Sacramento, CA – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers Western States Council applauded Governor Gavin Newsom for signing AB 2068 (Haney) into law. AB 2068 will empower workers with knowledge of workplace safety and health violations and their rights on the job, in the language they understand. Right now, before this law is effective, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is only mandated to post workplace citations and special orders in English. AB 2068 requires Cal/OSHA to issue a standardized workplace citation posting in the top seven non-English languages spoken by workers in California – Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean and Armenian, and Punjabi, a language spoken often in food processing.

Cal/OSHA postings are often important lifesaving information related to workplace conditions and safety. The bill will require the posting to include information on:

• Cal/OSHA’s investigation of the workplace and that they found a workplace safety or health violation.

• That the investigation resulted in one or more citations or orders that the employer must post at or near the place of the violation for three working days, or until the unsafe condition is abated, whichever is longer.

• That the employers are required to communicate any hazards at the workplace to employees in a language and manner they understand; and

• Contact information for the division and the internet website where employees can search for citations against their employer.

“Nearly all of my co-workers speak Spanish or Vietnamese as their primary language,”  said Rina Chavarria, a worker at Farmer John in Vernon. “We only knew that our employer’s safety violations put us at serious risk of COVID-19 because our union provided translations of  Cal/OSHA citations. AB 2068’s new law will keep us informed about what’s happening with our workplaces and allow us to get involved with the investigations. Thank you Assemblymember Haney for authoring this important legislation and to Governor Newsom for signing it into law.”

“Every worker deserves information that can keep them safe on the job – and even save their life in the language they speak and read,” said Kathy Finn, Acting President, UFCW Local 770. “AB 2068 will empower workers and ensure workplaces are kept safe for all workers, not just those that speak English. UFCW members thank Assemblymember Haney for his leadership on this important issue and Governor Newsom for listening to workers who demanded equal access to potentially life-saving information.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 23, 2022

Contact: Jenna Thompson, 949.246.1620, [email protected]

Sacramento, CA – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western States Council celebrated Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature on AB 2188 (Quirk), which will prohibit employers from discriminating against employees who use cannabis off the job and away from the worksite by banning out-dated cannabis urine testing methods. The following statement may be attributed to Jim Araby, Director of Strategic Campaigns, UFCW Local 5:

“Governor Newsom’s signature on AB 2188 is a victory for all workers, made possible by UFCW members who pushed this bill forward to end discrimination over off-the-job cannabis use. Because we fought to end outdated testing as a measure of ability to work, California will resume our lead as the gold standard in our nation on protections for the cannabis industry and its workers. No employee deserves to feel stigmatized and unsafe at work because of an outdated testing method. There are much more accurate, modern-day cannabis testing methods, like oral swabs, that are able to detect recent use and increase workplace safety. This victory shows when workers stand together for what’s right, we win.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 18, 2022

Contact: Jenna Thompson, 949.246.1620, [email protected]

Sacramento, CA – Today, the California Labor Federation, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western States Council came together to applaud the California Legislature’s passage of AB 152/SB 136 to extend COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave to essential workers until December 31, 2022. COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave was previously set to expire on September 30 2022, leaving workers with only the state mandated three paid sick days as the state faces the possibility of fall and winter surges of the highly transmissible virus. 

“As California’s workers battle the affordability crisis at the same time the transmission of COVID-19 continues to commonly occur in workplaces, schools, and public spaces, we are grateful to see the Legislature extend this safety net to families when their breadwinners are sidelined by infection,” California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher said. “Our state has understood the value of paid sick leave since California became the first state in the nation to guarantee that protective benefit to every employee, but we’ve especially seen the benefit that extending paid leave has had on families’ own economic security  and the public health since the pandemic began two-and-a-half years ago.”

Without the extension of this critical leave, workers would have no safety net if they are exposed or sick with COVID-19. Essential frontline workers are placed in situations where they have to choose between either going to work while sick, or staying home and risking their income and their job. They are often unable to follow public health advice and quarantine when sick or exposed, keep sick or exposed children home from school, care for sick family, get vaccinated, or recover from vaccine side effects without risking their job or pay.

“Fast food workers, and all workers, should never be forced to choose between their family’s health and a paycheck,” said Laura Pozos, a worker at McDonald’s in Monterey Park and an activist with Fight for 15 and a Union. “I can’t afford any gap in my paychecks – I’ve got to pay the rent and feed my kids. I’m thankful California’s leaders did the right thing by listening to us and extended this leave.”

We know paid sick leave saves lives. One study found that states whose workers newly gained access to paid sick leave through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) saw four hundred fewer confirmed cases per day, translating into approximately one case prevented for every 1,300 workers per day. 

“We’re glad the California Legislature voted to extend this life-saving benefit so workers can remain protected as the weather grows colder and viruses will be spread more easily throughout workplaces,” said Amber Baur, Executive Director, UFCW Western States Council. “Schools are starting back up, so it is critical that workers continue to have access to paid sick leave so they can stay home with their kids when they get sick. Workers should be able to take care of a loved one who is sick without the fear of losing two weeks of pay, or worse, their job. We’re glad our legislative leaders chose to stand with the essential workers who power California’s economy and extend supplemental paid sick leave.”   

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 31, 2022

Contact: Jenna Thompson, (949) 246-1620, [email protected]