California Democrats kill bill that would have let legislative employees unionize
A bill that would have allowed California Capitol employees to join a union died twice on the last day of the legislative year, marking another setback in a long push to organize workers in the building.
Its first demise came at the start of Wednesday’s Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee when Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, blocked Assembly Bill 1577, citing “major” concerns, the primary one being that the measure did not include a no-strike clause. Opponents of the bill also point to the potential for a conflict of interest if staffers are represented by a union that opposes certain legislation. That led Capitol staffers to boo and walk out of the committee hearing.
“This bill has been introduced three times in the short period I’ve been in office and most of my concerns have never been acknowledged or addressed...The fact that there is a 40-page analysis should speak to....” Cooper said before being interrupted by the boos.
About 30 minutes later, Cooper reversed his decision and allowed the bill to be heard. The measure fell short in a 2-4 vote, receiving support from just two Assemblywomen, Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood and Lisa Calderon, D-Whittier. Assemblymen Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, and Randy Voepel, R-San Diego County, chose not to vote.
It’s unclear what led Cooper to reverse his initial decision. In a Tweet Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Susan Eggman, D-Stockon, insinuated that Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, overrode Cooper’s block.
Katie Talbot, spokeperson for Rendon, said the speaker’s office “reiterated an expectation” that the bill would be heard in committee.
Cooper, the Sacramento County Sheriff-elect who is leaving the legislature, admitted to blocking the bill to avoid a vote on the Assembly floor. He also said that senators and assembly members had been texting him with concerns over the measure.
“One of the reasons I held this is to not make members take a hard vote,” he said. “I believe in protecting my members on this committee, 100%. That’s what leaders do. Get on Facebook. I don’t care. Get on Twitter. I don’t care. It’s doing what’s right.”
Cooper also complained that lawmakers did not attempt to alleviate his months-long concerns, including the lack of a proper “vetting process” for the measure. Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Santa Cruz, amended a bill already in the Senate in May and added new language, bypassing the hurdles that have routinely blocked the legislation’s advancement in the Assembly.
Stone pushed back on that notion and said he tried to talk with Cooper in July.
“You sent me to your staff,” Stone said.
Former Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego also rebutted Cooper’s claims on Twitter and called him a “liar.”
“I spent an hour in his waiting room to meet with him and personally spoke to him about this bill for more than 30 minutes, two years ago,” said Gonzalez. “He refused to meet with me. I forced him by refusing to leave his office.”
Gonzalez, now head of the California Labor Federation, has continued to advocate for the legislation’s advancement.
Wednesday’s fiasco came one day after the Senate passed AB 1577 on a 31-2 vote. If the bill had been approved in the public employment and retirement committee hearing, it would have advanced to an Assembly floor vote.
“We can no longer deny the fact that there is legitimate interest from staff and they should be allowed to make this decision by themselves like other workers,” said Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, on Tuesday. “It’s hypocritical that the legislature claims to fight for workers, and we often do and have fantastic results, but continue to not grant our employees the right to collectively organize.”
Under the legislation, the Assembly speaker and the president pro tempore of the Senate would negotiate with a union representing legislative employees. Any decisions at the bargaining table would have to be ratified by a majority of the unit.
Employees would need to form a union or select one to represent them, and the Legislature would deduct union dues from workers’ paychecks. California’s Public Employment Relations Board would oversee the process.
Recent amendments exempt managerial employees, like a chief of staff, and stipulate that the Legislature can only share non-confidential information with union representatives.
AB 1577 mirrors the 1977 Dill Act, which gave most California state department workers the right to organize. For the last 45 years, the state’s roughly 1,900 legislative employees remained the only branch of the government not allowed to join unions and participate in collective bargaining.
Four years ago, then-Assemblywoman Gonzalez made the first attempt to change that. But the bill repeatedly died in Assembly committees. It failed even though Democrats hold supermajorities in the Assembly and Senate, and count on unions as political allies.
“I’m devastated for the legislature’s hard working staff, 70% of whom reported they want a union... We will continue to support staff,” Gonzalez said in a Tweet.
Last May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR1096, which provided staffers in the House the legal protections to unionize.
California lawmakers supporting the measure said on Tuesday that the bill would help address low pay and poor working conditions. They also noted that the #MeToo movement and pandemic demonstrated a clear need to provide this option for employees. Sen. Wiener said staff will often work 12-14 hour days and often must deal with low pay compared to other public sector agencies.
“I think all of us know how grossly underpaid our staff is,” said Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica. “We lose staff all the time to even other public sector agencies.”
Supporters of the bill also pushed back against notions staff will “sabotage the legislative process,” given that they will join unions who may lobby on behalf of bills or provide political contributions.
“I have complete confidence in our staff and they will be able to navigate these issues with professionalism,” said Wiener.
The Sacramento Bee’s Wes Venteicher contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 8:33 PM.
