Labor unions donate tens of millions to Newsom’s Proposition 50
With the fate of President Trump’s right-wing agenda at stake, the California ballot measure to hand Congress to Democratic control has devolved into a fight between millionaires and billionaires, a former president, a former movie star governor and the nation’s leading partisans.
Californians are inundated with political ads popping up on every screen (no cell phone, computer or living room television is spared) trying to influence them on Proposition 50, which would restructure the districts of the largest state congressional delegation in the union.
Along with opposing demands from former President Obama and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state’s powerful, left-leaning labor unions are another factor that could affect the outcome of the Nov. 4 special election.
Unions representing school teachers, carpenters, government employees and nurses in California spent more than $23 million on efforts to pass Proposition 50, according to an analysis of campaign finance disclosure reports on donations exceeding $100,000. That’s nearly a third of the six-figure donations reported through Thursday.
Not only do these groups have major interests in the state capital, including charter school reform, minimum wage increases and protection of government health care programs, they are also deeply aligned with efforts by Gov. Gavin Newsom and his fellow Democrats to give their party control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 elections.
“There are real issues at stake here,” said Gale Kaufman, a veteran Democratic strategist who represents several unions that contributed to Newsom’s committee supporting Proposition 50.
“There is always a risk of putting yourself in danger when donating large amounts,” Kaufman said. “But the truth about Prop. 50 is, I think it’s much less calculated than normal contributions. This is actually about the issue; it’s not about currying favor with members of the Legislature, the congressional delegation or the governor. Although, of course, it would be in their best interest if we win.”
High bets bring big money across the country
Newsom’s pro-Proposition 50 committee has raised more than $116 million, according to campaign disclosures through Thursday afternoon, but that number is sure to rise when additional donations are disclosed in the latest fundraising reports due by midnight Thursday.
The multimillion-dollar donations provide the best evidence of what is at stake and how Proposition 50 could determine control of the House of Representatives for the final two years of Trump’s presidency. If Democrats gain control of the House of Representatives, it would not only derail a key part of Trump’s agenda, but would likely lead to a series of congressional hearings on Trump’s crackdown on immigrants, the use of the military in American cities, his acceptance of a $400 million luxury plane from the Qatari royal family, cutting research funding to universities and the president’s ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, among many other issues. will lead.
The House Majority PAC, the Democrats’ congressional fundraising arm, donated at least $15 million to the pro-Proposition 50 campaign, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY) was in Los Angeles last weekend to campaign for the ballot measure. Obama joined Newsom on a livestream promoting the proposal on Wednesday, and Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin hosted a bilingual phone bank in Los Angeles on Thursday.
“Make no mistake about what they are trying to do and why it is so important that we fight back,” Martin said. “We won’t be the only party with one hand tied behind our backs. If they want a showdown, we’ll give them a showdown, and in a little less than two weeks that will start with Proposition 50 in California.”
Billionaire financier George Soros, a generous donor to liberal causes and the boogeyman of Republicans, contributed $10 million. Others, most notably billionaire hedge fund founder Tom Steyer, who donated $12 million, chose to fund separate organizations campaigning in favor of Proposition 50.
On the opposition side, the biggest donor is Charles Munger Jr., a longtime investment partner of billionaire Warren Buffett who donated $32.8 million to one of the two main committees opposing Proposition 50. The Congressional Leadership Fund, the GOP’s political arm in the House, donated $5 million to the other anti-Proposition 50 committee and $8 million to the California Republican Party.
Although Republicans control the White House and Congress, the California GOP has no real power in Sacramento; so it’s no surprise that Republican efforts opposing Proposition 50 haven’t drawn major donations from organizations doing business with the state.
The California Chamber of Commerce chose to remain neutral on Proposition 50. Chevron and California Resources Corp., oil companies that have donated to California Republicans in the past. He also chose to stay on the sidelines.
Democrats, by contrast, control all statewide offices and hold supermajorities in both houses of the California Legislature. The pro-Proposition 50 campaign has been showered with donations from groups aligned with Sacramento’s legislative leaders, including labor organizations.
Among labor donors, powerful carpenters unions contributed at least $4 million. Newsom saluted them in July when he signed legislation amending a landmark environmental law to allow for urban apartment developments to increase housing supply. The California Conference of Carpenters union has become one of the most pro-housing voices in the state.
“This is the third of the last four years that we have achieved landmark housing reforms together, and it wouldn’t have happened without the Carpenters,” Newsom said at the time.
Daniel M. Curtin, director of the California Conference of Carpenters, pointed to a letter he wrote to legislators in August urging them to redistrict on the ballot because of the impact of Trump’s policies on state workers.
“These are not normal times, and it is not politics as usual. The Trump administration is not only denying disaster relief to victims of California’s devastating wildfires, it is also damaging our California economy with mass arrests of law-abiding workers without warrants,” wrote Curtin, whose union has 70,000 members in the state. “The Trump administration is now unilaterally withdrawing from legally binding union collective bargaining agreements with federal employee unions. The president has made clear that this is just the beginning.”
Proposition 50 comes as Trump calls on Republican leaders in Texas to reshuffle congressional districts to increase the number of GOP members in the House and keep the party in check after the 2026 elections. Newsom sought to counter that move by changing California’s congressional boundaries in a rare redistricting in the middle of the decade.
With 52 members in the House of Representatives, the state has the largest congressional delegation in the nation. But unlike many states, California’s districts are determined by an independent commission created by voters in 2010 to end partisanship and incumbent protection.
The state’s districts would not be redrawn until after the 2030 U.S. census, but the Legislature and Newsom agreed in August to put Proposition 50, which would give Democrats the potential to pick up five seats, on the November ballot.
Money is flowing from California unions
While much of the money backing the effort comes from wealthy Democratic donors and partisan groups aimed at helping Democrats gain control of Congress, a significant portion comes from labor unions.
The Service Employees International Union, which represents more than 700,000 health care workers, social workers, home caregivers and school employees, and other state and local government employees, contributed more than $5.5 million to the committee.
The union celebrated Newsom’s signing of bills on Oct. 12 to ensure workers are informed of their civil and labor rights under state and federal law, regardless of their immigration status, as well as to update legal guidance for state and local agencies on protecting private information, such as court records and medical data, from misuse by federal authorities.
“We thank Governor Newsom for speaking out against federal overreach and indiscriminate, violent attacks on our communities,” SEIU California president David Huerta said in a statement.
Huerta was arrested and charged with a felony on the first day of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles in June. But federal prosecutors are instead filing a misdemeanor case against him, according to a court filing Friday.
An SEIU representative did not respond to requests for comment.
The California Teachers Association, another powerful force in state politics, contributed more than $3.3 million; as well as millions from other education unions, including the National Education Association, the California Federation of Teachers, and the American Federation of Teachers.
The CTA had a mixed record during this year’s legislative session.
Newsom vetoed a bill against charter school fraud, Senate Bill 414. CTA opposed the bill, arguing it doesn’t go far enough to target fraud in some schools, and urged the governor to reject it.
Newsom has signed CTA-backed bills that impose strict limits on ICE agents’ access to school grounds. But he also vetoed the union-backed bill that would have required the state Board of Education to adopt health education instructional materials by July 1, 2028.
CTA President David Goldberg said their donations stem not only from issues important to union members, but also from the students they serve who depend on federally funded aid programs and are affected by policies such as immigration.
“This is about our livelihood, but it’s really about fundamental issues for people who serve students who are incredibly under attack right now,” Goldberg said.
“The Governor’s support for labor will be exactly the same with or without Proposition 50 on the ballot. But he will recognize that this year is more urgent than ever for workers and employees,” Newsom spokesman Bob Salladay said. “Trump is destroying collective bargaining, fair wages, and safe working conditions. He will support them under any circumstances, especially now.”
Critics of Proposition 50 argue that these contributions are among the reasons voters oppose the ballot measure.
“The independent redistricting commission exists to prevent conflicts of interest and money from influencing line drawing,” said Amy Thoma, a spokeswoman for the Coalition of First Voters, the Munger Jr.-backed committee that funded the 2010 ballot measure to create the independent commission. “That’s why we want to preserve its independence.”
Other labor leaders, though not necessarily aligned with Newsom, have argued that they should support Proposition 50 because of the importance of Democrats winning the congressional majority next year.
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the powerful California Labor Federation, said the timing of member unions donating millions of dollars to Newsom’s ballot committee for an election held shortly after the bill was signed was “unfortunate” and “odd.”
“We were hesitant because we had so many bills in front of us,” he said, noting that the federation had discussions with the governor on issues such as the impact of artificial intelligence in the workplace. “Never get too close to your elected officials. Because we see the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
Times writers Andrea Flores and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
