(March 25, 2026)
When Gavin Newsom stood before a room of economic elites in New York last December and derided a “single labor leader” pushing a tax on California billionaires, he never said his name. He didn’t need to.
Everyone in California politics knows of Dave Regan, the legendarily combative health care union chief who has spent decades wielding California’s ballot initiative system against the health care industry.
But his newest mission is on a scale orders of magnitude larger.
The push to put a billionaire tax to a popular vote in blue California has exposed deep divides on the left, even as Democratic politicians across the country rally around calls for the wealthy to pay more. The issue is pitting the populist mood of the public against many Democrats’ fears that the measure will push the ultrawealthy to join a broader exodus from the state and take their tax dollars with them.
(June 25, 2026)
SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West President Dave Regan refused to back down on the billionaire tax.
(January 12, 2026)
The conversations, reported here for the first time, have occurred intermittently for months as SEIU-UHW’s ballot initiative targeting billionaires migrated from the backrooms of California politics to the center of a raging debate about Silicon Valley and income inequality, sparking tech titans’ wrath and vows to move out of state.
“We’ve been at this for four months,” Newsom said in an interview with POLITICO, describing an “all-hands” effort that has included him meeting one-on-one with SEIU-UHW’s leader, Dave Regan.
A compromise does not appear imminent. A union official cast doubt on the possibility of a deal, saying the two sides do not currently have another meeting scheduled and framing a ballot fight as an inevitability.
Our solution: The California Billionaire Tax Act
We’re calling on California’s billionaires to step up and pay a one-time, emergency 5% tax to prevent the collapse of California healthcare and help fund California public K-14 education and state food assistance programs. This would protect healthcare jobs and ensure working people and families can get the care they need. The tax would be paid only by Californians worth more than $1 billion — which is about 200 people who hold a combined wealth of $2 trillion.
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NNA – A young man was killed and two others were wounded after Israeli soldiers opened machine-gun fire on a group of people near a bulldozer carrying out road-clearing works in the Al-Deir neighborhood of Nabatieh Al-Fawqa.
The casualties were transported to the Lebanese Popular Relief Hospital for treatment. The incident occurred as road-opening operations were underway in the area.
James is an eighth-generation Texan, former middle school teacher, and Presbyterian seminarian. As a state representative, he’s led the fight against the billionaire mega-donors and puppet politicians who have taken over Texas.
Now, he’s running for U.S. Senate to take his fight against corruption to Washington and win power back for working people.
Zuhur Tarwa stood in shock as Israeli army markers appeared across her vineyard, declaring it confiscated.
The 68-year-old Palestinian had spent years tending the land with her two daughters in the fertile Baqa’a Valley, east of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
Their 200 grapevines once filled the plot with broad green leaves, promising a strong harvest.
Before that could happen, the confiscation order arrived – followed soon after by bulldozers.
“They razed the entire land, uprooting the grapevines and other crops,” Tarwa told Middle East Eye.
The report did not specify what type of weapon had struck the building, but it came as the neighboring UAE reported air defenses were working to intercept Iranian missile and drone attacks.
(…)
The incident occurred in the Tebat area of Bukha Governorate, which is in an Omani enclave hemmed in by the Strait of Hormuz to the north and UAE territory to the south.
“A plasterer in [the West Bank city of] Ramallah earns 1,500 shekels ($510) a month and a plasterer in [the Israeli town of] Ramle earns 7,000 shekels a month, so of course he‘s willing to risk being shot in the knee or a week of detention, if he succeeded in crossing over and can work in a bakery,” Bluth explained.
“There are a lot of ‘limping monuments’ in Palestinian villages, of those who tried to [cross the barrier], so there is a price being paid,” he boasted.
The Israeli general also said Palestinians throwing rocks were engaged in “terrorism,” while bragging about how many his troops had killed last year.
The holiday, also known as International Workers’ Day or Labor Day, marks the struggles and achievements of workers and the labor movement around the world. Thousands of people are expected to attend rallies and demonstrations calling for stronger protections for workers, higher wages, greater equality and more.
Tony knows that working families across California are facing so many challenges that require our entire state government, working together, to solve.
Growing up in poverty as a Black and Latino kid without his parents, Tony lived the struggles that so many Californians face every day – that‘s why he dedicated his career to fighting for a brighter future for California‘s children.
(February 20, 2026)
Thurmond, a longtime champion of programs to counter food insecurity, sponsored a state law that currently funds universal school meals for every California student. Today, Thurmond praised the Billionaire Tax for helping children and families when they need it most, by funding food, supporting K-14 public education, and protecting healthcare for all Californians.
“Billionaires have a unique opportunity to save healthcare for Californians, feed hungry families, and reinvest in our public schools,” Thurmond said. “Growing up in poverty, having access to healthcare and food aid kept me and my brother alive, and public education offered us a ladder to the middle class. At a time of unprecedented wealth and income inequality, now is the time to strengthen that ladder for the next generation, not pull it up behind us.”
How it Works
Paid only by Californians worth more than $1 billion—about 200 people who together hold $2 trillion in wealth, most of which will never be taxed in their lifetimes due to loopholes in state and federal tax laws.
Raises about $100 billion to replace lost federal dollars and protect essential services. Directs 90% of funds to healthcare and 10% to public K-14 education and state food assistance programs.
No new taxes on the middle class, small businesses, or homeowners.
What it does for Californians
Keeps hospital ERs, clinics, nursing homes, and home care open and staffed in every community.
Stabilizes premiums and coverage, so families can see a doctor when they need one.
Protects healthcare jobs and the middle-class economy they support.
Funds public K-14 education to keep classrooms staffed, protect programs, and ensure every child gets a quality education.
Funds state food assistance programs to keep millions of Californians from losing access to food and support school nutrition programs.
What we want is simple
Protect our fragile healthcare system from collapse so our families can get the care we need.
Billionaires doing their part to support California and contribute to the social safety nets and public infrastructure that enabled their wealth accumulation.
A state with a strong middle class where everyone can thrive.
California Billionaire Tax Act
A statewide ballot initiative to enact an emergency tax on billionaires to save California’s healthcare system from collapse
Massive cuts to federal healthcare funding are driving California towards a healthcare collapse. The federal funding cuts will strip roughly $100 billion from California healthcare over the next five years, leading to:
Short-staffed shifts: Skeleton crews left on the front lines as 145,000 healthcare jobs disappear
Higher costs and lost coverage: Insurance premiums go up for everyone, and millions of Californians lose coverage altogether.
Facility closures and reduced services: Hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and home care will be forced to reduce services or close down.
Our solution: The California Billionaire Tax Act
(October 24, 2025)
The proposed initiative would tax the 2025 net worth of billionaires residing in California, allowing them to pay off the obligation over five years. The revenue would go into a special fund with 90% reserved for health care spending and 10% reserved for K-12 education spending.
It needs 874,641 signatures to be placed before voters on the 2026 ballot, a number that the groups are confident they can reach. Getting voters to ultimately approve the tax, however, could be a hard sell.
(January 12, 2026)
The conversations, reported here for the first time, have occurred intermittently for months as SEIU-UHW’s ballot initiative targeting billionaires migrated from the backrooms of California politics to the center of a raging debate about Silicon Valley and income inequality, sparking tech titans’ wrath and vows to move out of state.
“We’ve been at this for four months,” Newsom said in an interview with POLITICO, describing an “all-hands” effort that has included him meeting one-on-one with SEIU-UHW’s leader, Dave Regan.
A compromise does not appear imminent. A union official cast doubt on the possibility of a deal, saying the two sides do not currently have another meeting scheduled and framing a ballot fight as an inevitability.
Getting Your Party back on track means campaigning tirelessly on the issues that matter most to people, from the cost-of-living to opposing racism and war.
But it also means empowering Your Party members to organise most effectively and make decisions collectively. For that, we need iron-clad democratic commitments that ensure all members can play their full part — not democratic posturing behind which small sects seek outsized influence.
So here are The Many’s six priorities to build a truly member-led party:
1. Set Up Official Branches — so all members can get organised.
2. Defend OMOV — so all members get to decide, not the sects.
3. Establish Members’ Policy Commissions — so policies are shaped by the people they will affect.
4. Review the Finances and Data — so all members can have trust, nothing off limits.
5. Organise the Liberation Sections — so members from every background are empowered.
6. Report Back Monthly — so the collective leadership is accountable to all members, not just itself.
Jeremy Corbyn
Laura Smith
Ayoub Khan
Shockat Adam
Louise Regan
Riaz Khan
Sue Moffat
Fadel Takrouri
Mohammed Azam
Dawn Aspinall
Cath Davis
Hannah Hawkins
Noor Jahan Begum
Tahir Mirza
Jo Rust
Michael Mulquin
Jenn Forbes
Terry Deans
Cassi Bellingham
Chelley Ryan
Monique Mosley
Ismail Uddin
Maria Donnellan
Anwarul Khan
Ian Spencer
Myra Shoko
Graham Jones
Megan Clarke
Riccardo La Torre
Solma Ahmed
Candi Williams
Mark Gage
Grace Lewis
Zarah Sultana
Michael Lavalette
Max Shanly, CEC candidate for South East England
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi
Chris Saltmarsh
Sophie Wilson
Chloe Braddock
Haifa Alkhanshali
Anahita Zardoshti
Mel Mullings
(February 4, 2026)
Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s slates are at level pegging in the battle to lead Your Party, with less than a week until the organisation holds internal elections.
The endorsement phase – in which members were able to endorse candidates they wish to see on the ballot for elections to Your Party’s central executive committee – closed on Thursday 29 January. Corbyn’s slate – The Many – are leading in 12 seats, while Grassroots Left, which Sultana is attached to, are leading in 10.
In Your Party, we have to do things differently. That’s why The Many is announcing the Socialist Leadership Programme: If we are elected to Your Party’s Central Executive Committee, we will establish this programme to identify, educate and train a new generation of working-class socialist leaders.
These are leaders who will represent the full breath of our coalition: Old and young, from all faiths and none, and from every corner of Britain. Leaders built up not from Westminster and the professional political class, but from community campaigns, workplace struggles, and social movements. Leaders who won’t just posture, but will build real power.
Hundreds of businesses in the Twin Cities are closed Friday to protest the presence of federal immigration agents in Minnesota, as thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of downtown Minneapolis in a show of solidarity.
Hundreds of businesses in the Twin Cities were closed Friday to protest the presence of federal immigration agents in Minnesota, as thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of downtown Minneapolis in a show of solidarity over the Operation Metro Surge crackdown.
Community members asked for no work, no school and no shopping, calling it a „Day of Truth and Freedom.“
Some small business owners have called on elected leaders to act to limit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the state.