Largest California state worker union will give $1M to anti-recall effort after emergency vote

The board of directors of California’s largest state employee union voted Wednesday night to give $1 million to fight the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom, authorizing the donation weeks before a newly elected president who is opposed to the donation takes over.

In a hastily scheduled emergency meeting, the union’s board voted 44 to 9, with five abstentions, to support making the donation to SEIU State Council to help oppose the recall, according to a meeting notice and vote tally.

President-elect Richard Louis Brown, who defeated longtime president Yvonne Walker in an election that was tallied last week, has opposed giving any union money to Newsom. Brown is scheduled to assume the presidency by June 30 under union rules.

“I’m disappointed,” Brown said after learning of the vote’s result. “And this is just another sign of just how afraid the union is of me winning the election.”

Local 1000 spokesman Brian Nash didn’t respond to a question about the result Wednesday night.

Brown pledged during his campaign to “run Newsom out of office,” appealing to union employees frustrated with the pay cuts Newsom’s administration imposed on state workers — with support from the Legislature — last summer, when the state faced a projected $54 billion budget deficit.

State employees were still working at reduced pay during the Local 1000 election, despite the deficit turning to a surplus months ago. Brown won 33% of the vote, defeating four other candidates. About 7,880 of the union’s 54,000 dues-paying members voted in the election.

Newsom said in a budget address last month, during which he announced a $76 billion surplus, that he intends to restore state employees’ pay in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The administration has invited the unions, including Local 1000, to negotiate agreements to restore their pay.

Questions remain about whether the Newsom administration will agree to restore raises that many employees were scheduled to receive last year, but which were suspended at the same time their pay was cut.

Walker is leading those negotiations for Local 1000.

The union posted the results of its election online on May 24.

On May 28, Walker sent out a notice of an emergency June 2 meeting to board members. The meeting’s sole agenda item was a vote on the $1 million donation. The money will come from the union’s Issues PAC, according to the agenda.

“Labor unions in California and across the country are united against this partisan recall effort,” read a statement on the agenda supporting the donation. “As governor, Newsom is fighting for California working families every day. Californians know he has worked in unprecedented times to keep them safe during a global pandemic and is ensuring they are getting on the road to recovery. While Governor, Newsom has demonstrated capable, and focused leadership necessary to get through the health crisis.”

Among those voting “no” were a trio of union vice presidents — Tony Owens, Anica Walls and Kevin Menager — who were elected in 2018 on a message of change, and who have remained at odds with Walker over the last three years. David Jimenez, a newly elected vice president, also voted “no.”

California unions have been lining up behind Newsom in the recall election.

The Professional Engineers in California Government made an early $250,000 donation to support the governor.

The SEIU California State Council announced its support for Newsom two days after the Local 1000 election, and the California Labor Federation announced last week that it would provide a large force of “boots on the ground” to support Newsom.

Brown said during the campaign that he wants to get the union out of politics, try to make it easier for union members to strike, allow non-dues payers to vote in union elections and cut union dues in half, a proposal that he said has met resistance.

“They’re criticizing me for wanting to reduce dues by 50%, yet they want to give a millionaire a million dollars,” he said Wednesday.

Brown said Walker called when the election result was finalized to congratulate him, but that he hasn’t heard from her since.

This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 9:49 PM with the headline "Largest California state worker union will give $1M to anti-recall effort after emergency vote."