The Anaheim Chamber has taken an "Oppose" position on SB 799 by Senator Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank). SB 799 would give unemployment benefit payments to striking workers even though they are not looking for work and have a job waiting for them as soon as the strike concludes. There is already an $18 billion debt in the California Unemployment Insurance Fund, and SB 799 would exacerbate this debt. This increased debt would increase unemployment taxes on all employers, regardless of size, regardless of whether or not they have union employees, regardless of whether they have ever had a strike, and regardless of whether they are private, nonprofit, or public entities. SB 799 had been a bill on prison inmate visitation before a gut-and-amend last week transformed it into this bill on unemployment benefits for striking workers. SB 799 is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Insurance Committee tomorrow.
