SB376 is cost effective solution to UC contracting inequities

By RICARDO LARA / Contributing Writer

When it comes to evaluating policy, sometimes it’s just better to have the facts.

Case in point is Adam Summers recent column (Opinion, Oct. 4) attacking legislation that I authored, called Senate Bill 376.

SB376 would require private companies providing contract services at the University of California to provide their UC-assigned, “contingent” employees commensurate pay and benefits to directly hired UC workers who do the same jobs.

This legislation is needed for several reasons.

First, recent research has shown that these workers are paid as much as 53 percent less than comparable UC employees. Contingent workers are also twice as likely to live in poverty and rely on food stamps and Medi-Cal. The state has a vital interest in addressing poverty and reducing the demands on our taxpayer-funded social safety net.

The research also tells us that those most impacted by this law will be immigrants and people of color. Sadly, current law rewards UC contractors – in the form of higher profits from taxpayer and student tuition dollars – for paying their workers poverty wages. SB376 changes this dynamic by ensuring subcontracted workers receive equal pay for equal work.

The arguments against this legislation are simply not supported by the facts.

For the full article, click on the link below.
[Source]: OC Register