INGLEWOOD – Inglewood Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor’s bill to allow legislative staffers to unionize was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.
California becomes the largest state in the nation that will allow non-supervisor legislative staff to join a union and follows Oregon and Maine, whose staff are able to unionize.
“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,” said Assemblymember Tina McKinnor. “Legislative staff aren’t looking for special treatment – they are looking for the same dignity and respect afforded to all represented workers,” said Assemblymember McKinnor. “To the staff in our district offices and Capitol offices – including our dedicated committee staff – that honorably serve the people of the State of California everyday – know this – we see you and we respect you. And with AB 1, we are taking action to make sure that current and future legislative staff, regardless of their Member’s political affiliation, are afforded a safe, equitable and fair opportunity to build a noble career in public service.”
McKinnor is a former staffer having worked in the offices of former Assemblymembers Steve Bradford and Autumn Burke.
McKinnor won a special election in April 2022 to complete Burke’s term. She won a full term in office in the November General Election in November 2022.
“The passage of AB 1 is extremely personal for me. As a former legislative staffer myself and an original signer of the ‘We Said Enough’ letter that started the #MeToo movement, I know what a challenging work environment the California Legislature can be,” said McKinnor when reached for comment. “AB 1 will give non-supervisorial legislative staff a needed and essential voice to build a safe and inclusive workplace. I welcome the legislative staff’s partnership in the years ahead to build a work culture that attracts and retains California’s best to build a noble career in public service.”
AB 1 passed by a 61 to 5 vote by the State Assembly which followed the State Senate’s 30 to 3 approval of the measure on Tuesday, which would give employees the choice to form a union and collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions, regardless of political affiliation.
Under AB 1, the Senate Rules Committee, the Assembly Rules Committee or the Joint Legislative Rules Committee (the administrative offices of the Legislature) would establish procedures to implement the collective bargaining process with the employees’ chosen union. Wages and benefits would be negotiated within the budgetary restrictions approved by voters through Proposition 140.
While the state Legislature commonly considers laws affecting public and private employees in California, the Legislature itself remains the only branch of state government that does not allow their employees to have the choice to unionize. Legislative staff serve as at-will employees that are exempt from state civil service laws and denied the right to collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions. This has led to generations of legislative employees being subject to low and inequitable pay and subject to hostile work environments with no recourse other than being forced to seek employment outside of the Legislature.
AB 1 will become effective on July 1, 2026.