Assembly Standing Committee on Labor and Employment

It's wonderful to have her join our stellar group of Committee Members that have been with us for a while. Testimony is in person, but we do accept written testimony through the position letter portal on the Committee's website.

We also have an email address set up that you can use to email us your testimony. The email is Albr.committee.assembly.CA.gov at this time, I'd like to ask our secretary to take role and establish quorum, please.

[Roll Call] Quorum established.

Quorum is established. And the first item of business, to adopt the Committee rules. And so if I can have a motion, a second to it. And Madam Secretary, if we can have a role on the Committee rules.

[Roll Call]

All right, and so we are awaiting our author, Senator Cortese. And so we will just hang out for a moment and start as soon as he gets here to.

Also like to welcome another newer member to our Committee, Senator Chen, welcome. And we have Senator Cortese here. So, Senator, whenever you're ready, I know you just walked in, but whenever you're ready, feel free to come up to the table and we'll be hearing just one bill today, SB 41.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members. I really appreciate you allowing me to present SB 41 today. This bill reflects months of negotiations and an agreement between commercial airlines and cabin crew labor representatives and has no opposition. The bill exempts certain flight crew employees from California's labor code provisions regarding meal and rest breaks.

Compliance with the California meal and rest break statute for in flight cabin crews is virtually impossible for commercial airlines flights longer than two and a half to 3 hours because the FAA requires these employees to remain on duty at all times during a flight, including during meal and rest periods. Under California meal and rest break laws, employees must, of course, be off duty during meal and rest breaks.

Further, the statute requires an employee must be able to leave the premises, which is not possible for employees who are in flight. This bill provides a course correction for incompatible state law and federal regulations. SB 41 would exempt California based cabin crews from the meal and rest breaks only if there's a collective bargaining agreement that provides for breaks or appropriate compensation.

I do want to thank this Committee and one of our peer committees in the State Senate as well, for all of the work, but particularly this Committee. Mr. Chair, your Committee staff, your personal involvement with the bill to help get us here. Today with me to testify today are Sam Wilkins from Transport Workers Union and Kimberly Burkhalter from the Association of Flight Attendants.

I'm neither of those. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Members and staff. Mitch Steiger with the California Labor Federation. We're here today in support of SB 41 that represents a labor management agreement on the provision of meal periods for flight attendants.

Over a year ago, the airlines were pursuing unilateral changes to rest in meal break laws, and we opposed those proposals and urged them to work with the affected unions to find a more mutually agreeable solution. And this bill in front of you today represents that solution.

It is consistent with existing law that provides additional flexibility where there is a CBA in place, and it codifies the right to meal and rest periods for flight attendants, who we believe very much deserve this essential safety measure, and we urge your support. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chairman Kalra and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today in support of urgent passage of SB 41. My name is Kimberly Burckhalter, and I'm here representing my union, the Association of Flight Attendants CWA, made up of 50,000 flight attendants at 19 airlines and hundreds of thousands of siblings and the communication workers of America who stand with us.

The California meal and rest law is a very important protection for workers in California, but flight attendants based in California have yet to experience the benefits of it. I'm sure we can all agree that especially in these turbulent times in the skies, our workplace, flight attendants need and deserve these protections.

The problem is that, as written, there is no way that the airlines can comply with the statute because flight attendants cannot simply leave the property for a break or go off duty during their workday, according to the federal regulations. The law does not describe how to comply.

In the federal court case, management took the position that airlines are exempt from complying with this law. The courts decide otherwise, but did not provide instructions about how to comply.

SB 41 finally cofides that this law applies to flight attendants, too, and airlines will comply with the law when they bargain, meal and rest language in a contract. There are several advantages to this approach. Each airline operation is unique, and this allows the flight attendant and management to determine how best to provide these benefits within the unique operations at each airline.

California can only enforce the law within the state, and the plaintiff even argued that the law only applies to interstate flying, which was key in the Supreme Court decision to deny cert of the case. But there are very few flight attendants based in California who only fly within the state's borders during their workday. SB 41 ensures these provisions will apply to all California based flight attendants no matter where their work takes them in the country.

85% of the California based flight attendants have a union and a union contract. Those who don't can still file. Finally, this is also about job security for our work in California. We don't need airlines making decisions based on their inability to comply with the current law that jeopardizes our jobs in California or the kind of assignments we can bid for here in this state. We look forward to the urgent passage of this bill and signing by the Governor as soon as possible. Thank you.

Thank you.

I probably don't need this thing good afternoon, Committee Chairperson Kalra. My name is Sam Wilkins. I'm here on behalf of Transport Workers Union of America, who has approximately 30,000 flight attendants under the TWU umbrella. I'm here speaking in favor of the passing of this legislation.

California meal and rest break requirements California labor code five and 112 requires 10 minute rest breaks for every 4 hours worked and unpaid 30 minutes meal period every 5 hours worked. We currently don't have that.

Most airline employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements and subject to the Railroad Labor Act, most ground employees ramp customer service, catering and provisioning employees have contractual language that address meal and rest breaks, while flight attendants and pilots generally do not.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that meal and rest breaks must apply to flight attendants and pilots based in California. The court stated that meal and rest breaks are, quote, not a federally occupied field of aviation safety or a safety of flight issue.

This belongs under state supervision and guidance, end quote. The US Supreme Court failed to weigh in on Bernstein. Airlines have legislative language SB 41 that exempts California based flight crew from meal and rest break requirements, provided there is a collective bargaining agreement in place and the agreement includes a provision addressing meal and rest breaks. Currently, TWU flight attendants do not have those provisions within their contracts.

The legislative language provides a framework for unions to negotiate a meal and break structure that is unique to the needs and preferences of their California based membership, avoiding the strict structure that exists in statute. The legislation also provides flexibility for air carriers to meet operational needs that can vary from airline to airline.

Other flight attendant groups are in support of legislation. AFA and APFA, the Teamsters pilot group is opposed. We are in support of this, and we ask that you urgently pass this.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Is there anyone in the room who would like to speak in support of SB 41? Got a microphone to my right. Just name, affiliation and your position.

Hi, Mr. Chair. Kathy Van Austin, representing United Airlines in support.

Thank you.

Hi. Margie Lee on behalf of Alaska Airlines, in strong support.

Ruben Zaragoza on behalf of Southwest Airlines, in support. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon chair and Members. Kate Bell on behalf of American Airlines, co sponsor, in support.

Thank you.

Thank you. Nico Molina on behalf of Silicon Valley Leadership Group, in support.

Laura Hill on behalf of the Bay Area Council, in support. Thank you.

Thank you.

Blaine Miyasato, representing Hawaiian Airlines, in full support.

Thank you.

Ashley Hoffman on behalf of the California Chamber of Commerce, in support.

Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anyone here in opposition? I know we don't have any registered formal opposition. Anyone that would like to speak in opposition? We will bring it back to the Committee for any motions, comments, questions. Assembly member Reyes.

Congratulations. This is a big deal to be able to negotiate something like this so important. It's not something that happens overnight. It's a lot of hours that goes into this. So with that, I would move the Bill.

We have a motion. A second. Assembly member Ortega.

Just want to acknowledge this is my first hearing, and I'm very excited to vote on something that has employers, the chamber and labor together. Very excited to be here and supporting this. Congratulations.

Don't get used to it. Just kidding. Anyone else? Any other comments? I do really want to thank Senator Cortese and his team for taking this on. This is no light matter. I know that it took many months with the unions and airlines have worked really hard to come up with this. You know, I think everyone knows this Committee takes very seriously exempting any worker from state label law.

But I am encouraged to hear the parties will continue to negotiate a solution to missed rest periods so workers are made whole. And even more significantly, we know that this is a unique situation, and I think that it's a unique industry there, a unique relationship between the employer and the worker that we need to recognize.

But it does in any way, I think, diminish certainly our intention as a labor Committee, whether here or in the Senate, with our chair of labor here, to be very clear that we're going to continue to stand up and protect worker rights in this state. And I think when we see the unions come together with employers, I think that's an example of when we can feel confident that both sides are being represented well.

And I do also want to thank all the parties, including Senator Cortese, for your patience with me and my Committee staff, who were doing their due diligence, not being part of the intense negotiations, but wanted to make sure that we were doing everything we can to make sure workers were protected. And I think we feel very comfortable. I feel very comfortable at this point, with all the work that's been done, that we can move forward.

It does have an urgency clause on this because it is an issue that does need to be resolved soon. And so I'm very grateful for all the work that has gotten us here. And with that, Senator Cortese. And the motion is do passed straight to the Assembly floor. Senator Cortese, would you like to close?

Thank you. In the spirit of the comments. I know, Mr. Chairman, you and I are planning for the whole session to go this way, right?

The two of us are. I don't know about everybody else. Unfortunately.

The Bill has unanimous bipartisan support. It's passed out of all committees and the Senate for without a single no vote. Again, make no mistake, this Committee vetted the Bill very carefully and went back and forth with us, and we appreciate that. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Madam Secretary, if you take a roll on SB 41.

Motion is do pass to the Assembly floor. [Roll call].

All right. The Bill is out. Thank you so much. And the meeting will be adjourned in a 15 minutes meeting, so don't get you sad, either. All right, thank everybody.