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 Led
by Black and Latino fast-food workers, the movement to raise
standards within the industry got a huge boost with the
Legislature passing AB 257 this week. The bill empowers
550,000 fast-food workers in California to have a seat at the
table with employers and a role to play in setting standards
related to pay, health, safety and training. Black, brown and immigrant
women make up the vast majority of fast-food workers in
California. AB 257 is a model for the kinds of
sector-wide agreements workers across industries need throughout
the United States.
California
is extending COVID-19 Supplemental
Paid Sick Leave to essential workers until Dec. 31, 2022.
The paid sick leave state program was previously set to
expire on Sept. 30 2022, leaving workers with only the state
mandated three paid sick days as the state faces the possibility
of fall and winter surges of the highly transmissible virus. The
CSU earlier this year reached agreement with its unions
to allocate 80 hours of paid sick leave, through SB 114, effective from January through Dec. 31,
2022.
Our
labor movement has fought hard for health coverage that protects working
people when they need it. Some 2,000 Kaiser psychologists,
licensed clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists,
and substance use counselors in Northern California
remain on strike indefinitely, fighting for improved
healthcare. If Kaiser (or any health plan) cannot offer you a
timely, accessible appointment within their system, they must
arrange for an appointment out-of-network at no added cost to
you. It is not your obligation to find a provider or to accept
any illegal delays.
Kaiser is required to offer mental health
appointments within 48 hours (in urgent cases)
or every 10 business days (in non-urgent cases), unless a
clinician attests that a longer timeline would not be
harmful. Call the California Department of Managed Health
Care at 888-466-2219 immediately if Kaiser doesn’t offer you such
an appointment.
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