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Inventory of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee Records
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Title: Assembly Labor and Employment Committee records,
Date (inclusive): 1945-1994
Collection number: Consult repository.
Creator:
Assembly Industrial Relations Committee, 1945-1968
Assembly Labor Relations Committee, 1969-1976
Assembly Labor, Employment and Consumer Relations Committee, 1977-1978
Assembly Labor, Employment and Consumer Affairs Committee, 1979-1980
Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, 1981-1994
Extent:
34.5 cubic feet
Repository:
California State Archives
Sacramento, California
Abstract: The Assembly Labor and Employment Committee Records consist of 34.5 cubic feet of material reflecting the activities of the
committee. Although the name of the committee changed several times, its primary mandate remained the same: to introduce
and investigate legislation on issues of labor and employment. The records are comprised of bill files, hearing files, subject
files and administrative files.
Physical location: California State Archives
Language:
English.
Collection is open for research.
For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication
is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility
for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives
collections.
[Identification of item], [Name of Committee] Records, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the
Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.
The California State Archives received these records from the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee over a number of years.
Alternative Forms of Material Available
Microfilm copies of bill files are available at the California State Archives for legislative sessions 1977-1984.
The first Assembly committee dedicated to legislation relating to issues of employment was created on Saturday, January 10,
1880. On that day, Assembly Member Braunhart "moved to amend Rule Nineteen by adding a subdivision, to be numbered thirty-eight,
to read: A Committee on Labor and Capital." (Assembly Journal, January 10, 1880, p. 45). Although the name of the committee
has changed several times, the basic mandate has remained the same for well over a century. In every legislative session
since 1880, there has been an Assembly committee dedicated to the various issues of labor and employment.
After 1937, the committee's mandate included specific mention of legislation pertaining to the Labor Code that had been created
by Chapter 90 of the Statutes of 1937. In 1945, legislators changed the name of the committee to the Assembly Industrial
Relations Committee. The committee continued to be assigned all legislation relating to employment issues. According to
the 1968 Assembly Journal, HR438 stated that the Assembly Industrial Relations Committee "is assigned the subject matter in
the Labor Code, uncodified laws relating to labor and industrial relations, and other matters relating to industrial relations."
(July 11, 1968, p. 5709).
In 1969, the name of the committee was again changed, to the Assembly Labor Relations Committee. According to the 1969 Legislative
Handbook, HR414 stated that the committee "is assigned the subject matter in the Labor Code, uncodified laws relating to labor
and industrial relations, and other matters relating to labor relations." (August 4, 1969, p. 7394) In 1977, the Committee
changed its name - but not its basic purpose - to the Assembly Labor, Employment and Consumer Relations Committee; in 1979
it became the Assembly Labor, Employment and Consumer Affairs Committee.
In 1981, legislators changed the name to the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee. The jurisdiction of the Labor and Employment
Committee included discrimination in employment, industrial safety - including workplace dangers created by toxic substances,
employment development, and public job programs.
The Assembly Labor and Employment Committee Records consist of 34.5 cubic feet of material reflecting the activity of the
committee (under various names) in introducing and investigating legislation related to the California Labor Code. The records
cover the years 1945 - 1994. They are comprised of bill files, hearing files, subject files and administrative files. Although
the committee began in the 1880s, the California State Archives did not receive records from the committee until 1945, and
the bulk of the records are from 1968-1994.
Among the bill files, hearing files and subject files researchers will find information on labor related topics such as safety
in the workplace, unemployment, fair wages, the underground economy, and industrial accident investigations. Other subjects
of particular interest to researchers may include debates on immigration reform, the handling of toxic materials, regulation
of labor unions and the rights of union members - especially the rights of public employees to unionize - and the treatment
of agricultural workers. Beginning in the 1960s, the committee regularly contemplated remedies to gender, ethnic or racial
discrimination by employers. At the same time, the committee considered programs that would help employ women, high school
drop-outs, and minorities in more fields or better paying jobs. Also, there is considerable material available in the hearing
and subject files regarding Governor George Deukmejian's proposal to close Cal-OSHA in 1987, including many letters from union
members and other constituents as well as newspaper editorials.
It is anticipated that the Archives will receive further records from the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee. Researchers
should check for recently received, unprocessed records.
The records have been organized into four series: bill files, hearing files, subject files and administrative files.
The following terms have been associated with these materials in the Archives'
automated public access system (currently in development, December 2004).
Labor unions
Agricultural laborers
Industrial accidents
California. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Safety and health at work
See Inventory of the California State Assembly Labor and Employment Committee Records, with appendices and file identification
numbers, in the reference room at the California State Archives. Catalog cards are also available in the reference room.
Related Collections at the California State Archives
Terry B. Friedman Papers
Richard E. Floyd Papers
Bill Greene Papers
Tom Hayden Papers
Bill Lockyer Papers
Leo T. McCarthy Papers
Leo T. McCarthy, oral history interview, conducted 1995 and 1996 by Carole Hicke, Regional Oral History Office, University
of California, Berkeley, for the California State Archives State Government Oral History Program.
Senate Industrial Relations Committee Records
Audiotapes and videotapes of hearings have been separated to a cold-storage vault for preservation purposes. Separation sheets
are in the hearing files to alert to the researcher to the existence and location of these tapes.