Sacramento, CA – The California Coalition for Worker Power (CCWP) applauded critical investments in worker outreach, empowerment and enforcement of workers’ rights through the state budget agreement announced this week:  
 

• Established to reach marginalized and high-risk workers during the COVID-19 pandemic with critical information on workers’ rights to safety and time off, the COVID-19 Worker Outreach Program connected with over 6 million workers in 42 languages through a combination of in-person, digital, and phone outreach; 1.9 million of those conversations were person-to-person.  CCWP championed the extension and broadening of this highly successful community/state partnership which will now be known as the California Workplace Outreach Program. The budget devotes $25 million to CWOP.  

Alexandra Suh, Executive Director of KIWA and Co-President of CCWP said: "Community-based outreach and engagement to workers saved lives during COVID-19 and this same approach has the potential to transform our economy by ensuring workers know their rights and are empowered to assert them. California is wise to build on the engagement and partnerships developed during the pandemic to tackle challenges that didn’t go away when the public health emergency ended: wage theft, exploitation, and unsafe workplaces.”
 

• The budget also commits $35 million over five years to the Domestic Worker Education and Outreach Program, a partnership between the State of California and community-based organizations to educate domestic workers and employers on domestic workers' rights.
   

• The budget addresses devastating gaps in workers’ rights enforcement, setting aside $18 million for a Workers Rights Enforcement Grant Program. According to the budget agreement, “...this program would provide reimbursements to local city attorneys and district attorneys for funds expended on workers’ rights enforcement and serves the public purpose of enhancing labor law enforcement to assist workers in combating wage theft, prevent unfair competition, and protect state revenue.”
   

• The agreement allocates $7.4 million-- and double that amount in future years-- to investigate claims of retaliation against workers.  The widespread practice of retaliation against workers undermines the strong laws California has adopted to ensure workers are paid fairly, equitably, and have safe workplaces, advocates say.  

“California has strong laws on paper to prevent wage theft and exploitation but these and other employer abuses continue simply because bad bosses intimidate, bully and even fire workers who speak up, keeping the rest in fear of coming forward,” said Sheheryar Kaoosji, Co-President of CCWP and Executive Director of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center. “We are encouraged that California leaders heard the demands of workers from across California and took first steps toward addressing the imbalance of power in workplaces that keeps workers in silence.”

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The California Coalition for Worker Power (CCWP) is a coalition of worker centers, unions, and worker advocacy organizations dedicated to ensuring that every worker in California has the power to come together and improve their work conditions and their communities.