Union workers march in the annual Labor Day Parade hosted by the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition on Sept. 5, 2022 in Wilmington, Calif. | Mario Tama/Getty Images
By Alexander Nieves and Owen Tucker-Smith
09/30/2022 09:28 PM EDT
Few players in California’s political ecosystem will have more wins to celebrate this year than organized labor.
Hard-fought battles between the state’s labor unions and business interests over workplace rules annually produce some of the biggest fireworks in Sacramento, and almost always result in at least a few vetoes that leave worker advocates sour. This year Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is cruising to reelection in November, is giving them almost everything they wanted.
“It’s kind of overwhelming, to be honest,” said Lorena Gonzalez, a former Democratic state lawmaker who now heads the California Labor Federation. “Every single one of our sponsored bills that made it to [Newsom’s] desk was signed.”
Topping the list of wins are bills that make it easier for farmworkers to unionize, help set higher minimum wages and conditions in the fast food industry and boost how much employees receive through paid family leave.
Here’s POLITICO’s breakdown of new state workplace laws slated to take effect Jan. 1:
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