This week the California labor movement joins in the celebration of Juneteenth, recognizing the end of slavery in the U.S. with a proclamation in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. While many are aware of the historical significance of this day, few know about its connection to the struggle for workers’ rights and equality for […]
Read MoreHouse Passes Historic Labor Law Reform – What’s Next for the PRO Act?
By Steve Smith The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act passed in the House this week with a 225-206 margin, sending this historic legislation to the US Senate. This bill is the most significant labor law reform legislation since 1935. All California Democrats in Congress voted YES, hearing the voices of workers who demand […]
Read More5 Reasons the CA Legislature Must Say Yes on AB 5
In last April’s landmark, unanimous California Supreme Court ruling in the Dynamex case, the court delivered one of the most pro-worker decisions in decades, enshrining a simple A-B-C test that employers must comply with to designate workers as “independent contractors.” The ruling was made necessary by the growing trend of corporations calling workers contractors just […]
Read MoreLabor Joins Gonzalez Fletcher to Introduce New Bill to Protect Workers from Misclassification
Imagine working side-by-side with others who have all the benefits of being an employee of a company including paid sick days, a minimum wage, workers’ comp, unemployment insurance and more. Now imagine you are doing similar work without any of those protections because your boss decided to call you an “independent contractor” instead of an […]
Read MoreRicardo Lara for Insurance Commissioner
This week we take a closer look at another race where big money is coming in from business interests trying to buy a statewide office that’s important to working people: Insurance Commissioner. In the last week, Steve Poizner, the longtime Republican who is trying to fool voters by running as a No Party Preference (NPP) […]
Read MoreUC Patient Care Workers Demand an End to Inequality, Outsourcing
AFSCME Local 3299 began a three-day strike today at campuses and medical centers across the state, fighting for fair wages, an end to outsourcing and equal treatment for patient care workers at the University of California (UC). For months, workers have demanded fair treatment for women, minorities and immigrant workers, yet UC continues to […]
Read More#MeToo Legislation Leads the Way with Help from Unions
Historically, unions have been the strongest advocate for vulnerable workers in all industries. This year, unions made it a priority to protect all California workers from these abuses.
Read MoreCalifornia First Responders Say “No on Prop 11”
Prop 11 is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. While purporting to be about protecting public safety, it actually strips first responders of their right to meal and rest breaks, which makes their jobs more grueling and makes us all less safe. Thousands of California’s first responders are in jeopardy of losing their right to meal […]
Read MoreCalifornia Labor Federation Applauds Senate Vote in Support of Landmark Measure AB 3080 to Curb Workplace Harassment, End Forced Arbitration
Today, the California state Senate resoundingly rejected the all-too-common practice of companies using forced arbitration to silence workers and strip them of their basic rights.
Read MoreWhat’s the Real Story on Dynamex?
On April 30, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles that made it harder for companies to misclassify workers as independent contractors. In California, the test of employment status has been developed through caselaw over several decades. Dynamex built upon the earlier Court-established […]
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