AB 2634 Prioritizes Labor-Management Partnerships and High-Quality Workforce Development Programs
SACRAMENTO, CA - Democratic Caucus Chair and Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur's (D-Hollywood) bill AB 2634, the High-Road Jobs & Workforce Training Act, has advanced out of the California State Assembly with bipartisan support and now heads to the Senate. The bill — strongly supported by SEIU California, Building Skills Partnership, and the Hospitality Training Academy — strengthens California's workforce development investments by prioritizing High-Road Training Partnership (HRTP) funding for programs rooted in labor-management collaboration and strong job standards.
Since its creation in 2017, California's High Road Training Partnership initiative has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into workforce development programs designed to support job quality, equity, and climate resilience. AB 2634 builds on that success by ensuring state workforce investments continue creating pathways to stable, good-paying jobs while preparing workers and industries for economic transformation and major opportunities like the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"California's workforce investments should lead to good-paying jobs, stronger industries, and real economic opportunity for working people," said Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur. "AB 2634 strengthens one of California's most successful workforce development models by prioritizing partnerships that bring workers and employers together to address workforce needs in real time. As our economy evolves through automation, climate transition, and major international events like the 2028 Olympics, we need workforce programs tied to real industry demand and high job standards."
High Road Training Partnerships were originally designed to operate through employers and unions working collaboratively to upskill workers and address industry workforce challenges. However, recent investments have increasingly shifted toward business-first models with weaker connections to job quality and incumbent workers. AB 2634 helps restore the original "High Road" vision by directing the state to provide a scoring preference for HRTP grant applicants that are bona fide labor-management cooperation committees or entities applying on behalf of those committees.
"I see AB 2634 as a critical investment not only in workers, but in the long-term stability and resilience of industries that are foundational to California's economy," said Luis Sandoval, Executive Director of Building Skills Partnership. "Sectors like janitorial, airport services, security, property services, and other low-wage industries have too often been excluded from workforce systems that genuinely create pathways to economic mobility. Yet these are the very workers who keep our buildings operating, airports functioning, businesses running, and communities moving every day. California has an opportunity to demonstrate that when we invest in partnership-driven workforce systems rooted in shared responsibility between labor and management, we can strengthen industries while also expanding economic mobility for working families.
"AB 2634 ensures that state investments support workforce programs that deliver training with a clear pipeline to employment, " said Adine Forman, Executive Director, Hospitality Training Academy. "This bill is timely as global events drive demand for a skilled hospitality workforce, essential to being a world-class host. We urge passage of AB 2634 to strengthen critical industries that can't be shipped overseas, expand access to good union jobs with benefits, and build a more resilient, inclusive economy."
Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur serves as the Democratic Caucus Chair for the California State Assembly and represents the 51st Assembly District, which includes Universal City, Hollywood, Hancock Park, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and other portions of Los Angeles.
CONTACT: Vienna Montague, (916) 319-2051, Vienna.Montague@asm.ca.gov