SEIU: ‘California’s Fourth Branch of Government’

AB 1228 by Assemblyman Chris Holden (D-Los Angeles) proposes to make small business franchise owners jointly legally liable for any alleged labor law violations with larger corporate brands that have little to do with employment decisions.

Fortunately it just stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but don’t count the backers of this business-killing bill cooked just yet.

The California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA), a coalition of state business owners who are vociferous critics of California’s broken labor laws, have taken on big labor in the state with a new full page advertisement in the Sacramento Bee, calling it “The Four Branches of Government:

230709_CABIA_FourBranchesOfGovernmentAd_SacramentoBee_9.94x20.5-2

CABIA’s ad coincided with the California Senate Judiciary Committee vote Tuesday on the Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act – AB 1228.

The Globe spoke with Tom Manzo, founder and president of CABIA, and owner of a mid-sized manufacturing business with approximately 200 employees. Manzo told the Globe CABIA is saying the truth aloud because too many other trade groups and associations are unwilling to, while fooling themselves into believing they have a seat at the negotiating table.

The ad condemns the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as California’s fourth branch of government as they continue to pull the strings, affecting businesses in the state. The SEIU has been the driving force behind various pushes to expand union power over California’s businesses, including the halted FAST Recovery Act of 2022.

Manzo said AB 1228 is unfairly targeting franchise owners, based on the SEIU’s campaign against these businesses, falsely alleging they are responsible for a disproportionately high number of wage violations in California.

This comes as the California State Budget also threatens to resurrect the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC), which gives the power to sidestep public opinion against unpopular, anti-business policies – something the SEIU has applauded.

As Globe contributor Chris Micheli wrote in a recent op ed, “The IWC has been inoperative for many years and not funded – until now. The June 24, 2023 amendments to AB/SB 102 (Budget Bill Junior) would fund the IWC with $3 million.”

“The California legislature has been under the influence of labor unions who care more about their own bottom line than they do about employees or small business owners,” Manzo said. “AB 1228 would make small business franchise owners jointly liable for any alleged labor law violation – forcing larger brands to limit independence of franchise owners and small business ownership opportunities.”

“Enough is enough,” Manzo said. “Big labor is controlling everything here – no one can breathe.”

What happens is small to medium businesses always take the hits when big labor unions meddle. “AB 5 created a complete mess for everybody,” Manzo said. “But especially the small and medium sized businesses.”

“And now they want to unionize the fast food industry.”

Monday in the Orange County Register, Parag Patel, who owns 11 Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin’ franchises in Orange and Riverside Counties, said in a compelling op ed:

AB 1228 “would destroy new franchising opportunities and existing licensees, like me, could lose our livelihoods. This would be a tremendous loss since the franchise model provides a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs – many of whom are women, people of color, immigrants, and veterans. According to the International Franchise Association, franchised businesses are 31% minority-owned, compared to just 19% minority-owned in non-franchised businesses.”

Manzo said he wishes more established trade associations would speak out forcefully against the labor unions and the constant threat of unionization.

The Globe has reported for many years on trade associations and organizations which have fought business-killing legislation like AB 32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act. But they delude themselves if they really think they have a seat at the negotiating table with the Democrat supermajority. As the California Air Resources Board has demonstrated with AB 32, most businesses have been bulldozed by volumes of impossible regulations and laws created out of whole cloth by unelected bureaucrats, forcing many businesses to close.

“The ad is to send a message that the majority of business is small to medium size, and are tired of the minority telling us what to do,” Manzo said.

Notably, Manzo said businesses with labor union agreements usually don’t have to labor under the same strict state labor laws they force on other non-union private sector businesses – they receive exemptions in unholy deals with Democrat lawmakers.

For more information on California’s Fourth Branch of Government and how to fight it, visit CABIA.org

CABIA is calling out unscrupulous trial attorneys, paid politicians, and their allies that want to maintain the status quo in California. Our lawsuit tracker is the only one of its kind that provides public data on the amount of Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) suits law firms file each year. We also publish information on which politicians are backed by trial lawyer advocacy groups and other interests groups that would like to keep PAGA intact.