USC violated labor law, judge rules
Tomo Chien
February 19, 2026
Good morning. It’s Thursday, and these are the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
A judge ruled that USC violated federal labor law when it refused to bargain with unionized healthcare workers at the Engemann Student Health Center. The ruling was something of a rebuke for USC, which said last February that it wouldn’t bargain with the union in order to test whether federal regulators would uphold its certification.
2.
A former USC student government president is running for mayor of Washington, D.C. Rini Sampath, 31, notably spurred discussions about campus racism in 2015 after being attacked by a frat member who called her a racial slur. She and her running mate were the first all-female ticket to win USC’s student presidency.
3.
Casey Wasserman, the chair of LA’s 2028 Olympic committee, is facing mounting calls from local politicians to resign after exchanging flirty emails with Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. In emails that have since rocked LA circles, Wasserman and Maxwell discussed sexual massages and “tight leather” outfits.
4.
IKEA will open a location in Culver City this spring, which should save USC students the hassle of driving to Burbank or Carson for furniture during next year’s move-in. The Helms Design District location, which is a short trip down the Interstate 10, is also home to several upscale furniture stores and a gastropub.
5.
The Getty Museum has a new logo, and some people aren’t all that impressed. “It looks like a microchip company logo (which is fine because Richard Meier's Getty Center looks like a microchip plant),” said arts journalist Carolina Miranda. The Instagram hard launch got mixed reviews in the comments.
