Op-Ed: Why Construction Workers Should Care About Prop 50
It’s all about making sure working people across the Golden State are truly represented
When we head to the jobsite every day, we know what it takes to build this state. It takes sweat, skill, and solidarity. But no matter how hard we work, the decisions politicians make in Washington have just as much to do with whether or not we’ve got steady work and safe conditions.
That’s why Proposition 50, on the November statewide ballot, matters for every one of us in the trades.
The Problem We’re Facing
In recent years, some members of Congress from right here in California have been voting against working people.
Take U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R–Orange). She voted for a budget plan that gutted healthcare and cut services working families count on. When you’re raising kids, trying to keep food on the table, or dealing with an injury, those cuts hit hard.
Or consider U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R–Corona) in Riverside County. He voted the same way, siding with billionaires and corporations instead of the folks who pour concrete, lay pipe, and wire schools.
These are swing-district politicians. They don’t have a lock on their seats. That means if enough of us stand together, we can hold them accountable.
How Prop 50 Helps Us
Prop 50 would allow California to use new congressional maps drawn by the legislature for the next three elections.
Why should we care about this? Because how those district lines are drawn decides who has a real shot at winning — and whether or not we’ve got pro-worker voices in D.C. who are truly representing working Californians.
When the districts are fair, we’ve got a fighting chance to elect people who stand up for prevailing wages, fund infrastructure, and keep OSHA strong. When the maps are rigged, politicians feel safe ignoring us, and that’s when we see votes against unions, against healthcare, and against investments in the very projects that put us to work.
What’s at Stake
Think about it: Every road, bridge, school, and hospital project we build depends on federal dollars. Without strong allies in Congress, that money will dry up or get shipped somewhere else. Without champions for labor, wages get attacked, safety gets watered down, and non-union contractors get the upper hand.
As one brother from the laborers said at a recent meeting, “If they don’t need our votes, they don’t listen to us. Prop 50 makes sure they have to listen.”
A sister from the teamsters put it just as plainly: “This isn’t about Democrats or Republicans. It’s about making sure the people who win elections are people who respect what we do for a living.”
The Bottom Line
Prop 50 isn’t perfect. Some folks don’t like the idea of letting politicians draw the lines. But here’s the truth: If we sit this one out, the people who’ve already shown they’ll cut our jobs and our benefits will keep getting away with it.
Voting yes on Prop 50 means we’ve got a better shot at electing leaders who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us — not CEOs and hedge-fund investors who would sell us out in a second. It means protecting the paychecks we bring home, the pensions we’re earning, and the safety standards that make sure we come home in one piece.
So, when it’s time to vote, remember who’s really got your back. It’s not the politicians who voted to cut us down. It’s the union, and the people we can put in office to fight for us.
Let’s do our part and vote yes on Prop 50.
This op-ed was written by Larry Mazzola Jr., president of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council.