California lawmakers have revived legislation that would allow striking workers to collect unemployment benefits, reigniting a well-known political battle between unions and businesses.

Under Senate Bill 799, striking workers would be eligible for unemployment benefits after striking for two weeks, according to an early draft of the bill released Tuesday.

Even if they get out of the strike and people eventually get a contract they agree on, their families have suffered during this time, said Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank), who wrote the bill.

The last-minute effort, backed by unions, shows how lawmakers are responding to a wave of labor strikes sweeping California. Hollywood writers, later joined by actors, have been on the line for more than 100 days demanding better pay and benefits. Public school officials, hotel workers, nurses and even Los Angeles city workers also went on strike in Southern California this year.

Striking union members are not eligible for unemployment benefits in most states. In California, workers must meet eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits, such as proving that they are unemployed through no fault of their own and are actively looking for a job. Striking workers typically rely on personal savings, strike funds, side gigs and other financial aid to pay their bills.

In New York and New Jersey, certain striking workers are allowed to receive unemployment benefits. Legislators in states like Massachusetts, Connecticut and now California

currently

consider a similar policy.

In addition to expanding entitlement to unemployment benefits, California lawmakers are considering several other bills to help workers struggling with the rising cost of living. Democrats have

So

introduced legislation that would raise the minimum wage for health care workers to $25 an hour and leave more than double paid sick leave. The California Chamber of Commerce labeled the bills as job killers.”

The chamber opposes allowing striking workers to collect unemployment benefits in California, which can be as high as $450 a week for up to 26 weeks, saying it would hurt businesses.

This is going to affect employers, even those who are not involved in a labor dispute at all and never have been, but who will still pay higher taxes, says Robert Moutrie, policy advocate at the California Chamber of Commerce.

Companies pay state and federal payroll taxes on each employee, first $7,000 in annual wages to fund the unemployment insurance program.

Portantino said his legislation could help spark more conversations about how to better fund the state unemployment fund.

The level of taxable income is low, Portantino said. Now is the time to maybe look at that level of income to raise it to make sure the fund is solvent.

California pays more unemployment benefits than it collects in state taxes, according to the Legislative Analysts Office.

In 2020, amid above-average job losses during the coronavirus pandemic, California borrowed $20 billion from the federal government to fund unemployment claims. The amount of federal unemployment insurance taxes paid by employers in California increases by an additional $21 per employee each year until the loan is repaid. The state must also pay interest on these federal loans.

The proposed legislation was first reported by

politics. As the official deadline for introducing new legislation has passed, the proposal is being introduced by scrapping an existing bill and replacing the language with the measure to expand unemployment benefits.

Legislators will have to weigh up

both

business and employment interests. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has remained behind the scenes as the Hollywood attacks dragged on and was cautious

anyway

the appearance of taking sides. Newsom is hesitant to support new spending proposals, however, as he and lawmakers recently agreed on a budget plan to close a deficit of nearly $32 billion. The governor’s office has not responded to questions about whether this is the case

she

would support the bill.

Unions, including SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America, support the bill.

“Years of eroding wages and working conditions have left writers with fewer resources than ever to weather periods out of work,” Meredith Stiehm, president of Writers Guild of America-West, said in a statement. “Unemployment insurance for striking workers is a commonsense solution to keep workers afloat and local economies healthy.

California lawmakers have proposed a similar bill to give striking workers unemployment benefits in 2019, but AB 1066 failed to pass the Senate. Various business groups opposed the legislation

explain that

it could force the state to take out more federal loans and penalize employers for strikes.

At the time, the Department of Employment Development estimated that the amount of additional unemployment benefits paid could increase

range from any amount to

$800,000

toor

$6 million

annual

, according to the analysis of the bill. The impact depends on the number of workers receiving unemployment benefits and how long the strikes last

edit

.

Former state assemblyman Lorena Gonzalez, who heads the California Labor Federation, said owing money to the federal government should not be an excuse for not providing workers with unemployment benefits.

When you’re in Los Angeles, you clearly see workers going without pay for extended periods of time, and slowly you discover what that means, she said. Gonzalez said she has seen the effect long strikes have had on workers, citing the nearly five-month grocers’ strike in the 2000s. Anonymous studio executives told Deadline that their strategy is to delay the strikes until the workers go bankrupt, but the Alliance of Film and Television Producers

rejected contested

the report.

They want them evicted. I mean it’s crazy. That’s exactly what we don’t want. They have earned unemployment insurance and should have access to unemployment insurance, Gonzalez said.

The amount of strike funds varies, she said, depending on the union, and they are getting depleted. Allowing workers to receive unemployment benefits is not about tipping the balance in the workers’ favor, but about being human and providing them with a social safety net.

This really keeps people going, she said.