Welcome to the national political world Governor….
(Newsom DOES appear to be running for the Democratic Presidentail nomination in addtion to November’s re-election race….)
Newsom was against the bill that will make it easier for his states farmworkers to unionize due what he said was fears about mail-in voting …..
But ?
He came under pressure from President Biden and other Democrats to be supporting union’s/labor….
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Wednesday making it easier for farmworkers to unionize in California — a reversal from earlier threats to veto the bill that came after President Joe Biden and other Democratic heavyweights threw their support behind it….
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“California’s farmworkers are the lifeblood of our state, and they have the fundamental right to unionize and advocate for themselves in the workplace,” Newsom said in a statement Wednesday.
Newsom made no mention of the fact that he had said he could not support the bill in its current form just before it passed near the end of the legislative session. His office said it had reached a “supplemental agreement” with the UFW and the California Labor Federation on future legislation that would enable labor regulators to “adequately protect worker confidentiality.”
The agreement with the governor’s office eliminates a provision of the bill that would allow mail-in union elections. In its place, workers will be allowed to join UFW by signing a card, a system long sought by organizers.
Newsom had previously said he opposed mail-in voting because of security concerns, though California uses it to allow the public to vote in statewide elections…
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Less than 1 percent of California’s 800,000 farmworkers are unionized, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a fact that bill supporters link to fear among workers of being deported for supporting union efforts. The share of undocumented farmworkers has risen from 13 percent in the mid-1970s to more than 70 percent today.
Farmers and business groups opposed the bill, dismissing it as an attempt by UFW to increase membership.
Note…
Newsom is well aware that a national Presidential run would have the bill used by Republican’s against him in response to immigration policy….