A groundbreaking new law, initiated by Teamsters Local 2010, beefs up legal protections for workers against employer Union-busting! Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 931 into law on Sep. 29, adding significant financial penalties for public institutions, like the University of California and California State University, that are found guilty of union-busting.
Senate Bill 931 was principally sponsored by the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council and co-sponsored by the California Labor Federation, SEIU State Council, and AFSCME California.
The new law imposes significant penalties on public employers, including the UC and CSU, for unlawfully attempting to deter or discourage employees from joining or participating in a union. It cracks down on public employers that have illegally and repeatedly sent out anti-union communications to existing bargaining units or workers attempting to organize, creating a substantial penalty of $1,000 per affected employee for violating the law while also allowing a prevailing union to recover attorney’s fees.
This is a historic win for countless workers who want to join a union to win better pay, benefits, and fair treatment at work. For decades, greedy employers have run roughshod over workers’ rights, engaging in illegal union-busting activity because our labor laws have no teeth. SB 931 helps end this injustice, for the first time creating meaningful penalties that protect workers. We hope other states and Congress will follow California’s lead to protect workers’ rights to form a union everywhere.
Under prior rules, even when the Public Employment Relations Board sided with the union, its only remedy was to issue a cease-and-desist order requiring an employer to post notice of its
violations.
SB 931 is now the model for public sector labor law enforcement in other states and for efforts to strengthen federal labor law by creating significant financial penalties for unfair labor practices committed by employers!