Labor is cutting out the middleman

Instead of recruiting candidates, local unions are increasingly picking their own leaders; Wahab’s caste bill sails through Assembly; Alameda tenants may get a reprieve from CIP rent increases

State Senate candidate Kathryn Lybarger, Assemblymember Liz Ortega, and Oakland City Council candidate Zac Unger have all led local unions at one time.

ELECTION 2024

—LABOR STRONG—Labor union strength is always evident in East Bay politics. Getting union-friendly candidates elected to all levels of local government is the name of the game, but in hindsight, something has changed in recent years.

—Instead of cultivating and donating to preferred union candidates with ties to their respective communities, bankrolling expensive Independent Expenditure Committees, and canvassing districts, the unions are now cutting out the middleman and attempting to elect their rank-and-file leaders.

—In 2018 and 2020, two Oakland councilmembers, both once viewed as union-friendly, were targeted by labor. The reason was never definitive. They just weren’t union-friendly enough.

—The unions backed community organizer Nikki Fortunato Bas to challenge then- Councilmember Abel Guillen in 2018. Two years later, Carroll Fife challenged then-Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney.

—Bas and Fife’s victories in 2018 and 2020 were the result of a massive union-led push to slide the Oakland City Council even further to the left.

—But in 2022, something changed. Instead of recruiting candidates, the unions looked to their own leadership for candidates to run in various high-profile local races.

—Last year, Liz Ortega, the leader of the Alameda Labor Council and someone who had never run for political office, was the chosen candidate in the 20th Assembly District. Millions were spent by the unions and she was elected last November.

—After Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle’s passing last February, SEIU Local 1021 placed their bet on Ariana Casanova, a political director for the union who had never ran for elected office.

—In this case, Casanova did not win the appointment. Perhaps, the led up time for SEIU Local 1021 was too short to gain much momentum? But they did raise $40,000 in quick order and handed her a narrative that Valle had named Casanova as his successor.

—Next year’s open 9th State Senate District and Oakland’s District 1 City Council races already have two union bosses as front runners.

—Kathryn Lybarger, the president of the California Labor Federation and AFSCME Local 3299, is running in SD9.

—Her campaign raised $205,000, during the first six months of they year, which was the second-highest in the six-candidate field.

—Two weeks ago, Zac Unger, the Oakland Firefighters Union president, announced his campaign to replace Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb in the North Oakland District 1 seat.

—Early projections for these two races has Lybarger in a tough matchup with Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin in SD9. What about Unger’s chances? There’s across the board unanimity among insiders that he wins going away.

MORE INSIDE:

• LEGISLATIVE NEWS: Wahab’s caste bill approved by state assembly

• CITY NEWS: Alameda may remove capital improvement pass-throughs to tenants

Program note: The East Bay Insiders Newsletter is a labor of love, but in observance of Labor Day, the newsletter is taking a breather starting this Friday and will return on Tuesday morning, Sept. 5.