125,000 AFSCME members back the one-time emergency tax to save California hospitals, healthcare
Sacramento – The California Billionaire Tax Act campaign picked up a major endorsement from one of the state’s largest unions, the 125,000-member AFSCME CALIFORNIA. AFSCME is a union representing public sector and healthcare workers across California. Its statewide body, the People’s Committee, voted unanimously at a recent gathering to endorse the much-needed California Billionaire Tax Act.
In a statement, AFSCME released the following:
“California is facing disastrous, dangerous cuts that put millions of people’s lives at risk. This funding crisis, caused by federal attacks, threatens Californians’ access to adequate healthcare by increasing premiums, cutting coverage for families, and forcing hospitals and clinics to reduce services or close completely.
We need to raise revenue to protect California’s health care system, and the California Billionaire Tax Act is one way to do just that. By implementing a one-time tax on billionaires who have been able to take advantage of corporate loopholes, we can ensure that our state’s wealthiest residents will pay their fair share and support the state they call home. Funds raised by the tax will also help fund state public education and food assistance programs.”
Matthew Maldonado, AFSCME California PEOPLE Chair, said: “families all over California are going to suffer if nothing is done to push back against these federal budget cuts. But California is also the fifth largest economy in the world, we know the wealth is there. The Billionaire Tax is going to put that wealth back to work for all Californians.”
Suzanne Jimenez, Chief of Staff at SEIU United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) and lead backer of the proposed tax, welcomed the endorsement: “the campaign and its growing number of supporters thank the union members of AFSCME for everything they do to promote the public good and care for patients — and we also thank them for their support for this commonsense policy that will help keep hospitals and ERs open across our state.”
Soon, massive federal budget cuts will push key parts of the California healthcare system to the brink of collapse, or worse. Local hospitals and emergency rooms will shut their doors forever because billionaires insist on paying lower tax rates than working families. The ballot proposal’s coalition and its endorsers are backing the initiative in order to save the state from these dire consequences — and to ensure billionaires begin to pay closer to their fair share.
As federal healthcare cuts from HR1 begin to rip healthcare away from millions of Californians, a growing list of lawmakers and organizations are supporting a one-time 5% emergency tax on the state’s roughly 200 billionaires in direct response to the massive cuts. The commonsense measure is designed to ensure that billionaires pay their fair share to stabilize and protect the state’s vast healthcare system, including hospitals, nursing homes, community health centers, and home care services.
Supporters of the Billionaire Tax note how successful other wealth taxes have been in states across the country. Measures such as the Massachusetts Fair Share Amendment and Washington State’s capital gains tax have generated billions in new revenue for public services, and the number of high-income residents and their cumulative wealth in both states have increased since the policies went into effect.
In addition, tax experts have underscored that what makes the billionaire tax unique is how it’s designed to be fair and enforceable — so billionaires can’t avoid responsibility by moving their assets or claiming residency elsewhere after the now-passed January 1, 2026 deadline for residency changes.
The Billionaire Tax ballot measure will give Californians the opportunity to vote “yes” to save their healthcare, with 90% of funds raised going toward stabilizing the state’s healthcare system and protecting healthcare for all Californians, and 10% funding food aid and supporting K-14 public education.
Impact of federal healthcare cuts
- Dozens of hospitals and ERs will close; dozens more will be forced to cut back services and lay off healthcare workers. The patient care crisis will worsen as patients are forced to wait longer and drive further for medical care.
- Up to 3.4 million Californians could lose their healthcare coverage under Medicaid, including many seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities
- The state could lose about $30 billion in federal healthcare funding every year — destabilizing the health care system and driving up health care costs for everyone.
- Insurance premiums for Californians who purchase Affordable Care Act plans could rise as much as 97%, and an estimated 400,000 Californians could be priced out of healthcare altogether.
Impact of food assistance cuts
- Currently, 5.5 million Californians benefit from food aid. 3.5 million are senior citizens and children.
- At least 754,000 people could lose their entire monthly benefit, with over 3 million households facing reductions.
- The estimated funding loss is $2.5 to $4.5 billion annually.
The SNAP/Cal-Fresh cuts, if not backfilled by other funding mechanisms, are expected to cost California approximately 400,000 jobs over the next nine years.
About the California Billionaire Tax Act
The California Billionaire Tax Act proposes a one-time emergency tax on the wealth of the state’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals to safeguard Medi-Cal, keep hospitals and emergency rooms open, expand food assistance, and support public education. The initiative is a direct response to federal healthcare cuts under HR1 that threaten healthcare access and economic stability for millions of Californians.
| Paid for by Save California Health Care and Public Education, Sponsored by Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West. Committee’s Top Funder Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West |
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