Sacramento, CA – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western States Council issued the following statement after two priority bills, SB 1446 (Smallwood-Cuevas) and AB 2223 (Aguiar-Curry), did not move to the Governor’s desk this year.
SB 1446 would have protected workers and the public by ensuring safe staffing levels at grocery and drug-retail stores and regulating self-checkout machines. It would also have put in place guardrails to notify workers and the public when retail employers adopt new AI-enabled check-out technology.
AB 2223 would have protected public health and our kids from intoxicating hemp products. Additionally, this bill would have strengthened enforcement measures in AB 45 (Aguiar-Curry, 2021) and fulfill the state’s commitment to integrate hemp cannabinoids into the regulated cannabis supply chain.
The following statement may be attributed to Amber Parrish, executive director, UFCW Western States Council:
“UFCW members have always led tough conversations in Sacramento in order to protect workers, and 2023 – 2024’s legislative session was no different. After years of increasing retail theft in our grocery stores, our drug-retail stores and throughout our communities, lawmakers from across California saw how important it was to tackle the issue this legislative session. UFCW members are on the front lines of retail theft and face increasingly violent incidents because of it. That’s why we championed SB 1446 (Smallwood-Cuevas) this session.
“We are exceptionally disappointed that SB 1446 will not be moving forward this year. It was encouraging that the Assembly leadership thought we could reach a solution that would help our members by giving both sides an opportunity to come to an agreement that would work for all stakeholders, and we engaged in good faith throughout the process. However, there wasn’t movement from the opposition except to advance a proposal to allow alcohol through self-checkout.
“UFCW has always led the nation in promoting and legitimizing the cannabis industry and it’s high time intoxicating hemp products be added to regulations protecting consumers and the public. It’s our members who see how the designer hemp market is producing highly intoxicating, untested hemp products that are easily available to consumers. It’s our members who see kids buying these products not knowing just what they contain and putting themselves at risk.
“We remain committed to protecting workers and the public at large without giving away important protections we fought hard for. The issues that were defined this year about retail theft and intoxicating hemp products remain, and we will be addressing them next year. We are looking at all possible solutions to ensure workers are kept safe from the chronic understaffing and increasing amount of retail theft they experience daily and to ensure our kids are protected from untested, easily available hemp products.”
# # #