Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
President of California's Largest State Worker Union Ousted
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
May 28, 2021

Share

SACRAMENTO — The president of California’s largest state employee union has been ousted from the post she held for 13 years and replaced by a candidate who promises to end the organization’s political involvement while bolstering its membership, according to results from a low-turnout election posted by the union.

Under Yvonne Walker’s leadership since 2008, Service Employees International Union Local 1000 was a thorn in the side of the state’s last Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, but negotiated pandemic-driven austerity moves last year with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Brown Pledges to Stop Political Spending to Focus on Workers

She was defeated by Richard Louis Brown, an analyst with the state treasurer’s office who started his state employment in 2009 handling unemployment claims at the Employment Development Department. He did not respond to telephone and email requests for comment Tuesday.

Results posted online Monday show Brown with more than 33% of the vote to Walker’s 27% among five candidates for the three-year term. Although the union has 96,000 members, just 7,880 voted.

The union represents workers in nine of the state’s 21 bargaining units, from librarians to nurses, office workers to technicians.

In a reversal of the union’s previously aggressive political role, Brown pledged to stop all direct and indirect spending on politics and focus solely on protecting union jobs and negotiating state labor contracts. To bolster the union’s membership, he said he would reduce union dues by half while increasing transparency.

Walker Says She ‘Had a Good Run’

“I think overall the union will be fine,” Walker said in a telephone interview. “I think I’ve had a good run, I’m proud of the work that I’ve done. I got to build leaders and change people’s lives. … I’ve left a strong foundation for whoever came behind me, a strong union.”

Under Walker, the union did its best to bedevil Schwarzenegger during a 2008 budget impasse with the Legislature. Its members, wearing their purple T-shirts, once staged a 6:30 a.m. “wakeup call” demonstration outside the Capitol-area hotel he occupied when he was in Sacramento, protesting his plan to temporarily reduce workers’ pay to the federal minimum wage.

A year later, it overwhelmingly authorized a strike vote to lobby for ratification of its contract during the state’s fiscal crisis caused by the Great Recession.

With Walker at the helm, the union also called for a strike in 2016 during negotiations with Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown. He went to court to block it before the two sides came to an agreement.

Brown Promises to Create Strike Fund

Richard Brown ran against Walker twice previously.

In addition to stop spending union money on political campaigns, Brown promised to create a strike fund for future contact talks while reversing pay cuts of more than 9% imposed under Newsom when the state anticipated a new financial crisis during the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, the state has seen a record surplus. Newsom has said he expects wages to be restored when the new fiscal year starts July 1, though issues like renewing previously scheduled raises are still being negotiated.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

DON'T MISS

CA Insurance Market ‘in Chaos,’ Says Former Insurance Commissioner. Can Lara Fix It?

DON'T MISS

Police Had About 90 Seconds to Stop Traffic Before Baltimore Bridge Fell. 6 Workers Are Feared Dead

No data was found

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

16 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

16 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

16 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

16 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

16 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

17 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

17 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

18 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

20 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

21 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

14 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
14 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

15 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

15 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

16 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

16 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

16 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

16 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

16 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend