Today, more than 500 leaders and activists from hundreds of California unions are coming together in Sacramento for Labor’s 2012 Joint Legislative Conference, hosted by the California Labor Federation and the State Building and Construction Trades Council. The annual conference gives union activists from all across the state the chance to get involved in Labor’s policy-making endeavors by learning about and weighing in on our 2012 legislative agenda, hearing from key elected officials and engaging directly with legislators at the Capitol.

The two-day conference will kick off this morning at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento with speeches and special appearances from Labor Secretary Marty Morgenstern, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Assembly Speaker John Perez, Senate Labor Committee Chair Ted Lieu and Assembly Labor Committee Chair Sandre Swanson. Attorney General Kamala Harris will be the featured speaker during the lunch program, and Governor Jerry Brown will headline the dinner program. 

The conference workshops on Day 1 will focus heavily on the series of bills that California Labor is sponsoring this year. Cracking down on wage theft and exploitation, ending discrimination against the unemployed, restoring vital public services and creating good union jobs are just some of Labor’s priorities in 2012. Check out Labor’s full 2012 Legislative Agenda here.

On Day 2, all 500 attendees will be participating in our legislative Lobby Day – a unique opportunity for individuals to meet with their legislators face-to-face and express their support for legislation that will protect workers and rebuild the middle class. This year, we will also be unveiling our new jobs plan that will speed up economic recovery and put people to work right away. The full jobs plan will be available tomorrow at www.CaliforniaLabor.org/Jobs.

For up-to-the-minute news and highlights from the conference, follow us on Twitter @CaliforniaLabor.