Teamsters California and a coalition of unions have submitted more than 1.5 million signatures to get a bill on the ballot that would require billionaires in California to pay a one-time 5% emergency billionaire tax to protect union jobs and healthcare for state residents.

Teamsters California joined the coalition in January, which includes SEIU United Healthcare West (UHW) and other unions. The successful qualifying petition was announced at a press conference that featured a Teamster shop steward as a speaker.

“We rallied, we spoke to our friends and neighbors, we collected signatures, and together, we are one step closer to the California we deserve,” said Teamsters Local 396 member Jared Hamil. 

“We deserve to be able to afford to see a doctor when we’re sick. We deserve to know our local hospital will be open and ready to treat you in an emergency. In a nation as rich as ours, that’s the least we deserve,” Hamil said.  

With the signatures in, Californians will vote on the measure in November.

“The same billionaires driving up the costs of housing, groceries, and utilities want their workers to pay more for healthcare every time we sit down at the bargaining table; now they want working people to pay even more for our health care so the executives can get even more tax breaks,” said Teamsters California in a statement.