San Benito County Business, Economy & Jobs Digest

Elon Musk, the tech mogul who runs Tesla, said in December that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts “must die.” Now, two civil rights groups are calling for the nation’s largest public pension fund to divest from the electric vehicle maker.

Tens of thousands of California ride-hailing drivers, and possibly more, could eventually get back pay after a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that clears the way for the state and some cities to proceed with their lawsuits against Uber and Lyft.

The state Labor Commissioner sometimes struggles to get back pay to workers when it reaches wage theft settlements. It tries social media, TV and hotlines. But money owed to employees is still sitting in state accounts.

The Assembly approves Gov. Newsom’s bill on oil refineries on a 44-17 vote. But the state Senate will have its say during the special session.

A California minimum wage law that was delayed amid budget troubles is now set to go into effect Oct. 16. It’s expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of workers.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to combat gasoline price spikes appears headed to a long-awaited Assembly floor vote next week after passing out of committee on September 26.

The governor wants new gas reserves to dampen seasonal price spikes. Refiners say the move would raise prices and require new storage tanks.

Many California farmworkers have long lacked safe and affordable places to sleep — an issue thrown into sharp relief after last year’s mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, which left seven agricultural workers dead.

About 4 in 10 Californians are believed to be carrying medical debt, which can harm their chances of landing a mortgage or an apartment if it shows up on credit reports.

Jessica Alvarez Castañeda was sick of low-paying jobs. For years, the 39-year-old mother of four had been “breaking her back for almost nothing” as a cashier, nursing assistant, babysitter, house cleaner and cook.

California voters passed Proposition 22 four years ago. The ballot initiative, backed by Uber, Lyft and other gig companies, promised the state’s more than 1 million gig workers new benefits, such as guaranteed minimum earnings, health care stipends, occupational accident insurance and accidental death insurance.

California’s unemployment rate, 5.2% of its labor force in July, is no longer the nation’s highest after months of having that dubious distinction.

Proposition 32 to increase the minimum wage from $16 isn’t as far-reaching as when it was first proposed. Fast food workers are already making more, and health care employees are on track. But worker groups are already pushing for more.

Legislators are pushing ahead with a retail theft bill package in their continued opposition of Proposition 36 — a November ballot measure backed by law enforcement groups and Republicans (and some Democrats) that would roll back parts of 2014’s Prop. 47.

In his 2018 campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would create 500,000 new apprenticeships in the decade after taking office. So far, the state has registered more than 180,000 new apprenticeships. Many of them are firefighters.

After years of delay, a new California regulation to protect indoor workers from extreme heat is now in effect.

California Forever’s announcement July 22 that it has decided to pull a ballot measure that would have let voters decide on a controversial planned city in rural Solano County drew swift reaction from political leaders and opponents.

On July 22, California Forever announced it was withdrawing its initiative to amend the Solano County General Plan off the November ballot and would instead begin working with the county through the normal, though less expeditious, process.

A judge has halted a union effort at the Wonderful Company, throwing into question a new state law designed to make it easier for agricultural workers to organize.

California courts have long upheld below-minimum wage pay for prison inmates working a wide range of jobs. A 2024 ballot measure that would ban forced labor could alter those decisions.

A mother picks up her son from daycare in Richmond on Sept. 26, 2022. Photo by Marissa Leshnov for CalMatters

A program for low-income, first-generation STEM students at community colleges is receiving millions of dollars to expand across the state.

Private-sector jobs in California have declined since their post-pandemic peak, while public-sector employment has shown gains, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office says.

On June 19, California YIMBY announced support for the California Forever project going to the Solano County ballot in November.

On June 11, Solano County elections officials announced the verification of necessary signatures for the California Forever sponsored initiative to amend the county General Plan to be on the November ballot.

A panel of labor experts at the CalMatters Ideas Festival say California workers should have more access to more apprenticeships that pay more. Barriers still exist, especially for women and low-income Californians.

Photos spotlight the beauty of the Big Sur community.

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, flew more 6,000 miles to Rome this month to deliver a brief speech on climate change at a Vatican-sponsored conference.

As Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators spend the next few weeks fashioning a state budget that’s plagued by a multibillion-dollar deficit, they can’t count on a booming economy to make their task easier.

More than half of the U.S. House supports a bill to extend the funds, but it can’t get out of committee.

During the much-ballyhooed “California exodus” amid the pandemic, remote workers moved to other states where they could live for a fraction of the cost compared to cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco.

A bill to rein in a proposed monthly fee on California electric bills would let California’s largest for-profit utility companies charge customers $24 per month — with fees as low as $6 for lower-income customers — as a kind of membership fee for the power grid.