Unions

WhatMatters

Newsom on tour: Next stop, San Quentin

In March 2019, as one of his first major decisions in office, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on executions. He later dismantled the lethal injection chamber at San Quentin State Prison — a move that garnered plenty of criticism despite the fact that California has not executed anyone since 2006.  Today — on Day […]

By Lynn La • March 17, 2023

California Divide

California farmworkers just gained the right to vote for unions by mail, but for how long?

California farmworkers marched 335 miles last year to pressure Gov. Gavin Newsom on a law that would help them unionize. Then the union agreed to give back a key win.

By Nicole Foy • March 6, 2023

Capitol

Rules for thee: How California Legislature skirts its own laws

State legislators sometimes exempt themselves from the laws they pass, but this session, they could change course on an emblematic bill: To allow their own staffers to form a union.

By Sameea Kamal • February 6, 2023

WhatMatters

UC strike could stretch on despite tentative deal

A dispatch from CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn: UC striking workers are facing a high-stakes game of Deal or No Deal. Friday evening, the University of California and the negotiating team representing 36,000  striking academic workers approved a tentative agreement to end the five-week work stoppage — thought to be the largest-ever labor action […]

By Emily Hoeven • December 19, 2022

WhatMatters

Newsom faces two tough labor decisions

Headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk are two highly controversial labor-backed bills that could test the limits of the governor’s commitment to progressive policy as he seeks to elevate his national profile and appeal to voters in other states. Among the pile of bills that state lawmakers greenlighted in marathon Monday floor sessions as they […]

By Emily Hoeven • August 30, 2022

Housing

Labor unions have a week to agree on housing bills. Can they do it?

Some of the most powerful groups in the state are at an impasse regarding key housing legislation. Politicians will likely have to choose between alienating a powerful union and streamlining affordable housing development.

By Manuela Tobias • August 22, 2022

WhatMatters

Clash of the titans

The end of the legislative year is upon us and that can only mean one thing in California: We’re about to have another loud debate about a controversial housing bill. It’s a Sacramento tradition years in the making. Legislators like to wait until the last minute (sometimes literally) to consider the year’s most contentious pieces […]

By Ben Christopher • August 22, 2022

WhatMatters

Who’s atop the food chain in California?

This is CalMatters political reporter Ben Christopher, filling in for Emily who is out sick. Feel better, Emily! Fast food workers and labor advocates wrapped up two days of marching, chanting and mariachi playing around the state Capitol on Wednesday, part of a years-long campaign for a legislative proposal that could transform California’s fast food […]

By Ben Christopher • August 18, 2022

California Divide

California’s fast food bill could link chains to wage theft and other workplace violations

Proponents say AB 257 could curb wage theft, but restaurateurs say it could raise costs and prices and fundamentally change relationships with fast food chains.

By Jeanne Kuang • August 17, 2022

California Divide

Study says California employers fail to keep food, farm workers safe from COVID

A new report uses Cal/OSHA data to show how California food production employers failed to keep workers safe from COVID-19.

By Levi Kalish • July 7, 2022