California’s biggest labor group recommends Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez as its next leader
Lorena Gonzalez, a San Diego Democrat assemblywoman who authored prominent bills on gig workers and warehouse employees, could become the first woman and person of color to lead California’s biggest labor organization.
The executive council of the California Labor Federation, which represents 1,200 unions with more than two million workers, took a non-binding vote Monday to recommend Gonzalez to be the organization’s next chief officer, its spokesman Steve Smith said Tuesday.
The council won’t take the official vote until the current leader, Art Pulaski, steps down, which could be at some point next year, Smith said. He said Pulaski could choose to step down around July, when the federation plans to hold its biennial convention.
Smith said the council could consider candidates other than Gonzalez to fill Pulaski’s position when he retires. Still, Smith said the council’s discussion comes as Pulaski wants to ensure a smooth transition of leadership heading into 2022, which could prove crucial for labor interests.
Several ballot measures aimed at California labor, such as ending collective bargaining for public sector unions, are gathering signatures for the 2022 election.
“His thinking is he wants to be ahead of the curve and have this discussion prior to whatever point he retires,” Smith said.
Gonzalez’s office did not respond to a request for comment. It declined to comment to Politico, which broke the story.
“Stop texting me. No one has offered me a job. I read it in Politico, too,” Gonzalez tweeted Tuesday evening.
Pulaski has led the federation for 25 years as its executive secretary-treasurer, helping to push through policies such as $15 an hour minimum wage and the country’s first paid family leave law.
“Art has been a giant of the movement so this is a huge loss for all of us,” Smith said. “But we were very happy for him that he’s going to be able to transition on his own terms and do this the right way,”
Gonzalez has a long history advocating for labor, serving as secretary-treasurer and CEO of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO, between 2008 and 2013. She stepped down from the position when she was elected to be an assemblywoman in a special election in 2013.
She has sponsored a number of prominent labor bills during her tenure, including Assembly Bill 5, which required businesses to give employment benefits to more workers.
Worker advocates have hailed the bill as addressing rampant misclassification that deprived thousands of California workers of basic employees’ rights such as minimum wage. But opponents have said the bill led to loss of income and work for many freelancers and independent contractors.
Gonzalez herself introduced a “clean up” bill giving more flexibility to some affected by AB 5, such as freelance writers and artists. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill in 2020.
Gonzalez also successfully introduced and got governors to sign bills such as requiring employers to give workers paid sick days and mandating warehouses to tell their workers of their quotas.
“When I first ran for office, I was clear. I was a labor leader who thought our State Legislature didn’t prioritize workers enough. I ran on a pro-worker platform,” Gonzalez tweeted on Oct. 12. “Big business, the chamber and large corporations have always had their advocates in the legislature.. it’s ok for workers and their unions to have one too.”
She has also been the chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee since 2016, having a hand in determining whether hundreds of bills make their way through the Legislature each year.
If Gonzalez leaves her Assembly position to lead the federation, she could be banned for one year from personally contacting members of legislators for the purpose of influencing a legislative action, under the state’s political ethics law.
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 7:39 PM.
