Sacramento - In the largest gathering of 2026 gubernatorial candidates, seven Democrats competed for California’s labor leaders on Monday, vowing to support pro-union agreements on housing and infrastructure projects, regulation of artificial intelligence, and government funding for university research.

Throughout most of the hour, hundreds of union members in the Sacramento hotel banquet hall embraced the pro-labor commitment and speeches of the ruling candidate’s speech, although some booing rose from the crowd as current Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa emanated from other Democrats on the stage.

When asked whether he would support state unemployment benefits for strikers, Villara Lagoza was the only candidate to object, saying it would depend on the nature and timing of the labor action. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill in 2023 that would provide coverage, saying it would leave the state’s unemployment trust funds “vulnerable to bankruptcy.”

Monday night’s event was part of a legislative meeting held by the California Federation of Trade Unions and the California National Construction and Construction Trade Commission, one of the most influential labor organizations in the state’s capital.

Former State Councilor Toni Atkins joins Villaragosa, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Lieutenant Gov. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Katie Porter of Irvine, former state. Public guidance Tony Thurmond and former state controller Betty Yee. Everyone is replacing Newsom, who serves as the governor’s second and final term.

For most of the event, candidates were filled with Yes-or-No questions and took a dangerous wave of "No" or green signs as "yes".

The event is not without cold moments, including when candidates are asked whether they will be “pragmatic and stop targeting California’s oil and gas industry to endanger union work and force us to rely on dirtyer imported energy.”

Some candidates raised the green flag timidly. California's Democratic leaders, including Newsom and the highest state legislators, have been the main supporters of the transition to renewable energy and impose more restrictions on the state's oil and gas industry.

"We all want a clean environment, but that can't be on the back of workers," Yee said.

In a speech after the event, Villaraigosa said he challenged the idea of ​​getting into electrification too quickly, which would affect union work and increase the costs of utilities and energy across the state.

"Closing the refinery and telling people to get rid of gas furnaces and gas water heaters is just poppy," he said.

California Labor Federation President Lorena Gonzalez praised the Democratic candidates for their strong support for union workers. She said she hopes everyone will be more likely to accept some key union attention than news agencies, such as the regulation of artificial intelligence, which is a major threat to union work.

"When we talk about regulating AI and other things, we can't even have a conversation from Gavin Newsom about any regulating - I think that's the key thing. They all throw the green flag."

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who weighed the governor's campaign, declined to invite a speech at the meeting.

The National Construction and Construction Trade Commission represents thousands of workers in the state, including bricklayers, ironworkers and painters.

The Labor Federation is a powerful power in California's politics and policy, and is expected to coordinate up to $40 million in union spending in next year's general election. The Federation is an umbrella group with about 1,300 unions representing 2.3 million workers in the public and private sectors.

The group opposed Villaraigosa in the 2005 Mayoral Competition and supported Villaraigosa's news agency in the 2018 Governor Competition, but the group supported all governors in various previous competitions.

The latter’s decision was driven by the arc of Villaraigosa, whose roots were critics of Los Angeles teachers’ unions and charter schools and reformed the rules for teacher statements.

Times worker Phil Willon contributed to the report.