California Democratic lawmakers voted in favor of a measure that would allow striking workers to receive unemployment checks while protesting for better wages and working conditions.
Bill would put workers on strike for two weeks or more in California were eligible to receive up to $450 per week in unemployment insurance benefits and passed the state Senate on Thursday by a vote of 27 to 12.
Senators Anthony Portantino and Maria Elena Durazo and Assemblyman Chris Holden co-authored the bill.
Senate Bill 799 now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, who can sign it into law or veto it.
His signature, however, is not certain. Last year, Newsom vetoed 169 bills and signed nearly 1,000. In 2019, a similar bill failed in the Senate by just two votes.
If approved, California would become the third state to pay unemployment benefits to striking workers, along with New York and New Jersey.
Striking workers in New York and New Jersey are eligible to collect unemployment benefits after two weeks of picketing, but those in California are currently ineligible because they are considered to have left their jobs “voluntarily.”
“Today’s vote was a victory for writers, actors, hotel workers, auto workers, nurses and all workers who have made the difficult sacrifice of going on strike for a better future,” said Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher. , leader of the California Federation of Labor.
The California Chamber of Commerce, which opposed the bill, described it as “a job killer” that puts the state’s resources on the side of striking unions.
With information from the Los Angeles Times and The Sacramento Bee
Keep reading:
– Workers at the big three automakers go on strike for the first time in history
– Messi and Inter Miami support workers’ strike and change hotels in Los Angeles
– Why the US is experiencing the greatest rise in strikes and unionism in 50 years and what economic consequences it has
Source: La Opinion
