State worker union OKs $1 million to fight Newsom recall

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's largest state worker union approved a $1 million donation Wednesday to help Gov. Gavin Newsom fight the recall in an emergency vote that some members said would cause friction in the union amid a leadership shakeup.

“Gavin Newsom will win this recall without our support,” said Robert Bayze, a union member who unsuccessfully proposed the union take no position on the recall. “The only thing that our support will do is further divide our union."

SEIU Local 1000 represents 96,000 state workers. The $1 million contribution approved by the board of directors will go to the SEIU California State Council, which oversees 17 unions and voted last week to oppose the recall.

Union president Yvonne Walker called the emergency meeting of the union's board of directors on Friday, days after she lost the presidency to an opponent who says the union shouldn't support Newsom. She has weeks left on the job.

Incoming president Richard Louis Brown, who will takeover later this month, opposes union support for Newsom due to state worker pay cuts the governor imposed during the pandemic. He would need support from the board of directors to make opposition to the recall an official union position, but his anti-Newsom comments caused a stir in the organized labor movement that largely backs the governor.

A spokesman for the union did not respond to questions about when a political endorsement vote would normally be held.

Among the board, 44 people voted in support of the $1 million donation, nine voted against and five abstained.

Union member Steven Alari, who proposed the donation, warned failing to support Newsom could leave the state with a Republican governor who would take anti-worker positions. He reminded members about the tenure of former...