Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
California Unions, Wielding Outsized Power, Make Big Push for Legislative Gains
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
August 28, 2023

Share

This has been a year of labor unrest in California, a state in which unions represent a relatively small faction of the state’s workforce but wield great political power.

Dan Walters with a serious expression

Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

The most obvious example is the protracted strikes of actors and writers in Southern California’s iconic entertainment industry, but Tinseltown’s picketers are just a fraction of the workers who have been demanding more in wages and benefits and are willing to walk off the job to get them.

There have been 53 labor strikes in California so far this year, involving 276,340 participants, or about 10% of total union membership in the state, according to Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker. That doesn’t include strikes that began in 2022, either.

What’s happening in California mirrors trends in other states, leading to much speculation about underlying factors, such as post-pandemic angst and inflation.

As the California Legislature enters the last days of its 2023 session, the growing unrest in workplaces is manifesting itself in high-stakes drives by union officials to gain new members and more benefits for those members.

Plethora of Union-Sponsored Bills

The final agendas for legislative action are studded with union-sponsored bills that, in some cases, would make major alterations in the relationships between California employers and their workers.

One of the biggest is Assembly Bill 1228, which would make fast food franchising companies such as McDonald’s liable, along with their franchise holders, for labor law violations.

It’s the latest move by the Service Employees International Union in its drive to organize fast food workers, and responds to – or retaliates for – the fast food industry’s referendum, due to appear on the 2024 ballot, aimed at overturning previous legislation. The law in question sought to create a state commission to oversee fast food wages and working conditions.

The Hollywood strikes have spawned a late-session effort to make strikers eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.

“Striking workers have earned their unemployment insurance benefits. They deserve to use them when they are unable to work,” said Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, head of the California Labor Federation. “We can’t have workers economically insecure because they’re forced to go out on strike, it harms them and their families and has rippling effects on the entire community.”

Business groups oppose the measure, of course, arguing that since employers finance unemployment insurance benefits, they would be unfairly underwriting strikes.

Still another hard-fought measure, Senate Bill 525, would raise the minimum wage for health care workers to $21 an hour and later to $25. It’s needed, health care unions say, to allow workers in a vital industry to meet their rising living costs. Hospitals and other health care providers see it as too costly. Los Angeles County says its system would take a $200 million hit.

SB 525 is one of several union-backed measures to make the California Chamber of Commerce’s “job killer” list, meaning it’s a high-priority target for the influential business organization.

Senate Bill 616 is another chamber target and another one on the Labor Federation’s priority list. It would increase the number of mandated paid sick leave days off from three to seven.

“We knew when we passed the first paid sick days law that three days wouldn’t be enough,” Fletcher said.

The bill “imposes new costs and leave requirements on employers of all sizes … in addition to all other enacted leave mandates that small employers throughout the state are already struggling with to implement and comply,” the chamber responded.

This is only a small sample of the union-sponsored bills pending in the session’s final days. The stakes are high in both the state’s many strikes and what happens in the Capitol over the next few weeks.

About the Author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times. CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more columns by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

Make Your Voice Heard

GV Wire encourages vigorous debate from people and organizations on local, state, and national issues. Submit your op-ed to rreed@gvwire.com for consideration. 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

An Anti-War Movement Is Stirring in Israel

DON'T MISS

David Greenwood, Former UCLA Star and NBA Champion, Dies at 68 After Cancer Battle

DON'T MISS

Is the Trump-Musk Spat Really Over? Judging From Wall Street Trading, It’s a Fragile Peace

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Inmate Found Unresponsive in Cell, Autopsy Pending

DON'T MISS

A Look at Boeing’s Recent Troubles After Air India Crash

DON'T MISS

Gavin Newsom Changes His Tune on Running for President

DON'T MISS

McConnell, Mathurin Lead Pacers’ Bench Charge in Game 3, Fueling 2-1 NBA Finals Lead Over Thunder

DON'T MISS

US Sen. Alex Padilla Was Forcibly Removed After Interrupting News Conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

DON'T MISS

Fresno Joins Nationwide ‘No Kings Day’ Movement at Multiple Locations

DON'T MISS

JetBlue Flight Rolls off Runway at Boston Airport, No Injuries Reported

UP NEXT

Is the Trump-Musk Spat Really Over? Judging From Wall Street Trading, It’s a Fragile Peace

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom Changes His Tune on Running for President

UP NEXT

US Sen. Alex Padilla Was Forcibly Removed After Interrupting News Conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

UP NEXT

Trump Blocks California EV Rules in Latest Move to Rein In the State

UP NEXT

Britain Ready to Implement US Tariff Deal, Trade Minister Says

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Won’t Fire Fed’s Powell but ‘May Have to Force Something’ on Rates

UP NEXT

What to Know About ‘No Kings’ Protests Against Trump’s Policies on Saturday

UP NEXT

Most G7 Members Ready to Lower Russian Oil Price Cap Without US

UP NEXT

Republicans in Congress Set to Grill Democratic Governors on Immigration

UP NEXT

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades

Tulare County Inmate Found Unresponsive in Cell, Autopsy Pending

1 hour ago

A Look at Boeing’s Recent Troubles After Air India Crash

1 hour ago

Gavin Newsom Changes His Tune on Running for President

1 hour ago

McConnell, Mathurin Lead Pacers’ Bench Charge in Game 3, Fueling 2-1 NBA Finals Lead Over Thunder

1 hour ago

US Sen. Alex Padilla Was Forcibly Removed After Interrupting News Conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

1 hour ago

Fresno Joins Nationwide ‘No Kings Day’ Movement at Multiple Locations

1 hour ago

JetBlue Flight Rolls off Runway at Boston Airport, No Injuries Reported

1 hour ago

Teoscar Hernández Hits a 3-Run Homer and the Dodgers Beat the Padres to Win the Series

2 hours ago

Giants Rally Again to Beat Lowly Rockies for 7th Straight Win

2 hours ago

Wildfire Burns in Madera County Grows to 20 Acres With No Containment

2 hours ago

An Anti-War Movement Is Stirring in Israel

I just spent a week in Israel and, while it may not look as if much has changed — the grinding war in the Gaza Strip continues to grind — I ...

35 minutes ago

35 minutes ago

An Anti-War Movement Is Stirring in Israel

51 minutes ago

David Greenwood, Former UCLA Star and NBA Champion, Dies at 68 After Cancer Battle

1 hour ago

Is the Trump-Musk Spat Really Over? Judging From Wall Street Trading, It’s a Fragile Peace

Tulare County Sheriff's Office detectives are investigating a shooting in Strathmore that left a man wounded late night on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Tulare County SO)
1 hour ago

Tulare County Inmate Found Unresponsive in Cell, Autopsy Pending

1 hour ago

A Look at Boeing’s Recent Troubles After Air India Crash

1 hour ago

Gavin Newsom Changes His Tune on Running for President

1 hour ago

McConnell, Mathurin Lead Pacers’ Bench Charge in Game 3, Fueling 2-1 NBA Finals Lead Over Thunder

1 hour ago

US Sen. Alex Padilla Was Forcibly Removed After Interrupting News Conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend