the disability office and Mexican consulate:

“ICE has been coming and snatching people up in front of my office…One of the days it happened, I was in the office, I called my congressman…I’ve never been so happy to see the regular cops.” – Tristan [34:16]

• ICE tactics are quick and covert, making documentation and resistance difficult.
• Additional threat: vigilantes impersonating ICE.

“They pushed a wife out of the way…took the husband, tossed him in the van and drove off. It all happened so fast that no one was able to film it…that’s the trick.” – Tristan [34:36]

10. Ongoing Union Goals & Ways to Support

[36:05–38:21]

• Recent bargaining exchanged a delayed raise for two more years of telework—a sign of how tough state finances are.
• Support labor: Get involved if your workplace has a union, join phone banks (ex: for Prop 50, aiming to shift redistricting power away from the GOP).

“If you are in a workplace that has a union, get involved…Or next time they invite you to a phone bank…go, go support.” – Tristan [36:06]

• SEIU 1000 is still active in local anti-ICE protests and broader community resistance.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On organizing wins:

  “When we fight, we win. When we unite, we win.” – Tristan [20:39]

• On solidarity across issues:

  “…David Huerta fighting for immigrant rights is him fighting for you as a worker. Because if they came for them, they could come for you.” – Tristan [24:40]

• On San Bernardino:

  “There’s beauty here, there’s dope stuff…Let me come [with you]—like, we can definitely shine lights…” – Host [31:57]

• On ICE presence:

  “ICE has been coming and snatching people up in front of my office…it all happened so fast that no one was able to film it.” – Tristan [34:16, 34:49]

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Timeline of Important Segments

• [02:19] – Host introduces Tangent Wiggy/Tristan and his union/community roles.
• [04:38] – Overview of SEIU 1000 and the Inland Empire’s chapter.
• [07:13] – Inland Empire’s unique challenges for state workers.
• [09:18] – Union asks and the fight for telework.
• [16:40] – Breakdown of recent contentious bargaining with Newsom’s team.
• [20:39] – How a successful local job action secured a significant raise.
• [22:07] – Discussion of internal union divides between progressive and conservative priorities.
• [29:03] – Describing the real San Bernardino.
• [33:03] – First-person account of ICE actions in downtown, union response.
• [36:05] – Current union initiatives and community engagement.

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Closing & Call to Action

• Tristan encourages listeners to get involved with their workplace unions, support local activism, and join efforts like phone banking for Proposition 50.
• Shout-outs to Inland Empire artists and projects, such as the Inland Empire Music Awards.
• Ways to reach or follow Tristan (TANJINT) are shared at [37:48].

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This comprehensive summary provides a focused, timestamped guide to the episode’s key themes and moments for listeners and non-listeners alike.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Call zone media recording in progress. Okay, check this out. Now I have always been amazed by when I take a second to actually tap into like my actual network of just friends, you know, you have friends in categories, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, it's just like this homie work homie. Yeah, like you just don't really picture those things colliding or when like your friends like meet each other, it turns out they know each other. It's the weirdest thing. But anyway, for me and my, like, podcast activists, you know, activism world, you know, a lot of times overlaps with the hip hop world because, you know, we believe in a lot of same stuff, but, like, this one, like, really happened.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Where I was just, like, in my own network. Somebody I've known for a while, who I'm just now learning. Your name is Tristan.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know your name was Jason.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. You know what I'm saying? That's how rap works. So introduce yourself however you want to be introduced. Yeah. You know, and then let's. Let's get into it.

[A]

Hey, everybody. I'm Tangent Wiggy, AKA Tristan Ackerman. I got a lot of other names, too, but I'll keep it to those for now. And I'm from San Bernardino, and I'm an artist in a community with propaganda, as well. As a state employee, I pay disability claims for the state of California. And in my role as a state employee, I am a union rep, and I'm an elected member of my union's executive board. So I represent state employees from Ontario region to San Bernardino region and in between. And I'm on the bargaining team, so I go up to Sacramento and help prepare for bargaining against Governor Newsom and his team as well.

[B]

Word. So you. So this is, like, with. This is frontline energy. Okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which I love about it because it's like. Like you said, like, your. Your day job is. In some ways, it's. It's so crazy because it's like, as far away as that is from the actual, like, worker per se. Like, you have just this parasocial, like, intimate relationship with everybody that works for the state. Because, like, you seeing, you know what I'm saying, what they going through and how great it is to think inside of such a here bureaucracy, there's somebody there that's like, no, I'm actually, like, fighting for y'.

[A]

All. Yeah, I appreciate that words.

[B]

So, first of all, tell them what the union is. Which union we talking about.

[A]

Yeah. S as in Sam. E as in everybody. I as an incredible. U as in union. Service employees international union, but 1,000. Right. So s E I U is one of the biggest international unions in the world. And everyone out there has probably seen the purple, purple SEIU stuff on all kinds of stuff, from nurses to state workers to in home support services workers and home care nurses. And there's a lot of different people that are under SEIU. More broadly, state employees in California are SEIU 1000. So we're Local 1000. And that's the broader union that I'm.

[B]

A part of all of Cali. Okay.

[A]

You know, all. All hundred thousand state employees that are represented.

[B]

Damn. Okay.

[A]

And. But I am elected to executive board of DLC 704, which is the Inland Empire. Well, the. Ontario San Bernardino. Part of the Inland Empire's chapter.

[B]

Word Ontario San Bernardino. Okay. This is going to be very Cali specific. Like, obviously, this. Everybody here who listens ain't from here. So, like, I've. I've cracked many LA and IE jokes. And just like, you know, throughout. Throughout our time. You know what I'm saying? I like to say that I have an IE passport stamped. Like, I have my Pomona guy. I worked in Pomona. See, I didn't. I never lived there.

[A]

Okay, but you see what I'm saying? So strong connection to Pomona, as far as I've seen. I've seen you. You. Absolutely.

[B]

Yeah, that's what I mean. Like, I'm a naturalized citizen. I got a green card. I gotta. I gotta. IE green card because, like, I worked at Pomona, you know, foundation was in Pomona, Mike and Dim Lights was in Pomona. For y' all listeners, these are like the hip hop and poetry spots that I kind of grew up in. Because since I'm, you know, born in South Central, but I'm from the sixth through six, so. So you come. Me coming from La Puente Valinda, Pomona was just so much more closer than Leimert park, you know what I'm saying? So, yeah, so I ended up just kind of, like, spending a lot of time there. And then for high school, I got. I got busted Inland Empire. So I got bused.

[A]

I was.

[B]

I went to school out of district because my parents split up. It's a long story.

[A]

But anyway, sure, it happens a lot.

[B]

Yeah. So that being said, like, I have a lot of love for the Inland Empire and spent a lot of time there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know what I'm saying? So that's why I was like, I got. I got a visa. I got an IV visa.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely.

[B]

Yeah. But that being said, what would you say? I mean, it's kind of like I'm kind of springing this one on you. But, like, what would you say would be something that's like, unique, a unique thing that someone from where you guys are at, like a service worker where you guys are at, it might be a unique issue that's specific to them, that wouldn't be somewhere else.

[A]

I'll do.

[B]

Two.

[A]

Because I feel like I need two to kind of, to answer it. Well, one is that the Inland Empire in Highland, which is a city, kind of a little connection, connected city to San Bernardino. Highland has Patton State Hospital.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Which is basically Arkham Asylum. You know, it's basically Arkham Asylum from the Batman comics, which is. It's a hospital for the criminally insane.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. You know, it's like, like in other words, like you've committed crimes, but you have mental health issues.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So you're not in the regular prison, but you're not in the regular mental hospital. You are in the prison for the mental patients.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And it's a, It's a massive 24 hour facility. And I feel like even though I work for EDD doing disability claims because I'm in a regional chap with the Patton State Hospital folks, they get a lot of the attention of what the union organization does because 24 hour facilities are very, very taxing and they're very ripe for abuse and for people to go through really difficult things.

[B]

Word.

[A]

And then the second thing I would say would be the fact that where we are, we have a lot of. We service a lot, maybe more in my job. Right. We service a lot of undocumented people. Like a lot of the disability claims I pay for the state, I pay to undocumented folks, which is one reason that the ICE stuff has been hitting so close to home. And also, people may not realize California doesn't regulate about documented status the way that the federal government does. Right. So as long as you could prove your wages to the state of California in a legit, straight paperwork kind of way, we don't care that you're undocumented. We're going to pay you because you're a worker and you need our services.

[B]

Facts. And like, I love that you said that. Because when they talk about like how the undocumented don't pay taxes, I'm like, yes, they do.

[A]

Yes, they do.

[B]

Yes, they do.

[A]

Yes, they do.

[B]

They pay a lot. Yeah. If you can think of just off the head, like, obviously over the years the negotiations and different things that have come up have varied over time. We'll get to the ICE raids because that's obviously where everything got super ratchet up, ratcheted up. But like, what was some of the most, like, I don't, like, I don't know, how would I phrase this? Where you were like, this is the most reasonable request we can ask for. Like, this is just like, I don't. This is so I don't understand why this is so hard for y'.

[A]

All.

[B]

Like, this is incredibly. I just want to, like, calibrate, because a lot of times people hear. They hear the word union. They got all these pictures about what the things are and what this. You know what I'm saying? They got all these pictures, but I'm just like, fam. You ever heard of a fire day week? Yeah, like, work week. That's unions, my g. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So, like, that seems very reasonable. You know what I mean? So. So if you could think of, like, some of the things you've had to negotiate, what was some of the most. Like, this is. I don't understand why this is so hard for y'.

[A]

All. So have you ever. You probably heard the phrase every crisis is an opportunity, right?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You've heard people say that, Right. So the union, my union and other unions have been pushing for telework. You know, being my entire 20 years with the state. You know, I'm seven. I'm. I'll be 17 years veteran with the state as of December. Right.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Okay. The entire time. Wanted telework. It took the quarantine crisis of 20. 20, 2021, to actually get the state to agree to mass implement telework. And so that was like, that's a crisis that we made an opportunity that's like, hey, we needed. We needed telework. So many people are also caring for their kids, are also caring for their elderly people in their home, caring for a new baby or, you know, taking, you know, just at the house so the contractors could come fix their plumbing. You know, it's like, telework has been something that we thought was very reasonable for a long time, that it took. It took until the COVID crisis for us to get telework. And we feel like we're pioneers in that. In a workforce way, because now there's lots of places that have telework. Partly because I think the work that unions like us have done.

[B]

That's dope, man. You know, obviously, coming out of the pandemic and recently, like, a lot of companies are like, hey, you guys can come back to the office. And people are like, absolutely not. Why? Like, why take it away?

[A]

Hard to take it away once you got it.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Why would we do that? I know my own. Like, my wife, you know, she pre pandemic at the spot she was working at. She was working at nonprofit. You know, she was like, okay. I was touring so much that she was just like, dude, like, you want me in this office at a certain time, it's stress on the whole family. I had to get my daughter to school. It's, you know, just breaking her neck to figure stuff out. She's like, I'm done with the stuff that can be done at a desk within an hour. She's like, I'm just, I'm just scrolling the Internet. Yeah. Like, I'm just like, Like, I'm trying to tell you, you're paying for ac.

[A]

You'Re paying for lights, you're paying for the.

[B]

You're paying for all this. There's no reason, like, I don't have to be here, you know.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And so she pushed. She was just like, you know, looked up her own rights, you know, figured it out and, you know, without telling her business, she. She actually helped the staff unionize there. You know what I'm saying? She was like, look, man, it's ridiculous. You know what I'm saying?

[A]

You got a real one.

[B]

Yeah. Don't, don't, don't go. Anyway.

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[B]

So, yeah, so something that you had to, you know, you said you. You actually go up to the state, you. You interact with Gavin Newsom, you know, which is a whole thing.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

We have our opinions on Mr. Newsome.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

You know, and like, how allied are you as an ally? Like, you know what I'm saying? It's. And, you know, people are complicated. We can't always agree on the same things. You know what I'm saying? Like, but, like, that's correct. There's been. There have been times where it's been.

[A]

Like, hey, you know what?

[B]

Salute.

[A]

He's doing something dope. And then other times when he's not. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Doing something dope. The other times it's like, bruh, who are you?

[A]

Yeah, right.

[B]

Like, what is happening right now? So, so obviously, you know, when you go up there, you're not interacting with him. You're interacting with his team. Right.

[A]

Yeah. The one time I actually met him, I went to the California Democratic party convention in 2012 in San Diego, and I just went with a friend, just showed up. I was not a delegate. Yeah, I was a union rep already, but I had no official role. I just showed up and walked around the San Diego Hilton, which is also where they founded San Diego Comic Con.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I got to meet a lot of officials, including some inland ones, including some really famous people like Nancy Pelosi's daughter. But I went up to, at the time, Lieutenant Governor Newsom and basically thanked him because he had just voted against the tuition hike for the Cal states and uc. And I was. And I went to Cal State San Bernardino. I have my master's in poetry, my MFA in poetry from Cal State San Bernardino. And so I was still a student at the time, and he had just voted against the tuition increase. So there's a picture of me meeting him from that, from that time. That's the only.

[B]

Oh, that's great.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. So that. And he had just done something good and he, and he said humble things about it when I thanked him for it. So my one personal interaction with him was good. But since then, when in the capacity of the union, I deal with his bargaining team. Like my. Our bargaining team deals with his bargaining easy in Sacramento where.

[B]

Okay, so give me one. Something that's been like opposite. Where what they were asking for. Yeah. Was like, this is completely unreasonable, guys. Like, what are you talking about?

[A]

So every three years, every three years, our state employee contract goes up, right? And so around the two year mark, we, we start gearing up negotiations, you know, and the state Newsom has the power to summon us for negotiation, and we have the power to summon his team for negotiations, right? So at that two year mark, we start negotiating. So in 2022, we started negotiating about the 2023 expiring, you know, so that we, by the end of 23, we could have a new contract. When you're a state employee, it's difficult, it's hard to strike, right. Like, you have to have an extremely high threshold to strike. Like, if you're a private company and you're in a union, it's a lot easier to strike. You guys, I want to strike. You strike. Like that episode of the Simpsons. Yeah, they're just like dental plan, you know, they started striking, right, right. With, with the state because we provide essential services to Californians in need. It is an extremely high threshold in terms of what it would take for us to legally be allowed to strike. Right. And Newsom and his team know that. So they could kind of like really slow walk negotiations and stop negotiating in good faith. But as long as there's like, you know, what is it? There's signs of life on the hospital ticker.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

The negotiations, then they're stick that we're still obligated to not strike down. Right. So in 2023, our contract expired. Newsom was offering us 1 or 2% raise for the next three years. And meanwhile, he was going on TV saying, I'll debate Ron DeSantis.

[B]

Oh, it was during that time, I.

[A]

Want to help the, the Screen Actors Guild finish their contract in the, in the Screenwriters Guild. And I want it. So it's like, whoa, whoa, bro, where are your kids? Why are you trying to go help their kids? You know, like, you know, it was like, why you're not negotiating with us, but you're on TV talking about, I want to help Harrison Ford and I want to help, you know, I want to help the actors get their contract. And it's like, so I, something I had, I made a TikTok recently about how I think my, my lefty friends, and I'm lefty as hell, of course, but like artist friends, anti establishment friends, you know, leftist friends, I think hate Democrats in stupid ways, whereas there are smart ways to hate Democrats.

[B]

Okay, Right.

[A]

Like, to me, the stupid, the stupid way to hate Democrats is to be like, oh, both parties are the same. I'm going to sit out and let Republicans win and hurt us worse. Right. To me, the smart way to hate on Democrats is to realize when they're doing a good thing here, they're distracting you from a bad thing here. And then they're doing a bad thing here. They're distracting. You know, it's like a good thing. Okay, Right. So like, Newsom at times might be capitulating to Trump on something federally, but then he does something good state, domestically, in the state to kind of keep his rep up. Or the reverse. Maybe he's fighting with Trump on something and that's good, but he's doing some whack shit, like slow walking our contract negotiations.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We're not Hollywood actors. Right. So when our contract goes up, you didn't get the news about it, like with the Screen Actors Guild, because that's slopping your Hulu. That's stopping your Disney Plus. You know, you, you hear all about that when our contract expires. You don't hear about it unless you're on disability, unless you're on one of our programs. And then you can't go to the office because. Because we're understaffed or because something's going wrong with us. Right. So 2023 was a pissed off time for us because he's offering us peanuts. He was offering to help everybody else. Let me help the actors. Let me help the screenwriters. Let me fight Ron DeSantis. Let me go. Go to Washington and have federal fights. Meanwhile, we're. Our contract expired. And when our contract expired, there's things we lose. There's stipends we lose. There's benefits we lose.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And he just, so he had us, had us in a bind. So I organized a work picket at My office in San Bernardino.

[B]

Let's go.

[A]

102 degree weather. We can't strike, but we can pick it.

[B]

Wow. Okay. See, I didn't know that.

[A]

Right. You know, so that's part of being a union rep is like, what are my tools? Yeah, you know, like what are my tools? Like know your, know your arsenal, know your weaponry. Right. And so I organized the picket. We had signs. Me, and I'm just, I tear up when I think about this because I had co workers that I didn't think were going to march in the heat with me. I thought it might have been me by myself. You know, I was one of only one or two union reps in my office at the time. Now we have four because I've been recruiting, you know, and I have good people in my office, you know. But at time I was one of the only union reps. There was people who I knew had legit skepticism about the union. I didn't expect it, but every single lunch, not just my lunch, at every lunch we had people picketing in front of my office with signs. People were honking in support of us. Within a month or two, we got an 8% raise on that next negotiation.

[B]

Let's go.

[A]

You know, and so, you know, when we fight, we win. When we unite, we win. You know, like you don't. We're not fighting for nothing. And, and that was a do or die moment for me as a union organizer because I hadn't had many any real fights yet. And I had, I couldn't really point to my co workers and say, hey, we did this and got this. We did this and got this. So the fact that I got my co workers to march in 102 degree weather with me instead of just sitting in the air conditioned having lunch and that, we won that. A few weeks later they said, you're going to get an 8% raise.

[B]

That's hard.

[A]

You know, like I was like, yes, like proof of concept. I have proof of concept. I'm not just wasting my co workers time. I could tell you there's a tangible result to when we organize together.

[B]

See, that's. These are the type of like wins we need to hear because we've been, we've been taking some ills Hills like, yes, sir. Speaking of l. So yalls. Yalls. SEIU 1000. You know David Huerta, right? That's his name.

[A]

David Wirtha is from one of the California SEIU branches. He's tightly connected to our union, but he's not one.

[B]

He's not 1,000 okay. Words.

[A]

But he is SEIU, so he is part of us. Yeah.

[B]

So when Ice, you know, invaded our streets.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

He was outside, you know, doing what he had to do. I know. S. SEIU set up the. The thing at. At Alvera Street. Yeah. They set up a. A location there for, like, to educate because it was just such a beautiful thing. But yep, the first thing that got me out the house was the rally for when he was detained. So, like, yeah, man, tell me what was going on and as much as you can behind closed doors. Yes. So, yes, most of the listeners here know this story because this show is like, pretty tapped in. But. Yeah.

[A]

Right. So what I would say is this to me is an opportunity to talk about like, like the cultural differences with. With Inland and la.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Because, yeah, the union is very progressive. Right. But the Inland is a much more conservative area. Right. And compared to Los Angeles, compared to San Francisco, compared to, you know, it's not as big of a city. It's more impoverished.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, there's a lot of, you know, even just the geography of it, right. People may. Grew up in the city. Like my. My mom grew up around where you're talking about La Puente. I was born in the month.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But there was a suburban exodus in the late 80s of like, people who wanted to go from that east. LA626 raised their kids in the Inland because that was the more conservative suburbs. Right. So for me, every time something like that happens with something like a David Huerta or something in one of the bigger cities happens and we're fighting with. With the right wing about things, it's a matter of me educating my Inland people about why we care and why we're all connected, you know, and. And then there's always some people. And I got to respect this. As a union organizer, I really have to be able to talk with my more conservative members because there are people in the union that are not super progressive warriors like me. They're just workers who want to be represented. Right.

[B]

I was gonna say that's actually a good point to hammer down because, like, last year one of the shows on our network covered a union strike at a. I wanna say it was like a metal plant in Alabama, like in the sticks of Alabama. These are good old boys from the south, but sure. But one thing we can agree on me is like, pay me what I'm worth, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, it just seemed pretty simple to me. I don't understand how you gotta be a progressive to want to be paid what you worth, you know, so, yes, that. That's a good point to say that, like, even in a rather conservative space, all of us want to go home and eat, you know, and. And earn the wages that I. That I should be. Yes, Pay me what I'm worth. It just. It seemed that simple.

[A]

Exactly. And so. So that's a tension that happens.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And this is. This is probably a discussion that happens among a lot of progressive groups in general that, like, there's people who want you to focus on your. On your issue, but there's also people who recognize that we're part of an interconnected society where it's like, if the immigrants are being harmed and the laborers are being harmed, if the artists are being harmed, then the nurs harmed. If the teachers be. You know, so. So there's always that divide. But in the inland, which is a more conservative area, there's especially that divide between people who are like, I don't want my union fighting about immigration and ice. I don't want my union fighting about the environment.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

I don't want the union fighting about lgbt. I just want the union to fight for my race. I want the union to fight for my telework. And that's all I want them to do. Right. So that's a. That's a big thing for. For. For me is to kind of explain to people how no David Werta fighting for immigrant rights is him fighting for you as a worker.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

You know, because if they came for them, they could come for you. You. You know, so. So that's kind of how I see that.

[B]

Yeah. Did you feel like it landed?

[A]

Well, it always does. Does with some, and it doesn't with some. You know, I'll be honest with you. There are people who just left the union after the Charlie Kirk killing.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

In my opinion, they're going to really weird logic jumps when they're like, well, the union endorsed Kamala, and Kamala has supporters that are happy about Charlie Kirk dying. So I'm leaving the union.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm like, so you don't want that raise?

[B]

You really red stringing that joint? You know, that is definitely the always sunny in Philadelph. Just. You like tying these strings together, like, bro, I don't know what you talking about.

[A]

Yeah, right. And so to be honest, there's been some of that. You know, I. I'll say this. The Charlie Kirk gave us more of that than the immigration stuff. But. But there's always those few whispers from a few people who are like, they're just not down with the broader.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Cause those of us who are in the leadership of the union, I think we have solidarity, you know, we have solidarity not just with other state workers, but with anyone who's in any seiu, with Teamsters, with anyone who's in any union, and with Californians, anyone who is somebody who is in a vulnerable group.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and so there's just always that difference of opinion. I would say over, let's say it's 60 hits in a good way. And in my area, because it's so conservative, let's say 40%. It doesn't, you know, and it's something.

[B]

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Ah, come on.

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[B]

Okay, my last two questions would be this. Like, sure, I'll give them both. Like, so what are y' all currently kind of like pushing for? I'm assuming it has a. A lot to do with immigration and ICE raids and stuff, but also, in what ways can we, as just a broader community, help?

[A]

Well, how do I put this? So I work in downtown San Bernardino.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And my disability office is next to the Mexican consulate.

[B]

Let's go. First of all, we need to paint the picture of San Bernardino. I really feel like for those that don't know California, the nature of what San Bernardino is is a part of this story that you might be missing. First of all, like, okay, all that you picture everything that everybody else pictures around what you thought Compton was in the 90s, all the pictures that you think, you know what I'm saying, that you go, oh, it's really San Bernardino. Like, you know what I'm saying?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I mean, I'm trying to say this in a way that's descriptive and not derogatory because obviously, like, it's always cali love for me and I, you know, of course. But there is a certain. There's a certain part of San Bernardino that feels like, like just a spirit of like we just gave up.

[A]

The walking dead.

[B]

The walking dead. That's exactly it. It feels like a zombieland, like just this dark. I remember the Carousel mall. Like, you walk by that mall. It's eerie. It just feels like when people talk about the forgotten man, the forgotten America, I'm like, San Bernardino? Yeah. Like, yes, we didn't gave up on that city, you know? Yeah.

[A]

It recently gone from 230,000 people to only 200,000 people. But also probably because a lot of people that left were the most impoverished people. Our poverty rate went from, let's say in the post Bush 2 recession, like 2010, we had a 30% poverty rate. We were the most impoverished city in the state. We've gotten down to like 17% poverty, which is still bad.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, that's still almost one. One out of five people. What was it? It's very diverse. I mean, as someone who pays attention to politics, it has all the problem. Exactly like you said, all the problems that people talk about when they see the important problems. It's post industrial. There's gun violence. It's diverse. There, there's poverty, you know, there's environmental issues. Because it's such a warehouse empire.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because it's such a, you know, area of freight and warehouses. It's like the air quality is some of the worst in the state.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, we. We have real problems. You know, we got real problems. And in downtown, Downtown San Bernardino is a lot of where the problems are. We want to get it like downtown Redlands and downtown Riverside and. And some of the other nicer downtowns, but it's just not there yet. And there are people absolutely working on that. And like there are a couple alleyways in the city. This sounds so. It sounds so humble, but we have a couple alleyways in the city that got $500,000 grants recently to Kind Arts. Alleyway to kind of look like something more like the Claremont Village.

[B]

Let's go.

[A]

You know, and so. Yeah, you know, and so we are always working on it. And I will always, you know, as somebody who founded. Co. Founded the Inland Empire Music Award show and other platforms that I put on, not just my art, but I helped put on other artists in England. I will always tell you about the amazing tacos you could get in my city, the amazing small businesses you could support my city, the amazing art community.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Put on by my. By my OGs, like Judah 1 of Pomona, like Noah James of the Inland and Lisa J.

[B]

And yeah.

[A]

And many others, you know, who help build a really beautiful ecosystem. Like there's, there's. Please come, Come to San Berino. Hit me up and I'll take you to safe, beautiful parts of it, you know, but yes, it's. It's rough.

[B]

To your point, I know I want you to get to the next thing, but to your point, that was the same as that picture of Compton to where it's like. Yes, like in the sense that like, we know it's dangerous, we know there's poverty, we know there's that, but there's beauty here, there's dope stuff, you know, and let me come like. And again, like just the hood rules where it's like, well, you would meet me like, so you're good you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, and some of the. Yeah, like, we can, we can definitely shine lights. Like I said, like, you know, I've talked about Noah James on this show, you know what I'm saying? I've talked about Judah 1, you know, I talked about sincere C4, like the people that, like, I came, I came up with, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. The Inland Empire, a lot of the stuff that the nation attributes to LA is really ie, you know what I'm saying?

[A]

Yes, sir.

[B]

And we know, like, we know because they're not lying about it. We know that. Matter of fact, nobody has pride about ie. Got pride, boy. Like, they're like, no, no, no, no. We are the Inland. And I love that about y'. All.

[A]

Anyway, I'm wearing my Jaden Daniels.

[B]

See, check it out.

[A]

Yep, yep, yep, yep. You know. Yeah, because the I, he got a high.

[B]

The IE got a heist. So. Yeah. Okay. So anyway, so your office is next to the Mexican consulate.

[A]

Mexican consulate, right. And so I've actually spent my, you know, I've been at this office in San Bernardino, know, since 2014, and five years before that I worked in the Riverside office. But I've been in my, my office in San Marino 2014. And I have gone to so many, I've infiltrated so many right wing protests that are in front of the Mexican Consulate.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And like, and like, so I'll go hang out with them and like, oh, what are you guys, what are you guys doing? And then I'll like, take their markers, I'll take their posters, and I'll just kind of be like, oh, yeah, maybe you have a point there. And then I'm like, I'm in my office and then my, my secretary is, you know, the secretary of my office is like, oh, where can you get these markers? Look, I got you some markers, you know, because it's like, you know, and so I'll infiltrate right wing protest. But, but on the flip side, lately, you know, ICE knows they could come to my corner, and my corner in downtown has the Chase bank, the Wells Fargo bank, the Mexican Consulate, the disability office, the old City hall building. Like, it's, it's like the hub. It's one of the downtown hubs of the city. And ICE has been coming and snatching people up in front of my office. It happened. It's happened twice at least in the last month. And one of the days that it happened, I was in the office, I called my congressman, I called the, the mayor, I got all the local authorities involved. By the end of the day. Day, the horse mounted unit of my city's police was, like, patrolling to make sure ICE wasn't messing with us. Wow. And I tell you, homie, what a weird place this is. I've never been so happy to see the regular cops.

[B]

Right, right, right.

[A]

You know, what is this?

[B]

What is this timeline?

[A]

What are you doing to me? Yeah, what are you doing to me? We're like, I'm in. I'm in 7:11 at 6 in the morning, getting my. Getting my coffee, and I see regular cops. I'm like, thank you, sir, for at least showing a warrant.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[A]

Arrest me.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

You know, because ICE is doing none of that.

[B]

None of it.

[A]

None of that. They're not doing warrants. Do it. They too, took. I don't want to cry. They did. They pushed a wife out of the way. She's like, what are you doing? They took the husband, tossed him in the van and drove off. It all happened so fast that no one was able to film it.

[B]

Damn.

[A]

No, in this era, no one was able to film it. And they know that how? That they're doing it that fast.

[B]

That's the trick.

[A]

Yeah, that's the trick.

[B]

That's what we've been telling. Like, a lot of people have asked me, just friends from out of town, like, dude, has it. Has it toned down? And I was like, no, it just went underground. It's like they just. They're a lot more sneaky now. Like, it's not this big, big display of power. It's more the sniper guerrilla warfare to where, like you said, you just getting your gas, like, you out here pumping gas, and then somebody just. And it's so fast, I can't film it. You know what I'm saying?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And the hard part for me is, like, is. Is to your point, to where it's like, since you're not identifying yourself, like, you might not even be an ICE agent. And.

[A]

And that's a thing that happened. That's the thing that there are people who impersonate law enforcement officers and go harass people just on a racist basis.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and. And. And it's arguable that the Trump administration is empowering people like that.

[B]

Like that, man.

[A]

Yeah, so. So, yeah, it absolutely is happening. To be honest, my union, we're going to always support the actions that are fighting back against it. But the. But the only things that we really have jurisdiction to actually fight is. Is our. Is the labor related. You know, and so you Know, we. We actually just got telework extended in exchange for delaying our raise, you know, because the state's really broke right now for a lot of reasons.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We delayed for two years a raise that we were about to get in July, so there were already a couple months past not having that raise. But in exchange, we got our telework agreement extended for two years. So what I would tell people who want to get involved is, like, if you are in a workplace that has a union, get involved, you know, or if you had someone in your life like me, who does union stuff outside of work, next time they invite you to a phone bank or next time they invite you to an event, go, go support. Because we're absolutely. We were at the no Kings protest. We were at the anti ice protest. Like, like, like, like we're in the unofficial capacity. We're gonna, we're gonna do all those kind of things to support the broader community. And, and even though it's my union, like, for example, on Wednesdays, we have a lot of our meetings, we're doing phone banking for Prop 50. Right. Which is the whole redistricting thing, which gives us the power to take some seats away from the Republicans. I know there's a lot of. There's a debate to be had there, but ultimately it's. It's us trying to take. Keep some power away from the right wing. And you don't have to be in my union to go to those phone banks. If you want a phone bank to help Prop 50 pass so we could take some Republican seats away from the Federal House of Representatives candidates, hit me up. Hit up anybody in, you know, in the Inland Empire chapter of seiu, and we can bring you to a phone bank in Ontario and we'll get pizza or barbecue or whatever, and we could phone bank against these dang Republicans.

[B]

Yeah, man. Man, Tangent, I appreciate this, man.

[A]

I appreciate you, man. I've been wanting to have one of you to have me on. I love your show and I love you, man. I think you're such a cool dude. I think you're wise. I think that you're engaging the community in a cool way. You're an artist I respect a lot. And not just me. I mean, people, friends, like, sincere. Yeah. Like, explain to me why you're significant to them and why you're an influence and stuff like that. I appreciate even being on your radar, brother.

[B]

Man, stop it. Stop it some more. I'm just kidding. My wife says that. Okay, so perfect. Well, then tell us how people need to hear your music, how they can get in touch with you, how they can follow you. Give me all the links.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So T A N J I N T. It's Tangent. You know, you could find me on everything on Twitter, Instagram, you know, Facebook. What was it? The Inland Empire Music Award show that I'm a co director and co founder of is at it's only empire.com. that's its only empire.com. and also I want to encourage Inland Empire artists. You know, you still have from now till the end of September to. To submit to the award show. And. And we've been doing it for three years. We partner with nonprofits and businesses. We throw a dope ass, pretty dope gala.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, award show at a little art center in downtown San Bernardino at the Garcia center for the Arts. Or we give away real trophies and real awards and we have red carpet media and performances. It's like, it's like the Grammys for the Inland emphasis Empire. So, you know, please get involved in. It's only empire.com. that's only empire. Now fam likely is my group with Diesel. We got a new album out that's like scam likely on your phone, but Fam likely because it's likely that your fam is hitting you up. Fam likely. West Coast Avengers is my first group. The more nerd core Inland Empire stuff. And we got a new album that came out just under a year ago now, the Harvest. So yeah, I'm. I'm everywhere.

[B]

You can catch everything all over the place. Yeah. Tangent Wiggle. Thank you so much.

[A]

Hey, thank you, man. Much love. It Could Happen Here is a production of Cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from Cool Zone Media, Visit our website coolzonemedia.com or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts you can now find sources for. It Could Happen here listed directly in episode descriptions. Thanks for listening.

[B]

Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom. Hit the town with the ultra durable LG X Boom Pool portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go. Elevate your listening experience to new heights because let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG XBoom and for a limited time, save [e-mail] with code fall25. Bring the boom. Xboom.

[C]

There's a lot going on in Hollywood. How are you supposed to stay on top of it all? Variety has the solution take 20 minutes out of your day and listen to the new daily Variety podcast for breaking entertainment news and expert perspectives.

[B]

Where do you see the business actually heading?

[C]

Featuring the iconic journalists of Variety and hosted by co editor in chief Cynthia Littleton.

[A]

The only constant in Hollywood is change.

[C]

Open your free iHeartradio app, search daily Variety and listen now.

[A]

Ugh. Come on.

[D]

Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[E]

It still using yesterday's tech upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 carbon ultralight. Ultra powerful and built for serious productivity with Intel Core Ultra processors, blazing speed and AI powered performance that keeps up with your business, not the other way around.

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[B]

I'm Glen Washington, the host of Snap Judgment from kqed.

[A]

Every week we don't just tell stories, we drop you inside them. Real people, real voices, real moments that split a life in two. What do you believe?

[B]

What do you risk?

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What do you want? Snap Judgment. New episodes every Thursday.

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[A]

This is an I heart podcast.