California Union Contractors Beg Governor for Covid Tax Relief

California’s union contractors on Wednesday begged Gov. Gavin Newsom to use the state’s budget surplus to offset the costs of mandated Covid-19 pay for workers.

United Contractors, which represents 400 contractors throughout California who mostly work on public projects, were left out of negotiations when lawmakers passed and Newsom (D) signed legislation (S.B. 114) that restored paid-leave requirements for businesses with more than 25 employees. The law had no tax credits or funding to offset the costs.

“I cannot fathom why the government has forgotten us,” Kim Carone, risk management vice president at Harbor Linx Inc. in Alameda, ...