New California union leader tries to block $1 million donation to Newsom recall defense

The newly elected president of California state government’s largest public employee union is trying to block a potential $1 million contribution from his union to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign.

Richard Louis Brown, president-elect of SEIU Local 1000, doesn’t yet have power to hold up the union’s support for Newsom. Brown isn’t scheduled to take office until the end of June. The union announced his victory one week ago, unseating longtime Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker.

During his campaign, Brown said he wanted to “run Gavin Newsom out of office” because of the pay cuts Newsom and the Legislature demanded from state workers last year when the state braced for a severe recession in the coronavirus pandemic.

Brown this week on social media is charging that SEIU Local 1000 on Wednesday plans to hold an emergency board of directors meeting where its leaders plan to discuss the union’s support for Newsom as he faces a recall election.

Brown contends the union is considering a $1 million contribution to Newsom’s recall defense.

“This eleventh-hour action is being brought to a vote during SEIU’s lame-duck period, and I hope the council will support me in fulfilling my campaign platform and that together we can find common ground to bring much-needed change for represented members and their families,” Brown said in a statement.

SEIU Local 1000 represents about 96,000 public sector employees in nine bargaining units across California. It declined to comment on Brown’s social media posts or its board meeting.

Other members like Robert Bayze, president of a Local 1000 district labor council, are also opposed to a $1 million donation to Newsom’s anti-recall committee. Bayze said the governor has the support and financial backing of many unions, and that money should instead go to SEIU 1000’s strike fund.

Bayze introduced an amendment for the Wednesday meeting that calls for the board to maintain a “no position” on the recall, while authorizing $1 million to the union’s strike fund.

“The Local 1000 election that just took place last week was a referendum on political spending in a time when members have seen their salaries dramatically decreased,” Bayze wrote in the amendment, saying the union should stay out of politics and focus on their own organization.

Brown’s decision not to back the Democratic governor is in contrast to several high-profile labor groups that have condemned the recall, including the SEIU California State Council. Local 1000 is a part of SEIU California.

The state council a day after Brown’s election victory released a statement emphasizing its support for Newsom.

“SEIU California is strongly backing Gov. Gavin Newsom as he fights the distracting and costly partisan recall. Governor Newsom has had our back through unprecedented crises, and now we have his,” SEIU California President Bob Schoonover said.

On Tuesday, labor leaders and workers joined the California Labor Federation in condemning the recall. The group plans to deploy 10,000 volunteers to go door-to-door in support of Newsom.

When asked about Brown’s dissent, Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the federation, said he “never second guesses the leaders of local unions.”

“They take positions because of politics inside their union,” he said. “But I have a feeling that (Brown) may come around at some point. I’m not going to second-guess him.”

Brown says his reluctance to support Newsom stems from pay cuts for state workers the governor authorized at the start of the pandemic.

Newsom said in a recent budget address that his administration plans to restore pay for state employees in the new fiscal year, which starts July 1.

This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 2:52 PM with the headline "New California union leader tries to block $1 million donation to Newsom recall defense."