Striking Worker Jobless Benefits Bill Advances in California

A measure that would give striking workers in California eligibility for unemployment benefits was approved Thursday by a key legislative committee.

State law currently excludes workers from unemployment insurance if they are out of work due to a strike. Amid a summer of labor unrest across California, lawmakers and labor unions are making a last-minute push for a bill (S.B. 799) that would grant unemployment benefits to workers on strike for more than two weeks, starting next year.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee advanced the bill along party lines Thursday, with all Republicans opposed. The bill heads next to ...