THE BUZZ — FOURTH TIME'S THE CHARM? California's legislative employees have tried, and failed, multiple times to get a seat at the bargaining table. This year, with some clever maneuvering and social pressure, they could finally make it happen. Assemblymember Mark Stone's AB 1577 got its first vote in the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee yesterday, passing with little discussion and a 4-0 vote from members. If approved, it would give legislative employees — the schedulers, the researchers, the coffee-fetchers — the ability to collectively bargain over working conditions and compensation. Outside observers might consider it odd that labor-loving California lawmakers don't allow their staff to unionize. The state has myriad public employee unions that wield great power throughout the state and in the halls of the Capitol thanks to their huge numbers and deep pockets. Yet, according to Stone, the Legislature remains the only branch of California's government that does not allow its employees to unionize — leaving staffers susceptible to firing without cause and a power imbalance. This is not your typical labor fight. Mainly because the people who get to vote on whether or not a group of employees unionize are, in some ways, the employers. While taxpayers are the ones who foot the bill, how staffers are paid and treated is, in many ways, up to the discretion of the lawmaker they work for. And office budgets can fluctuate depending on a number of factors — among them, a lawmaker's leadership positions and political capital. Supporters of the bill argue it is an inconsistent and arbitrary system for hiring, firing, and compensating that contributes to a high rate of churn among staff. Previous versions of this bill were carried by former San Diego Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, who is now heading up the powerful California Labor Federation. But it repeatedly died in Assembly committees. This year, Stone gutted and amended a bill that was already in the Senate, bypassing the initial hurdles that have always blocked the legislation's advancement on the Assembly side. AB 1577 still has a long way to go, but yesterday's vote was the first time such a bill has made it out of a committee. It now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it's scheduled to be heard on Tuesday. The only recorded opponent, thus far, is a group called Govern for California, led by former Arnold Schwarzenegger adviser David Crane . The group describes itself as "a network of political philanthropists whose mission is to empower California State Legislators to govern for the benefit of citizens instead of special interests." Stone and supporters also argue recent events make unionizing all the more critical for California legislative staffers. The #MeToo movement, the pandemic and issues involving the legislature's Workplace Conduct Unit , demonstrated a clear need to give staffers more agency in their jobs, backers say. There was also the controversial Instagram page @DearCaStaffers that cropped up in February, posting anonymous accounts of alleged mistreatment from within the halls of power. "I think giving people a voice in their workplace is something that is core to the values of many in this Legislature," Stone told committee members on Wednesday. "And that's really what this bill is." BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, is in San Diego today with local leaders urging residents to conserve water as much of the state experiences "extreme drought" conditions. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up: jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "For the CEO to take on a client that very much clearly goes against that goal is kind of like a slap in the face to all of the work that we do and to all of our other clients." A former employee of Aisle 518 Strategies, who spoke to POLITICO's Hailey Fuches about leaving the firm after it took on Los Angeles mayoral contender Rick Caruso as a client. TWEET OF THE DAY: California Rep. Ro Khanna weighing in on Biden's inclination to pause the federal gas tax: "The problem with repealing an 18 cents gas tax is it feeds into a far right narrative that the problem is government, not Big Oil gouging consumers. Let's pass @SenWhitehouse & my windfall profits tax instead to tax huge oil profits & put money back into the pockets of Americans." WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
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