Hi Folks,
The big news of the day: AB SIGNED INTO LAW! A monumental victory for working people. With AB 5 signed, California positioned itself as a national leader in fighting worker misclassification and holding corporations accountable. The labor movement took on some of the biggest corporations in the world to pass this critical bill. And we won!
This victory was a direct result of workers organizing to build power. Massive gig corporations lobbied heavily to defeat AB 5 but in the end, worker power won out. Thanks to all the unions that made this victory happen. And a special thanks to all workers who tirelessly advocated for AB 5 in the legislature and in the streets. See our statement on AB 5 being signed into law here. Graphics here.
The other big news of the week: STRIKES! Nearly 50,000 GM workers are on strike across the country. 80,000 Kaiser workers announced they will go on strike in October. More below.
Here’s your weekly update.
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STRIKEWAVE!
This week nearly 50,000 GM workers walked off the job in their fight for a fair contract from the large automaker. The strike comes on the heels of other successful strike actions by teachers, hotel and grocery workers, UC workers and more.
As Steve Greenhouse writes in the NY Times, the autoworker strike is bigger than GM. It’s about all of us. We strand in strong solidarity with GM workers across the contract as they put it all on the line to better their own lives, strengthen their communities and push back against corporate excess and power.
For Strike graphics to show solidarity, click here.
For updates on the strike, view the UAW GM page here.
In other important strike news, this week the Coalition of Kaiser Unions announced that more than 80,000 Kaiser Permanente workers will walk off the job on October 14 in the largest strike action in more than two decades. The strike will include Kaiser workers in six states, including California, and the District of Columbia. The seven-day unfair labor practices strike will be the nation’s largest since the Teamsters UPS strike in 1997.
“We believe the only way to ensure our patients get the best care is to take this step,” said Eric Jines, a radiologic technologist at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles. “Our goal is to get Kaiser to stop committing unfair labor practices and get back on track as the best place to work and get care. There is no reason for Kaiser to let a strike happen when it has the resources to invest in patients, communities and workers.”
The Coalition includes California unions SEIU-UHW, OPEIU Locals 29 and 30, IFPTE 20 and SEIU 121RN.
More to come on how you can support this critically important strike in coming weeks. And to keep updated, visit http://www.KaiserKeepThriveAlive.com
The legislative session wrapped Friday of last week with a number of important bills for workers and unions headed to the Governor’s desk. While AB 5 was a huge victory, there were many other critical bills that passed. Here’s some highlights.
— AB 51 (Gonzalez): Prohibits forced arbitration on the job.
— AB 378 (Limon): Allows childcare providers to unionize.
— AB 485 (Medina): Requires warehouse developers to disclose job quality information before getting local economic subsidies.
— AB 731 (Kalra): Expands rate review for healthcare cost increases.
— AB 1505 (O’Donnell): Gives more local control over approval process of charter schools.
— SB 5 (Beall): Creates a permanent funding source for affordable housing.
— AB 290 (Wood): Rate-setting for large dialysis clinics with consumer protections for patients.
— AB 392 (Weber): Prohibits law enforcement from using deadly force except when necessary, rather than simply reasonable. SIGNED!
— AB 1482 (Chiu): Caps rent increases to prevent rent gouging and requires just cause eviction.
This is only a partial list. There are many other good bills unions and workers supported that are on the Governor’s desk. The Governor now has 30 days to sign or veto. We’ll have a full roundup in a few weeks. Congratulations to all on a successful legislative session!
Voters support AB 5!
A new Emerson poll shows California voters support AB 5 by a 2-1 margin. 50% of voters support while only 24% oppose. That’s important given the gig companies’ threat of a ballot measure. Clearly, we have a lot of work to do to raise awareness about gig workers’ rights, but we start in a good place. We beat the gig corporations in the legislature and we’ll beat them at the ballot, if necessary!
Full poll here, which includes the California presidential primary horserace.
Lasting Solutions for America’s Temporary Workers via NELP
“Today’s signing of AB 5 is one of the most significant victories for workers in a generation. For far too long, big corporations skirted their responsibility to provide basic protections to workers by calling them independent contractors instead of recognizing them as employees. With his signature on AB 5, Gov. Newsom sends a clear message that blatant exploitation of working people won’t be tolerated in California.” – Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski
Our full statement here
East Bay Express
Reform of the Gig Economy is a Wonderful Thing
San Francisco Chronicle
Uber’s uncomfortable relationship with the law
Vox
Uber’s baffling claim that its drivers aren’t core to its business, explained
NYT
Take That ‘Gig’ and Shove it
LA Times
Newsom signs bill rewriting California employment law, limiting use of independent contractors
Financial Times
California bill is antidote to Uber and Lyft’s excesses
Business Insiders
Amazon’s Whole Foods is cutting medical benefits for hundreds of part-time workers
LA Times
80,000-plus Kaiser workers may strike Oct. 14, but talks continue
Join us for a conversation with book author and longtime New York Times labor correspondent, Steven Greenhouse. His latest book, Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor, is an in-depth look at working men and women in America, the challenges they face, and how they can be re-empowered. Flyer here
When: Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Time: 5 pm – 6:30 pm
Where: ESC- IFPTE Local 20,
810 Clay Street, Oakland
ac/tng39521/cwa/afl-cio