The California Chamber of Commerce exists to champion the interests of our state’s job creators. Yet its recent endorsement of Xavier Becerra for governor—a longtime defender of the state’s costly and burdensome labor code—suggests it may have lost sight of the businesses it was created to serve.
Becerra has an alarming history of defending the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), one of California’s most damaging laws. PAGA allows workers to sue their employers over infractions as minor or accidental as late lunches. It’s a broken system that provides major paydays for trial lawyers while punishing medium and small businesses for any perceived failure to comply with the state’s complex 1,100-page labor code.
No group that truly cares about the future of our state’s business climate has any business throwing its weight behind Becerra. For further proof, just consider his Big Labor endorsements from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW). For years, these unions have pushed policies that make it almost impossible to do business in California, leading to job losses and business closures.
If you disagree with the Chamber’s decision to align itself with groups like these, you’re not alone.
From July 21 to July 24, CABIA’s members and newsletter subscribers were invited to participate in an online survey conducted by Roosevelt Opinion Research. Only those who indicated they were members of CalChamber were included. While the survey represents just a small portion of CalChamber’s membership, its findings confirm what is already evident: Californians object to CalChamber abandoning its core mission just to secure political influence.
An overwhelming 90% of respondents expressed opposition to the Chamber’s endorsement of Becerra for Governor, while a mere 10% voiced agreement. In response to the endorsement, close to three-quarters revealed that they or their companies are considering canceling their CalChamber memberships.
Results like these speak volumes.
Members of CalChamber have every right to ask: what is the purpose of a business advocacy organization if it fails to show a backbone for the very people it represents?