Despite a hostile federal environment, workers across the country, especially in California, achieved meaningful victories in 2025. Major union contracts delivered substantial wage increases, improved benefits, and job protections for dockworkers, teachers, grocery workers, journalists, health care professionals, and university employees. California grocery workers secured wage hikes, pensions, and enhanced health care benefits, while University of California workers ratified what they called their “best contract yet,” including a $25 minimum wage and expanded family leave. Even in an increasingly unfavorable federal climate, these victories showed that organized workers can still win meaningful gains.
These successes were also complemented by notable political and legal developments, including arbitration victories affirming that employers cannot use emerging technologies to unilaterally alter working conditions or collective bargaining obligations.
As federal labor protections continue to erode, California’s more worker-friendly laws, policies, and courts will play a critical role in safeguarding injured and exploited workers. In this shifting national landscape, applicants’ attorneys will remain central to defending workers’ rights and ensuring continued access to the workers’ compensation system. Together the developments of the past year confirm both the challenges ahead and the importance of strong state-level protections for working people.
