After intense lobbying by Teamster retirees from Local 952 in Orange, Calif., lawmakers in the State Senate and Assembly approved SB-1, a $52-billion transportation infrastructure package, sending it to Gov. Jerry Brown. The governor strongly supports the legislation and is expected to sign it.

The bill, which raises the gas tax, will result in roughly $5 billion per year in infrastructure spending, including a 20 percent investment in transportation infrastructure. The legislation will create good-paying union jobs in the construction and transit industries while also providing some much-needed improvements to roads, highways and other crucial facilities throughout the state.

Teamster retirees engaged in strategic phone-banking to members of the Assembly and State Senate to persuade elected officials to vote yes on SB-1. More than 500 calls were made in just a few hours. The phone-banking clearly made a difference in swaying the handful of undecided legislators that were needed to pass the bill: lawmakers in the Assembly barely cleared the two-thirds super-majority needed to send the legislation to the governor’s office.

“Congratulations to all of our Teamster retirees who volunteered their time to make this happen!” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. “Thanks to your efforts, Californians will continue to have good-paying jobs doing work that serves to benefit all of their fellow citizens.”

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