Hot labor summer has turned to fall, but striking workers are keeping up the heat as they continuing to walk picket lines across the country.

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Caif., is behind a bill that would allow striking workers to qualify for unemployment pay

  • The bill comes as strike waves have hit across the country, most visibly among auto workers, entertainment writers and actors

  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom early in October vetoed a bill that would give striking workers unemployment pay in the Golden State; only striking workers in two states — New York and New Jersey — qualify for unemployment

  • The bill would face stiff opposition from Congressional Republicans

Though the Writers Guild of America has resolved its dispute with movie and television producers, more strikes in California continue to roil. Actors at SAG-AFTRA continue their pickets as they return to the negotiating table, hospitality workers from UNITE HERE Local 11 are striking for a contract with hoteliers across Los Angeles, members of the United Auto Workers are picketing outside of parts manufacturers and Teamsters are striking outside Amazon fulfillment centers. 

With Californians from his district and beyond hitting the picket lines, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., authored the “Empowering Striking Workers Act of 2023,” which would allow striking workers to collect unemployment.

“The challenge today is not that people aren’t working. The challenge today is that people are working, but they’re just not making enough to get by,” said Schiff in an interview with Spectrum News. Over the years, workers have found it more difficult to negotiate strong contracts with fair wages, leading to more strike actions, especially in recent years.

“My legislation would provide unemployment compensation to striking workers. And I think it’s only fair when folks sitting on one side of the table and managers get paid during a strike that people on the other side of the table should also get paid,” Schiff said.

Schiff, who is running for Senate in California, has found consistent support among labor organizations since launching his campaign earlier this year including eight statewide labor organization endorsements.

“People realize that they can do better, they have to do better, that something has to give. They’re working more and more hours and they’re just not making enough to keep a roof over their head or provide for their family,” Schiff said. “People are striking for good, livable wages. It’s not their first choice. They would much rather be working, and in that sense, it’s really not voluntary. It’s something that they have to do to improve their family’s ability to get by. And they shouldn’t be disadvantaged by having to do it.”

Schiff’s bill comes only a few weeks after California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill from the California legislature that would have made the Golden State only the third state in the country, behind New York and New Jersey, to offer unemployment to workers on strike.

But Newsom killed the bill, stating in a veto letter that the law would risk overloading the state’s already-burdened unemployment insurance fund, leading to increased business taxes.

Schiff’s bill would likely face similar arguments, as well as a chilly reception from a Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The bill has the backing of more than a dozen labor unions, including the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA, UAW, WGA, Teamsters and the American Federation of Teachers, among others. It’s also sponsored by Reps. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. All three are members of the Congressional Labor Caucus.

This article has been updated to clarify the endorsements the bill has received.