California Republicans want to make it easier for their staffers to unionize.
The state Legislature cleared a major hurdle, passing Assembly Bill 1, which would give 1,800 legislative employees who are not supervisors the ability to form a union. While none of the three Republicans in the state Senate voted in favor of the measure earlier this month, nine Republicans in the state Assembly joined Democrats in May to open the door for collective bargaining.
This includes aides, committee staff and communications representatives working for the Legislature in Sacramento—the only branch of state government that does not allow their employee to form a union.
The legislation is expected to be of particular benefit to Republican staffers, who were revealed to make 18 percent less, on average, than their Democratic counterparts, according to an analysis from Politico. A review of salary data found that Democratic staff earn a median salary of $87,620, compared to the Republicans’ $72,220, even though Democratic legislators had twice the staff of their Republican counterparts.
The California State Capitol on February 1, 2023, in Sacramento. California Republicans want to make it easier for their staffers to unionize.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
“Our constituents shouldn’t receive half the staff support simply because their representative has an ‘R’ or ‘D’ after their name,” Republican Assembly member Laurie Davies, who voted in support of Assembly Bill 1, told Newsweek on Wednesday. “Where is the fairness in that? It smacks of hypocrisy.
“I don’t discriminate on my constituents based on their political affiliation. My office provides services to anybody who needs it. My support for AB 1 stems from the fact I see every day how hard my staff works and how underpaid they are compared to their Democratic counterparts who do the same job.”
Davies was joined by Assembly members Phillip Chen, Heath Flora, Josh Hoober, Tom Lackey, Devon Mathis, Joe Patterson and Marie Waldron in backing the Democratic-led measure.
Assembly member Tina McKinnor, who authored the bill, said it was important to allow legislative staff to partake in collective bargaining “to make sure there’s no bullying or sexual harassment.
“Our staff is not asking for a favor or a handout,” McKinnor told KCRA-TV in May. “They’re asking to be treated like any other state staffer, to have the same rights as any other state staffer.”
The Politico analysis noted that the wage disparities were structural. Because the California Legislature is overwhelmingly Democratic, Republicans don’t get the financial benefits that come with the budgets from committees or Capitol leadership. They don’t hold any chair or leadership positions.
“Republican staff are significantly underpaid,” said Andrew Mendoza, Lackey’s legislative director. “It is unsustainable and many of us make a lot of personal sacrifices for our jobs.”
But a spokesperson for Assembly member Robert Rivas, a Democrat, said because each legislator controls how much to pay their staff, Republicans could raise those salaries in theory, saying, “If Republicans pay their staffers less…you’ll have to ask them why.”
While there is Republican support for legislative staffers to unionize, others, like Minority Leader James Gallagher, said there’s no need for a union.
“It’s political,” he told Politico. “It’s kind of been the case for a long time now that Republican members in the minority don’t have the same staffing.”
Assembly Bill 1 now awaits Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval or veto, though McKinnor said she has faith that he will push it past the finish line.
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