California's biggest SEIU affiliate declines to endorse billionaire tax ballot measure
The Service Employees International Union California voted to stay neutral on Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on billionaire assets, sparking a split within the labor movement.
The executive board of Service Employees International Union California, representing 750,000 members, announced a neutral stance on Proposition 40, a ballot initiative that would levy a one-time 5% tax on the assets of billionaires residing in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026. The tax, devised by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, is intended to fill an estimated $100 billion gap in California’s safety-net programs, chiefly healthcare.
Opposition comes from teacher, police and firefighter unions, which argue the levy could undermine the state budget and encourage affluent Californians to relocate. Governor Gavin Newsom has been in talks with SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan about possibly removing the measure from the ballot, while billionaire Sergey Brin has contributed $82 million to a campaign opposing it. SEIU California highlighted an internal poll indicating that 70 % of its members would support the tax, and it also voiced strong opposition to other ballot measures such as Proposition 39 and Proposition 43.
Why it matters
The union’s refusal could weaken a high-profile tax proposal aimed at funding California’s healthcare safety net.
How the sides frame it
LOW AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage centers on the SEIU California affiliate’s neutral stance and the tax’s goal to fund safety-net programs, while centrist coverage spotlights LeBron James’s move and frames the tax as constitutionally contested and linked to billionaire flight.
LEFT
Reports the SEIU California affiliate’s decision to stay neutral on Proposition 40 and outlines the tax’s intended use and union opposition.
CENTER
Frames Proposition 40 as a contested billionaire wealth tax highlighted by LeBron James’s relocation and criticized as unconstitutional.
The left emphasises
- neutral stance on Proposition 40
- tax intended to fill an estimated $100 billion safety-net gap
- opposition from teacher, police and firefighter unions
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