03/28/2024

Get a state job and meet your labor rep: How state budget protects California unions

Both measures were discussed by the Legislature last year, but dropped when the Supreme Court deadlocked on a lawsuit that would have banned unions from collecting fees from workers who don’t want to join labor groups.

That stalemate left in place California’s practice of allowing unions to charge fair-share fees to workers who benefit from representation, but don’t pay full dues.

Now, two more so-called right-to-work lawsuits are jockeying to reach the Supreme Court where newly appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch may tip the balance against fair-share fees.

“We may get a decision that eliminates various forms of union security that prevent free riders, so we’re trying to find an alternate message,” said David Rosenfeld, a Bay Area labor attorney.

The measure inviting unions to participate in new employee orientation will give labor groups an opportunity to make their case just as workers begin their jobs.

Many public agencies already allow unions to brief new workers. The budget bill would make that a standard practice across the state.

Its supporters cast it as way to ensure that public employees are well informed about their rights, and about the general workplace environment of their new offices.

“We want a better-trained and well-informed workforce,” said Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, who carried the bill last year. “It really wasn’t about the unions so much as it was just an orientation.”

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