Workforce

Pending
AB 689 (W. Carrillo, D-Los Angeles)
Co-sponsor
Held in Senate Appropriations Committee on Sept. 1.

AB 689 is CHA/SEIU’s co-sponsored bill to help address the health care workforce crisis. The proposal would provide health care employees with priority registration when enrolling in community college courses and would also require that community colleges set aside at least 15% of slots in their impacted courses for current health care employees. This would ensure that health care employees have full access to the courses they need to complete their training as quickly as possible.

Vanessa Gonzalez

Job title:
VP State Advocacy
Phone number:
916-552-7670

Gideon Baum

Job title:
VP Policy
Phone number:
916-552-7621
Pending
AB 1695 (Gipson, D-Gardena)
Support
Two-year bill

AB 1695 would create the Nursing Pathway Pilot Program, which would reduce the barriers to enrolling in community college nursing programs, thereby increasing the training and retention of more nurses at all levels.

Rony Berdugo

Job title:
VP State Advocacy
Phone number:
916-552-7674

Peggy Wheeler

Job title:
VP Policy
Phone number:
916-552-7689
Pending
SB 352 (Padilla, D-El Centro)
Follow
Two-year bill

SB 352 would direct the California Workforce Development Board, along with the secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, to examine housing costs by county, regionally, and in the state. They must then create a formula to determine how much the local minimum wage must be for a full-time worker to afford a decent standard of living, including appropriate housing, in that county. Beginning in 2024 and by Dec. 15 of each year, the board must recommend to the Legislature the minimum wage for a full-time minimum wage earner to afford a decent standard of living in each county, regionally, and in the state. The board must also recommend a method to annually adjust figures to account for housing cost inflation, as well as inflation broadly.

Vanessa Gonzalez

Job title:
VP State Advocacy
Phone number:
916-552-7670

Peggy Wheeler

Job title:
VP Policy
Phone number:
916-552-7689