Two worker law fights to watch

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Wednesday Mar 15,2023 01:11 pm

Mar 15, 2023

By Jeremy B. White, Lara Korte, Ramon Castanos and Matthew Brown

THE BUZZ: What do Uber drivers and McDonald’s line cooks have in common? They’re central to evolving California labor battles.

Unions have long sought ways to organize workers in the app-summoned gig economy and the fast-food industry. In both cases, organized labor sees underpaid and exploited workforces that are ripe for representation. Employers see efforts they must stymie in California to avert them nationally. Those fights have ricocheted from the Legislature to the ballot to the Legislature again.

An appeals court largely vindicated the gig tech industry on Monday, upholding most of Proposition 22 after companies spent more than $200 million to pass the measure exempting them from overhauling their business models by treating workers as employees. But the court may have shifted the action back to the Legislature, dissolving the initiative’s prohibitively difficult 7/8ths vote requirement for the Legislature to pass bills letting gig workers organize.

The gig coalition believes that standard could still apply to follow-up laws. But unions see something to build on. “We got a ruling that tells these workers what they have a right to, and we have to see how we wish to proceed,” SEIU California President David Huerta said in an interview. A legislative fight could re-enact a union-splitting debate over AB 5, the classification law that led to Prop 22, when one idea discussed was a novel gig worker organizing model that circumvented the contractor/employer question.

The franchise restaurant fight has followed a similar path to the gig struggle. The 2022 law regulating franchise labor was a major labor victory that carved a path to organizing. The industry went to the ballot, this time with a referendum. That has shifted the action back to Sacramento, where AB 257’s author is again pursuing joint liability. In both cases, Huerta said, industry sought to “circumvent the power of the Legislature.” Business groups argue they are preventing overreaching laws that will eliminate jobs and burden consumers.

A confirmation struggle over President Joe Biden’s next secretary of labor illustrates the national stakes. Julie Su was California’s head labor official before she joined the Biden administration and got the call for the top federal job. Depending who you’re asking about Su’s time in California, when she enforced AB 5, she was either a righteous champion of working people or a scourge to a thriving business sector.

Parallels between Biden’s labor agenda and Sacramento’s are easy to spot. The federal PRO Act, which Biden urged Congress to pass during his State of the Union address, would use California’s adopted framework to determine which workers are employees and thus able to organize. The International Franchise Association is battling both California’s fast food law and Su’s ascension, in part because she spoke encouragingly to supporters during the law’s march to Newsom.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Wednesday morning. Today, Rep. Barbara Lee becomes the latest Senate hopeful to make the pilgrimage to Rossmoor, the Democratic retirees club where Rep. Katie Porter held her first campaign event. Porter will be making her first campaign stop in the Sacramento area as she meets with UC Davis students. And Vice President Kamala Harris will be discussing reproductive rights in Iowa — a state that happens to be a presidential primary heavyweight.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up at jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “So let’s finish the job. Ban assault weapons. Ban them again. Do it now. Enough. Do something. Do something big.” President Joe Biden in Monterey Park.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

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BONUS TOTD:

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WHERE’S GAVIN? In Monterey County to "talk about flooding."

PLAYBOOK MEET & GREET! Join California Playbook and POLITICO’s growing team in Sacramento at Smic’s Sip & Quip on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, for an evening of cocktails and conversation. As POLITICO expands in California, we want to more frequently convene our most influential readers in Sacramento and beyond. Swing by and have a cocktail on us—you never know who you might run into! Register here.

TOP TALKERS

— “The Ron Conway Bailout,” by Puck’s Theodore Schleifer: “But as the so-called Godfather of Silicon Valley who has worked in the industry longer than SVB has even existed, he understood the bank’s interconnectedness more intimately than anyone else — the manner in which the bank provided the liquidity for the broader tech economy.”

— “Her mother disappeared. Then her babysitter. A lawman fears she might be next,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Hannah Wiley: “A moment of hope came weeks before Risling disappeared, when she was arrested on suspicion of starting a small fire in a cemetery on the Hoopa Valley reservation, where she was an enrolled member and spent much of her time.”

CAMPAIGN MODE

— “California's Dem Senate hopefuls vie for higher ground over Silicon Valley Bank debacle,” by POLITICO’s Nicholas Wu and Sam Sutton: “As Silicon Valley Bank hurtled to insolvency, the Orange County Democrat leaned on those bonafides to spotlight a bipartisan 2018 bill that, she argues, carved up landmark Wall Street reforms that were put in place after the last global financial crisis.”

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

— “L.A. riders bail on Metro trains amid 'horror' of deadly drug overdoses, crime,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Rachel Uranga: The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported that between November and January there were 26 medical emergencies at the station, the majority of them suspected drug overdoses. Last year, there were six deaths and one shooting, nearly all related to suspected drug activity. Earlier this year, a 28-year-old man was fatally stabbed in a breezeway of the station.

— “Exclusive: S.F. Mayor Breed and supervisor propose separate efforts to speed up housing development,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Roland Li: Under Breed’s proposal, the Planning Department would handle design, environmental review and zoning approvals for site permits rather than the Department of Building Inspection.

— “Age, drought, rodents and neglect weaken California levees, heightening flood danger,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Susanne Rust and Ian James: “Throughout Northern California, the Central Valley and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, there are more than 13,000 miles of levees designed to protect dry land from floods, deliver drinking water, and protect homes, businesses, and agriculture from flooding.”

— “Special prosecutor resigns from 'Rust' case after Alec Baldwin's lawyers call for her removal,” by NBC News’ Diana Dasrath and Tim Stelloh: “A special prosecutor in the involuntary manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin announced her resignation Tuesday, weeks after Baldwin’s legal team said her participation was unconstitutional.”

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

— “Democrats, led by Warren and Porter, unveil bill to repeal Trump-era bank law,” by NBC News’ Sahil Kapur: “The Warren-Porter bill would restore the threshold established in 2010 for enhanced capital requirements and stress tests in an attempt to prevent future failures like those at SVB and Signature Bank last week.”

— Maxine Waters to return political donation from Silicon Valley Bank, by POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs, Jessica Piper and Holly Otterbein: “The top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters of California, said she plans to return the campaign contribution she received from Silicon Valley Bank.”

SILICON VALLEYLAND

— “Silicon Valley Bank quietly laid off some employees as tech firms in its backyard also slashed jobs,” by NBC News’ Brian Cheung and Ben Goggin: “The layoffs, done in January, represented only about 1.4 percent of SVB's 8,500 employees. Two people familiar with the layoffs, who spoke on the condition on anonymity, told NBC News that the layoffs appeared to be concentrated in nonclient-facing roles, particularly in recruiting and talent acquisition.”

MIXTAPE

— “San Francisco board receptive to ambitious reparations plan,” by The Associated Press’ Janie Har

— “TODCO exec resumes climb to power after rape accusation,” by The San Francisco Standard’s Josh Koehn

— Eight people rescued from San Gabriel River in Azusa, search called off for possible ninth victim, by the Los Angeles Times’ Nathan Solis

— “Silicon Valley Bank made itself perfect for wineries. Then their accounts froze.,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Esther Mobley

— “Do-not-eat listing draws lawsuit from Maine lobster industry,” by The Associated Press’ Patrick Whittle

— S.F. supervisor floats plan to slash parklet fees, by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mario Cortez

— “The Lucas museum finds your lack of faith disturbing,” by The New York Times’ Adam Nagourney

TRANSITIONS

— Newsom has appointed Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. Cooper was a staunch law enforcement ally during his time in the Assembly.

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