Union town

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THE BUZZ: What do you get when you put three candidates and 500 union members in a ballroom together?

The beginnings of a very competitive California Senate race.

Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff joined the California Labor Federation in Sacramento on Sunday night for their first-ever appearance together since each launched their campaigns to succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein. It was a chance not only for the three to give voters a side-by-side-by-side comparison in real time, but also an opportunity to curry favor with one of the most critical sectors of the electorate — organized labor.

The candidates hobnobbed with members over cocktails in the downtown Sheraton’s lobby before moving into the ballroom. California Labor Fed leader Lorena Gonzalez and Andrew Meredith, head of the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California, moderated the chat for the audience, which consisted of workers from some of the federation’s 1,200 member unions. It was specifically not a debate, Gonzalez said, but a chance for members to hear from the candidates as they prepare for endorsement votes later this year.

“We have three candidates who have stellar records for organized labor,” Gonzalez said. “It’s an embarrassment of riches, quite frankly.”

It’s hard to understate the power of labor in California. Unions are frequently among the top donors to campaigns and top spenders when it comes to lobbying, and can deploy an army of precinct-marchers and door-knockers for whomever should be so lucky to win their favor. Notably, it was labor that rallied tens of thousands to help beat back the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

And for what has historically been a formidable force, the labor movement in California has grown steadily louder since the pandemic, manifesting in high-profile actions in Sacramento and across the state — pushing hard on housing bills, retention rights, and a bill to unionize Legislative staff in addition to high-profile strikes by L.A. teachers and Hollywood writers.

The three senatorial hopefuls worked to capitalize on that momentum Sunday night, speaking forcefully about the workers rights and doing their best to rile up the room with their pro-union talking points.

Schiff led the audience in chants to pass the labor-backed PRO Act. Lee got cheers for being arrested while marching with a union in Berkeley. And Porter got one of the biggest pops of the night when she called union-busting in the name of industry transformation “some real bullshit.”

A Senate race between three popular Democrats with powerful fundraising machines will be competitive, and labor’s blessing could be the difference between victory and failure. The California Labor Federation won’t make its endorsement until December. But as the audience swarmed the candidates afterwards to shake hands and take selfies, one worker, Claudia Fletcher of the flight attendants union, said a decision will be tough.

“There’s too much good talent,” she said. “I think it’s a good problem, quite frankly.”

BUENOS DÍAS, good Monday morning. The Labor Fed’s joint legislative conference continues today in Sacramento with some big headliners — including a luncheon chat with Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Attorney General Rob Bonta. This evening, Gov. Gavin Newsom takes the stage for remarks at dinner.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up at [email protected] and [email protected] or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.

WHERE’S GAVIN? In Sacramento, delivering remarks at the California Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Reparations are not a luxury for our people, but a human right long overdue for millions of Americans.” Lee at a Saturday meeting of the California Reparations Task Force. More on that below.

BONUS QOTD: “I want people to look at me and say ‘Hey, that Doug Emhoff guy, he stepped away from his career that he loved to support the first woman vice president. And if he can do that, and she’s able to do that, maybe I’ll throw my hat in the ring.’” The second gentlemen talking about his legacy with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Joe Garofoli.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

WE’RE HIRING — POLITICO is embarking on an exciting expansion in the Golden State and looking for another journalist to join our growing team as a California Playbook author. More in the job description here.

Top Talkers

— California reparations panel OKs state apology, payments, by The Associated Press’ Sophie Austin: “The nine-member committee, which first convened nearly two years ago, gave final approval at a meeting in Oakland to a hefty list of proposals that now go to state lawmakers to consider for reparations legislation. U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, who is cosponsoring a bill in Congress to study restitution proposals for African Americans, at the meeting called on states and the federal government to pass reparations legislation.”

— “Dianne Feinstein has to act,” by The New York Times’ Editorial Board: “If she cannot fulfill her obligations to the Senate and to her constituents, she should resign and turn over her responsibilities to an appointed successor. If she is unable to reach that decision on her own, Mr. Schumer, the majority leader, and other Democratic senators should make it clear to her and the public how important it is that she do so.”

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

— “Protesters disrupt De León’s Cinco de Mayo presentation during council meeting; 1 arrested,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Julia Wick and David Zahniser: “Several protesters in the chamber started shouting as a representative of the Mexican Consulate, standing at the front of the room next to De León, was speaking. Council President Paul Krekorian interrupted the presentation to call for the protesters to be removed, as often happens during council meetings.”

MAYOR TO MAYOR — “Gavin Newsom wants to reform San Quentin State Prison. A Sacramento leader will help him,” by The Sacramento Bee’s Lindsey Holden: “Newsom on Friday announced he is tapping Mayor Darrell Steinberg to lead the San Quentin Transformation Advisory Council, which will help reform the prison with more programming that pushes education and services over the existing punitive model. The 16-member council will develop a plan to change San Quentin, which houses about 3,900 inmates, into a prison modeled after those in Scandinavian countries known for their more humane systems of incarceration.”

— “San Bernardino County paid $1.1 million ransom to hacker of Sheriff’s Department computers,” by the Southern California News Group’s Brian Rokos: “David Wert, a county spokesman, said the county had anticipated such a computer invasion and had taken out insurance. He said that of the $1.1 million payout, the county’s share was $511,852 and that the insurance company paid the rest.”

— “Here’s why S.F. Mayor Breed is going on a weeklong trip to Israel,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mallory Moench and J.D. Morris: “Private donors, largely from the Bay Area’s Jewish community, are funding the trip, which costs about $7,500 per person, not including airfare. San Francisco taxpayers will only cover the cost of Breed’s security, the mayor’s office said.”

SNIFF TEST — “Is your food really going bad? California bill would ban ‘sell by’ labels,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Dustin Gardiner: “The dates listed on food packaging often don’t reflect the true expiration date because there is no law requiring uniformity on such food labels in the United States. Confusion over expiration dates accounts for an estimated 20 percent of food waste nationwide every year, according to the Food and Drug Administration.”

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

— AI’s footprint in the workplace spreads as D.C. stalls on guardrails, by POLITICO’s Nick Niedzwiadek and Olivia Olander: The roughly 11,500 television and movie screenwriters unionized under the Writers Guild of America went on strike [last] week, in part over their concerns about studios potentially using AI to generate scripts and threaten jobs in an already precarious industry. It is one of the first high-profile labor standoffs to feature a dispute between workers and management over the issue, which is rippling across the economy.

MIXTAPE

— “Davis is a city of characters and compassion. How a serial killer’s rampage shattered its soul,” by The Sacramento Bee’s Ryan Lillis, Sam Stanton and Ariane Lange.

— “Who counts as a real Democrat in S.F.? Infighting on left reaches new lows,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Heather Knight.

— “Liz Holmes wants you to forget about Elizabeth,” by The New York Times’ Amy Chozick.

BIRTHDAYS

(Was Saturday): J&Z Strategies co-founder Mac Zilber

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Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter omitted the name of Andrew Meredith as one of the moderators.