'The only solution is to put the force of state law behind UC's 'equal pay' policy.'
Equally important, SB 1364 gives contract workers a pathway to recoup lost wages from employers who fail to comply with the standards they’ve already committed to follow. And, it allows contractors to “cure” payroll mistakes that are identified before facing any sanctions such as contract termination or debarment.
It’s important to recognize that the employees of UC contractors who would be directly impacted by SB 1364 are the lowest paid workers at UC, and amongst the lowest paid and least protected in our economy. They worked on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are now being hit the hardest by the state’s housing crisis and rising inflation.
UC wants to have it both ways. On one hand, even though it receives billions of California tax dollars each year, it argues that it shouldn’t be subject to state labor standards. Then it creates its own labor policies and says it doesn’t know if they are being followed because it doesn’t directly employ the workers to which these standards apply.
The only way to bridge the difference — and do right by UC’s thousands of unprotected contract workers — is to put the force of state law behind UC policy.Matt Haney represents San Francisco in the 17th District in the California State Assembly.