Don’t Overlook the Union Factor in California’s Chaos

By Will Swaim
06/12/2025
All social movements require a patron saint. Californians who support illegal immigration believe they have theirs: David Huerta, president of the state’s Service Employees International Union, or SEIU. Federal officers in Los Angeles arrested Huerta during a protest outside a business where ICE was executing a search warrant Friday — just one skirmish in what...

TAGS: California government unions, government unions, Los Angeles

SEIU 721’s Strike Impacts County Services While Union Pushes for Bigger Payouts

By Sheridan Karras
05/01/2025
May 1, 2025 – Yesterday evening, SEIU 721 (a union representing government employees throughout Southern California) wrapped up their two-day strike consisting of more than 55,000 workers. Picketing, protests in Downtown LA, and sitting in the streets have characterized this union strike over a new labor contract with Los Angeles County. On April 29, the...

TAGS: California government unions, California public sector unions, Los Angeles County

SEIU Faces Steep Declines in Membership and Revenue

By Jackson Reese
03/31/2024
SEIU Local 99’s massive strike in LA Unified ended with union leaders bragging that the strike showcased the union’s strength. But the reality is more stark for the union: SEIU is facing steep declines in membership and revenue, and the strike appears more like an act of desperation. According to internal LAUSD documents, the union...

TAGS: California government unions, California public sector unions, public employee unions, seiu, seiu local 1000

California Local Elected Officials: Protect the Independence of Local Governments

By California Policy Center
07/18/2023
Sign the Letter of Opposition to SCA 7 California’s powerful union leaders are at it again. State lawmakers are backing a bill that would give the state’s public-sector unions veto power over any state or local government decision in California. That’s why California Policy Center (CPC) is asking local elected officials among California’s 58 counties...

TAGS: California government unions, California public sector unions, California teachers unions, government employee unions, National Review

A Happy Anniversary for Workers’ Rights

By Houston Reese
06/27/2023
Five years ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the First Amendment right of government workers to opt out of their unions.  In Janus vs AFSCME, decided on June 27, 2018, the Court ruled that public-sector employees have the right to opt out of union representation and cannot be forced to pay union dues....

TAGS: California government unions, California public sector unions, Janus, Janus decision, Janus ruling, Janus v. AFSCME, Mark Janus

Assemblyman Isaac Bryan’s Assault on Working Families

By Edward Ring
04/24/2023
Bryan is also sponsoring a bill to gut California’s 112-year-old initiative and referendum process so voters no longer have veto power over California’s Democrat-controlled legislature. It isn’t hard to figure out who controls everything Assemblyman Isaac Bryan does in the California State Legislature. In the November 2022 election, every single one of the first 29 of...

TAGS: California government unions, California Labor Federation, California Legislature, California public sector unions, California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez

Bounty Hunter Provision Drives CA Civil Rights Dept. Strategy that Hurts Workers & Drives Businesses Out of State

By California Policy Center
04/12/2023
SACRAMENTO —  A California Policy Center report released today reveals that financial incentives allowing California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) to fund its budget through attorney fees has created a monster. Today’s CRD has turned into a litigious bully that steps over plaintiff workers and strong arms companies for the department’s own financial gain — and civil...

TAGS: California government unions, Civil Rights Department, Government Overreach, Press Release

Unionized Public Education is Destroying California

By Edward Ring
03/09/2023
Behind any popular mass movement there are often good ideas and noble objectives. Public sector unions—including teachers’ unions—are no exception.  Organized labor, ideally, offers collective power to ordinary workers and provides a counterweight whenever business interests become exploitative. How to regulate that balance is a topic that deserves vigorous and ongoing debate, but most of...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California government unions, California public sector unions, California Teacher Association, teachers union

Unions Are Behind California’s Latest Wealth Tax Proposal

By Edward Ring
02/16/2023
If at first you don’t succeed, try again. This adage applies well to ideas for new ways to tax Californians. Every election cycle we see new ways to be taxed, and higher tax rates, but rarely will we see a tax get repealed. So it is that Assemblyman Alex Lee (D, San Jose) has introduced Assembly...

TAGS: California government unions, California public sector unions, California taxes, property taxes, tax increases

California Per Capita General Fund Spending Doubles – Where Is It Going?

By Edward Ring
02/13/2023
California’s state government is spending twice as much as it did a decade ago, and by every metric that matters to ordinary Californians, things have only gotten worse. Even without further analysis, this is an incredible fact. California’s state government, in constant dollars, is spending nearly twice as much per resident as it did a...

TAGS: California government unions, Edward Ring, government employee unions, Government Finance, Government Spending, Transparency