One of America’s largest labor unions has made a public statement on California’s much-discussed wealth tax on billionaires.
Teamsters California and its 250,000 members have formally supported state legislation that proposes a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California residents worth more than $1 billion.
“The fight to pass the California Billionaire Tax is a fight to protect workers’ ability to live in California; it’s a fight that Teamsters California will continue to lead,” Peter Finn and Victor Mineros, co-chairs of Teamsters California, said in a joint press release.
“The same Big Tech billionaires who shed crocodile tears over the idea of paying their fair share of taxes while amassing towering piles of cash are operating a rigged system that charges delivery drivers and bus drivers higher rates than the AI managers trying to wipe out our jobs,” they continued.
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The Teamsters statement added that the union hopes the tax proposal holds billionaires “accountable for destroying our jobs and robbing families of our health care,” while Teamsters California “leads the fight for working people and their jobs by challenging the Big Tech agenda aimed at replacing family-supporting jobs with robots.”
Teamsters union workers picket outside an Amazon distribution center in San Francisco, California on December 19, 2024. (Getty Images)
Although not yet eligible for the November 2026 ballot, the proposal – backed by the Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West – would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires due in 2027, with taxpayers allowed to spread the payments over five years, with additional costs, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
If the measure is approved by voters, anyone who was a California resident on Jan. 1, 2026, would be liable for the tax, according to the proposal.
“About 200 California billionaires own an astonishing $2 trillion in wealth; each of the billionaires could spend $500 million a year from their interest income alone without touching a cent of their wealth,” Finn and Mineros wrote. “But for the greedy corporations and their billionaire owners, it’s never enough. They won’t be satisfied until they replace every employee with a robot that feeds their fortunes.”
“The legislative package prioritizes protecting workers and the public from eliminating good jobs with robots, the dangers of autonomous vehicles that threaten the public safety of our community, and ensuring that our state’s economic growth benefits everyday Californians,” they continued, “and not just business leaders and shareholders.”
As a result of the proposal, several billionaires — some public and others unnamed — have shifted assets or moved from California to more business-friendly states like Florida. Confirmed examples include Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, investor Peter Thiel and venture capitalist David Sacks.
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“They all eat and drink together and talk about this proposed tax. And as the proposed tax gained speed, that’s when they understood that they needed to rent or buy something from California to establish residency and reduce their net worth exposure to the proposed billionaires tax,” he further explained.
“It’s a melting pot and they’re all friends. And that’s the point. The turning point was when four or five of them bought something and three more signed a contract. The rest, all their friends, are here. And they also talked about the office buildings.”
