Unions

The United Farm Workers, which represents nearly 7,000 workers, won a unionization vote in Stanislaus County. It’s the first such win in six years and first under a law that went into effect in May.

Newsom, one of California's most liberal governors, rejected many bills favored by the left, giving progressives a handful of victories.

If California's new U.S. senator runs in the 2024 election, she would likely have to court labor unions' support, quickly. But with three other labor-friendly Democrats already winning union backing, time and resources are running out.

Up against an Oct. 14 deadline and with more than 700 bills on his desk heading into the weekend, Gov. Gavin Newsom decided the fate of bills —  a lot of bills.  The governor’s office put out a big batch of nearly 150 actions on Saturday, a second one on Sunday of about 130 and […]

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal:  Starting next year, workers in California will be entitled to at least five days of paid sick leave — up from the current three days.  Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature is a win for labor groups, for whom the bill authored by Sen. Lena Gonzalez was a top priority. But […]

California health care giant Kaiser Permanente could not reach a contract to avert a strike by a union coalition representing some 75,000 employees in five states. The walkout is expected to last three days.

From CalMatters politics reporter Yue Stella Yu: Two Californians made history Tuesday in our nation’s capital — one starting a new job, the other losing theirs. Laphonza Butler took the oath of office as a U.S. senator, succeeding the late Dianne Feinstein and becoming the first Black and openly LGBTQ woman to serve in the […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom did not make his pick to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein promise not to run for a full term in 2024. So as Laphonza Butler prepares to get sworn into office today, that’s the big question hanging over her — and the U.S. Senate race next year. As CalMatters’ new politics […]

With tears in her eyes, Anneisha Williams, a Jack in the Box employee from Inglewood, lifted the piece of paper that was Assembly Bill 1228 with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fresh signature. The measure will raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour next April and create a council to set labor […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom has decided the fate of two more high-profile bills — one on criminal justice and the other on public schools. On Monday, the governor signed Senate Bill 14 into law, reclassifying child sex trafficking into a serious felony that increases prison sentences, saying that “California is going further to protect kids.” Sen. […]