Lawsuit Filed Against SB 954 by ABC Group and Anti-Union Contractor
January 10, 2017 -
Click HERE to review the transcript of the December 16, 2016 hearing on a motion to preliminarily enjoin enforcement of SB 954, legislation sponsored by the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California to further ensure that prevailing wages owed to construction workers’ are not withheld without the workers’ consent and used by anti-union employers to harm workers’ interests. The lawsuit against SB 954 was filed in the ABC’s favorite venue, United States District Court in San Diego, noted for being unfriendly to worker issues. The Judge has not yet ruled on the preliminary injunction motion.
In the transcript, the attorney for the “ABC California Cooperation Committee” states that, because of SB 954, the organization has had to stop its political operation in California because the operation is funded with workers’ prevailing wages.
Senate Bill 954 by Senator Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, expands on the landmark reform of SB 776 of 2013 which stopped many unscrupulous wage diversions by allowing contactors to take credit against the prevailing wage for making payments for compliance activities only when the payments are made to a joint committee established by the federal Labor Management Cooperation Act of 1978.
SB 954 enhances that protection by specifying that, for industry advancement payments to be a credit against the prevailing wage, the employer must actually be subject to a collective bargaining agreement—agreed to by workers’ representative—that provides for the contributions. Otherwise, the contractors are simply choosing unilaterally to divert the workers’ wages without their consent.
SBCTC President Robbie Hunter commented when SB 954 was signed: “By signing this important legislation, Governor Brown has again demonstrated his commitment to the best interests of working families, to protecting their wages and ensuring California’s working people have a fair say in the issues that affect them.”