By Antonio Ray Harvey, Lila Brown and Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

On Oct. 7, Gov. Newsom’s office announced that he has signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1, legislation that permits legislative staff to unionize and collectively bargain.

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus authored the bill, which was co-sponsored by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and 41 other Members.

“@CAgovernor signed #AB1, #CALeg staff finally have the same right to form a union as all other workers,” the California Labor Federation posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, after the Governor signed AB 1.

McKinnor, who is a former legislative staffer, called the bill’s passage an “incredible win” on X.

“Today is a huge victory for the nearly 2,000 legislative and district staff that have dedicated their careers to public service and have long deserved the right to be represented by a union,” McKinnor said in a statement.

“We are taking action to make sure that current and future legislative staff, regardless of their (assembly) member’s political affiliation, are afforded a safe, equitable and fair opportunity to build a noble career in public service,” added McKinnor.

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