Big wins for organized labor and progressive causes as California lawmakers wrap for the year

abcnews.go.com:

California lawmakers have finished their work for 2023

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When health care workers in California asked the state Legislature for a raise earlier this year, it seemed like the longest of long shots — especially after lawmakers in May had to loan hospitals in financial distress $150 million just to stay open.

But on Thursday, just before the Legislature adjourned for the year, lawmakers voted to boost the pay of health care workers to at least $25 per hour — and the California Hospital Association supported it, even issuing a joint news release with the labor union praising the bill. The union behind the effort called it the nation's first statewide minimum wage for health workers.

The vote capped a legislative session in California that once again showed the strength of organized labor in the nation's most populous state.

Fast food workers? They got a $20-per-hour minimum wage, which would be the highest base pay in the country for an often overlooked workforce.

Striking workers? They could get unemployment benefits starting in January, which could benefit actors, writers and Southern California hotel workers who have been on strike for months.

Semitruck drivers? Lawmakers gave them job security by voting to require a human to be present in any self-driving truck.

The broader workforce? Most other workers would get at least five guaranteed paid sick days, an increase from the three days required under existing law.

Organized labor's influence is easily explained by their prolific campaign donations, as they are some of the most reliable source of funds for the Democrats who control the state Legislature. But more than that, Democratic leaders credited labor's success this year to what Assembly