Thursday, June 19, 2025

Threat to WECA Apprenticeship Program - AB 889

We are concerned that Assembly Bill 889 by Assembly Member Heather Hadwick (R) from Northeastern California (AD 1) will reduce journey worker contributions to WECA’s apprenticeship program. To date, Hadwick has refused to adopt modest amendments to her bill that we have suggested.

We are keeping a close eye on when AB 889 could be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee, but anticipate an early July hearing.

As this proposed legislation continues through the process, we will be reaching out to you to contact your local Senator when the time is right – please keep an eye out for that request in future communications.

Your support will be crucial. 

If you have questions about AB 889 and our efforts, contact Richard Markuson or Rex Hime, richard@pacificadvocacygroup.com or rhime@goweca.com.

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Biden PLA Mandate to Stay, Per Trump Trump’s OMB director Russell Vought said the Trump administration supports the use of PLAs when those agreements are “practicable and cost effective, and blanket deviations prohibiting the use of PLAs are precluded.” The Trump administration has indicated it will not rescind a Biden-era rule mandating the use of project labor agreements on large publicly funded jobs. After months of court cases and federal agencies announcing deviations from Federal Acquisition Regulation rules regarding PLA use, a Thursday Office of Management and Budget memo to federal agencies and department heads sought to unmuddy the waters. (Excuse me while I go vomit)

Michael Bellaman, president and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors, said the decision “cannot be reconciled with the president’s philosophies of merit, fairness, and nondiscrimination because it inhibits fair and open competition and prioritizes special interests over taxpayers and workers.”

Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, laid out the Trump administration’s position in a June 12 memo in response to agencies issuing what was termed “overly broad” deviations from Federal Acquisition Regulation provisions related to the labor pacts.

Readers will need to be sitting down as they read this article because it represents the first time DJT said one thing during campaigning, and another thing after.

The move follows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying in February that he was directing the U.S. Defense Dept. to remove language requiring agreement mandates from contracts worth $35 million or more, and the U.S. General Services Administration announcing soon after it was also removing requirements from land port of entry projects.

Curiously, neither the State Building and Construction Trades Council nor the NBTU have said anything about Vought’s memo. I reached out to my contacts in the Trump Administration, but they hadn’t been given the spin document yet.

Bloomberg captured it succinctly: “The White House budget office is pushing federal agencies to use union project labor agreements, an unexpected move that will be a major win for organized labor and continue a Biden-era policy.” Story

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Alarms Sound Over Record State Spending and Growing Deficits Well on his way to his race for President, or arrest, Governor Gavin Newsom is dealing with some big budget mess. Rob Lapsley summed it up as “California is poised to continue with near-record-breaking spending, despite economic uncertainty, especially around federal funding. The Legislature’s plan commits more than $232 billion from the General Fund, nearly $90 billion in special funds, and billions more in bond expenditures, all while the state continues to face a chronic structural deficit of $10 to $20 billion in the General Fund and billions more in special funds.” More

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U.S. Steel Power Grab Should Terrify Every American Jon Fleischman has been tracking the acquisition of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel, and one detail he believes should make every freedom-loving American very, very worried. Buried in this $14.9 billion deal is what is called a “golden share”—a single piece of preferred stock that hands the federal government veto power over a private company’s most basic decisions. Under this deal, the federal government can now block U.S. Steel’s board appointments, dictate where they build factories, and override countless other business decisions. He argues, “This isn’t capitalism—this is the kind of state control you see in China, where the Communist Party pulls the strings of every major corporation, or in Russia, where Putin’s cronies decide which businesses live or die.” More

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Legislature Approves Budget Without Union-Supported Tax Hikes and Missing Many Key Elements. Both houses of the Legislature approved a placeholder budget (SB 101, Wiener) on June 13 that doesn’t include any of the corporate tax increases sought by progressive lawmakers and public employee labor unions in recent weeks. The legislative plan directs the legislative analyst to “develop tax reform options” by November for consideration in next year’s budget. It includes the governor’s proposal to require financial institutions to use a single sales factor when apportioning income to the state of California. Several lawmakers made it clear during committee hearings that the “budget reforms” they support involve large tax increases targeted at major corporations, especially those with large workforces that do not provide healthcare benefits to all their workers. [Caltax]

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Supervisor Race Enters Home Stretch

In two weeks, South San Diego County voters will determine San Diego’s political future. The race to represent a vacant South County seat on the County Board of Supervisors is down to the wire. The deadline to vote is July 1. Supporters of Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and Chula Vista Mayor John McCann have spent close to $1 million so far, most of it in the past few weeks, according to the latest analysis. Polls indicate a tight race, with neither candidate holding a decisive lead. VOSD South County reporter, Jim Hinch, has followed the election closely. Check out their South County Decides homepage for full coverage (including in-depth Q&As with the candidates) analysis of top issues and the latest on the money race.

Hinch also delved into each candidate’s background, including McCann’s ties to a businesswoman convicted of fraud, questions raised by a real estate promotion and Aguirre’s record of unpaid bills. Last week, responding to questions about Aguirre’s failure to pay a three-year-old $2,600 tax bill on the Imperial Beach condominium she and her husband own, a campaign spokesperson said Aguirre had arranged a payment plan and was caught up on the bill. A copy of that payment plan later sent by Aguirre’s campaign shows Aguirre and her husband arranged the plan three weeks ago, on May 21. The previous day, May 20, conservative commentator Amy Reichert had made the delinquent tax bill a campaign issue by posting a screenshot of it. Asked why Aguirre and her husband waited three years to address the bill, campaign consultant Dan Rottenstreich said the 2022 bill “got lost in the shuffle.”

“After a number of letters [from county tax authorities] over a couple of years, [Aguirre and her husband] called the tax collector and mortgage company. They started dealing with it,” Rottenstreich said. “It takes time.” Rottenstreich pointed out that Aguirre and her husband have paid every other property tax bill on their condo “with the exception of this one supplemental tax bill that was not paid initially and then they lost track of.” Rottenstreich said the timing of Reichert’s screenshot posting was unrelated to Aguirre’s handling of the tax bill. “People misplace bills. It’s $2,600,” Rottenstreich said. “She’s not running to be the County Assessor. She’s running to be County Supervisor.” [Voice of San Diego]

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California Construction Law: Navigating Key Changes and Insights Over the past year, the California Legislature introduced significant additions and amendments to more than 50 statutes, including 14 statutes that directly affect contractor licensing laws and construction practices. These legislative developments reflect the state’s growing emphasis on labor and employment standards, energy sustainability, healthcare infrastructure, affordable housing, and other key issues. This article examines key developments in California construction law, with a particular focus on AB 2293, AB 2235, AB 1034, AB 2579, AB 2696, SB 1162, and AB 3190. Story

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Never Say Never Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are still unveiling major labor legislation despite GOP control of Congress, which may make it hard to advance. [Politico]

PRO Act (registration required for links in this section): Makes it easier for unions to organize and collectively bargain by strengthening the National Labor Relations Act. Reps reintroduced the bill. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) in the House, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) unveiled a companion bill the Senate.

Faster Labor Contracts Act: Prevents employers from slow-walking union negotiations by requiring talks to begin within 10 days after a union is recognized. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the bill in March.

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Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? California Supreme Court Hears Arguments The California Supreme Court heard arguments recently in a case that could be pivotal to the spread of rooftop solar panels in California. Environmental and consumer advocacy groups are seeking to reverse a 2022 decision by state regulators to slash by around 75% the rates paid to compensate customers with solar installations for the excess energy they generate. The move, intended to shield non-solar customers from unfair cost burdens, sent solar hookups plummeting.

Three environmental groups bringing the case — the Center for Biological Diversity, The Protect our Communities Foundation, and the Environmental Working Group — argue that the California Public Utilities Commission didn’t properly consider benefits to customers and disadvantaged communities when it changed the program. The commission argued the policy strikes a balance between affordability for all customers and encouraging renewable energy choices. The court’s decision is expected within about a month. Story