Full Breakdown
Proposition 40: A Billionaire Tax Proposal Splits California Labor
By Drooid · · How we work
The Measure and Its Immediate Stakes
Proposition 40 would levy a one-time 5 % tax on assets exceeding $1 billion held by California residents. The revenue is earmarked for health-care funding to offset anticipated federal cuts. Support comes primarily from SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), which secured endorsements from the California Labor Federation and the California Democratic Party. Opponents include the California Teachers Association, California Professional Firefighters, the State Building and Construction Trades Council, and a coalition of wealthy Californians. Ballot cards will be mailed beginning Oct. 5, and the measure will appear on the November ballot.
Labor’s Historical Political Clout
For decades, organized labor has been a dominant force in California politics, often shaping policy through campaign contributions and lobbying. Political science professor David McCuan of Sonoma State University notes that labor’s ability to influence Sacramento “has gone up and up” over the past three to four decades, making it a “huge, powerful block” that transcends traditional partisan lines.
Official Positions on the Measure
Dave Regan, president of SEIU-UHW, argues the tax is essential to prevent a “collapse of our health-care system.” Regan rejects calls to wait for federal action, insisting California must act now.
Potential Implications for California Politics
The split among unions—traditionally aligned on Democratic candidates—offers a rare glimpse into intra-labor disagreements. The outcome will test whether California’s labor bloc can maintain its political leverage when its largest constituents are divided. Campaign spending in the weeks leading up to the vote is expected to be “extraordinarily expensive,” providing a metric for each side’s confidence and organizational capacity.
Verbatim Quotes
- “For the last 30 or 40 years, going out about another ten years or so, Labor's ability to push California politicians around to get what they want, not at the bargaining table, but really pushing in Sacramento, in the legislature, it's gone up and up,” — David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University
- “Labor is a huge, powerful block in Sacramento. And it's not really blue or red. It's just powerful,” — David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University
- “Initiative politics always make for strange bedfellows,” — David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University
- “There's a little battle going on here within the Democratic Party. That's a kind of a proxy for the broader civil war that goes on nationally,” — David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University
