Unions are running California, according to a public policy watchdog organization.
“The United States was founded as a democracy and most Americans hold that democratic ideal very, very seriously because the entire idea behind a Democratic-Republican government is the idea that all political power originates with the people and that the people are actually in charge but now you've got a situation where the unions are running California,” said Tim Snowball, a civil rights attorney with Freedom Foundation, which specializes in government union abuses.
For example, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) has influenced city councils to mandate an additional $4 to $5 an hour in "hero" pay for grocery store workers in the cities of San Leandro, West Hollywood, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Jose, Daly City, Montebello, Oakland, Santa Ana, and Irvine, according to media reports.
“At least hazard pay has to do with compensation and that's why labor unions are supposed to exist is to advocate on behalf of their members in terms of compensation and benefits but I'm not a big fan of those negotiations,” Snowball told the Southern California Record.
As previously reported, hero or hazard pay is a temporary boost in pay provided to employees who have worked on the front lines since COVID-19 emerged as a danger in March 2020 but the California Grocers Association (CGA) alleges it violates the U.S. Constitution and the California Constitution.
“These mandates don’t make workers any safer especially now that vaccine rates among grocery workers and the general public is climbing,” said Ron Fong, president, and CEO of CGA, which has filed 10 lawsuits statewide challenging the city ordinances.
Most recently, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved its 60-day extra pay mandate for grocery and drug store workers at its March 19 meeting.
“About 40% or so of essential workers in San Francisco are covered by this,” said Ted Egan, chief economist for the city of San Francisco. “In other words, 60% of essential workers don't work at grocery stores or drug stores. They're not getting any bonus pay and some of them are more low paid than grocery store and drug store workers”
Egan authored the COVID-Related Hazard Pay: Economic Impact Report, which found the ordinance would increase labor costs by $14.6 million for impacted employers and that most of the cost increase will be passed on to local consumers, according to a press release. The report further concluded the extra pay ordinance would lead to a reduction of 164 jobs and a reduction in city GDP of $26 million.
“With the additional pay requirement, grocery stores are not going to be growing as fast,” Egan told the Southern California Record. “They're not going to be hiring as fast. They're not going to be expending on suppliers and other inputs to their business and also the higher prices they push on to consumers are going to limit consumer's ability to buy other things in the city's economy.”