(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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Electoral reforms are necessary but insufficient. The deeper problem is not the ballot — it is the collapse of the organized civic life that once connected voters to the institutions that govern them. Rebuilding that infrastructure is not a workaround. It is the most important work we can be doing today, not just for California but for America.
(May 26, 2026)
A California ballot initiative that will be put to voters in November would tax just 5 percent of billionaires’ fortunes over five years. This trailblazing wealth tax would be a small (for the ultrawealthy) but important (for everyone else) step toward raising needed tax revenue and curbing the state’s runaway inequality.
The billionaire class in California includes roughly 250 households, a mere 0.001 percent of the state’s families. Yet its wealth now amounts to more than half of California’s entire annual economic output.
This means that if these billionaires spent all of their wealth, they could buy more than half of the goods and services produced in a year in the entire state.
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.
MPs, trade unionists, celebrities and other public figures sign open letter calling on British government to end participation in Iran war
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.
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
Italian dockworkers and the Union of Base Trade Unions (USB) vowed that they would respond with strikes and class struggle in the event of an attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, and they delivered. On October 3, Italy exploded in a day of “wildcat” strike actions across many sectors.
Despite intimidation from the authorities, who declared the strike illegal and deployed heavy repressive operations, the USB and the dockworkers managed to get Italian workers across sectors to stop and take to the streets, forcing the bureaucracy of the main labor union (CGIL) to call for a strike and demonstrations. Following the important day of struggle on September 22, over two million workers demonstrated and walked off the streets on Friday, especially in the metalworking, logistics, and education sectors.
According to the CGIL union, 300,000 people marched through the streets of Rome alone, while the national average participation in the general strike stood at around 60%, halting all the main services in key sectors including transportation and schools.
Als Reaktion auf die gewaltsame Kaperung der Gaza-Hilfsflotte »Global Sumud Flotilla« durch das israelische Militär sind am Freitag überall in Italien Hunderttausende auf die Straßen gegangen. Allein in der Hauptstadt Rom waren es nach Angaben der Organisatoren 300.000 Menschen. In mehreren Städten blockierten Demonstranten Bahnhöfe und Autobahnen – und stießen dabei auf Zustimmung. So etwa in Brescia, wo Autofahrer in Solidarität hupten und applaudierten.
Massive protests erupted across Italy as unions and dockworkers launched a nationwide strike against Israel’s war in Gaza. Demonstrators blocked major ports in Genoa, Livorno, and Trieste to stop arms shipments to Israel, while violent clashes broke out with police at Milan’s central station and Naples’ railway hub. Tear gas, riot police, and arrests marked a tense day of unrest as thousands marched in solidarity with Palestinians.
DRM News provides live coverage of Italy‘s general strike on September 22, 2025, as thousands rally in solidarity with Gaza and demand an end to arms shipments to Israel. Witness disruptions in Rome, Genoa, and beyond, with union leaders calling for sanctions and humanitarian corridors.
(video)
Unions and pro-Palestine activists in Italy are holding a nationwide strike to protest Israel‘s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Organisers of the day of action on Monday condemned the Italian government and European Union‘s complicity in the atrocities carried out by Israel against Palestinians in the besieged Strip.
They also voiced support for the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is attempting to break Israel‘s blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the territory.
The strike was called for by the Autonomous Dockworkers Collective (CALP) and the Basic Union (USB) – a national grassroots trade union confederation known for its militant platform – as well as the Global Movement to Gaza Italy, a solidarity network backing the flotilla‘s mission
Em fala emocionante no evento do lançamento dos barcos italianos no Porto de Gênova, representante de estivadores afirma que se perderem contato com a flotilla, “mesmo que por apenas 20 minutos”, paralisarão toda a Europa.
A cidade italiana é conhecida pelo ativismo político à esquerda e por um forte movimento anti-fascista. Este mês uma campanha de arrecadação de alimentos coletou mais de 300 toneladas de ajuda humanitária para Gaza. No sábado, mais de 40.000 pessoas participaram de uma marcha com tochas pelas ruas em apoio à missão.
Palestina livre do rio ao mar!
(September 2, 2025)
The Global Samud Flotilla has set sail to break the siege on Gaza, under threat of interception and repression by the Israeli state. In response, Italian dockworkers have announced that they are prepared to shut down the dock of Genoa, should Israel stop the flotilla from delivering aid to Gaza.