Who is Newsom appointee Laphonza Butler? A powerful Democrat with a complicated labor legacy

She’s worked at high levels in almost every place where Democrats are strong: a former top California labor official, president of an influential women’s political organization and adviser to Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and other party luminaries.

Laphonza Butler will be the Senate’s only Black woman and just the third in its history, following Harris (2017-2021), now vice president, and Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, (1993-1999) the Illinois Democrat.

“Butler…isn’t all that well-known to the broader public but is someone who is deeply involved in Democratic politics/governance,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the nonpartisan Sabato’s Crystal Ball.

And that’s just what Senate Democrats badly need, activists said.

Butler “understands the challenges faced by women of color who run for office — and who serve. We look forward to working with her to elevate and address those challenges,” said Aimee Allison, president and founder of Oakland-based She The People, a political network of women of color.

When Butler is sworn in, possibly as early as Tuesday, Democrats will control 51 of the Senate’s 100 seats. But the party often doesn’t move in lockstep, and last year, Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., blocked President Joe Biden’s more ambitious economic initiatives, while Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Ind.-Arizona, became an independent.

Butler will serve the rest of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s term, which runs through January 2025, though once a senator is elected next November they could take office sooner.

Chances are she won’t be voting on the kinds of sweeping reforms Biden proposed in the last two years. Nor will she have the clout that Feinstein, a 31-year veteran, wielded as a member of two powerful committees (Judiciary and Appropriations)

But Butler is expected to bring stability and reliability to votes confirming judges, approving more aid to Ukraine and funding government programs.

David Huerta, president of SEIU California and SEIU United Service Workers West, celebrated Butler’s appointment Monday morning, saying “there is no one better to represent California.”

Butler, former president of SEIU Local 2015, California’s largest labor union, “is a visionary leader and a committed champion of justice for all,” Huerta said.

“Whether helping elect more women to office; advancing the interests of janitors, security officers, window cleaners, and food service workers; lifting up home care and nursing home workers ... she has already made an incredible difference for California’s working people, for women, and for communities of color.”

Butler, labor and big tech

But not all union leaders are excited about Butler’s appointment — including many who haven’t forgotten her time working with tech giants Uber and Airbnb.

In 2019, during her time at SCRB Strategies (now known as Bearstar Strategies, a Bay area consulting firm with strong ties to Newsom and other top Democrats) Butler advised Uber as it fought Assembly Bill 5, which expanded labor protections for gig workers by clearly defining the difference between an independent contractor and an employee. Uber and other gig economy tech companies like Lyft and Instacart pushed back against the bill, because it required them to reclassify many of their drivers as employees, and thus provide them higher pay and benefits.

In the 2020 election, California voters essentially overturned AB 5 by supporting Prop 22 — a campaign into which Uber and Lyft pumped over $200 million — which legally designated ride-share app drivers and delivery service drivers as independent contractors.

“Butler brings a valuable perspective to the company’s efforts to improve work for drivers,” Uber said in 2019, while Butler was advising the company during secret meetings with SEIU and Teamsters to negotiate driver demands.

“Frankly, it is on brand for the governor to appoint someone who has actually represented some of the most labor-violating companies on earth,” said Nicole Moore, Los Angeles-based president of Rideshare Drivers United, a group of more than 20,000 drivers in the state working for labor protections.

“This is while ignoring the groundswell of workers standing up for rights, fair pay, and against tech exploitation. The train for worker justice is gaining power and speed and the governor’s showing he’s not on it.”

There was “incredible concern, disappointment, and anger among unions and among workers” in 2019 when Butler began consulting for Uber, said Veena Dubal, law professor at UC Irvine whose research focuses on the gig economy, workers’ rights, and the intersection of tech and labor.

Butler’s pivot from focusing on labor to working for enormous tech firms “spoke to a lack of ethical commitments and judgment,” Dubal said.

“It felt like she was using her connections in labor to advance her own career and make money for her consultancy firm.”

Butler left SCRB Strategies to work on then-Sen. Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, and then went on to AIrbnb as their director of public policy and campaigns before becoming president of EMILY’s List.

Her position at Airbnb cemented concerns Dubal and many labor organizers already had about Butler “going to the other side.”

“Her appointment to replace Dianne Feinstein was extremely disappointing,” said Dubal, who, like Moore, said it was no surprise coming from Newsom.

Just days before appointing Butler, Newsom vetoed two bills that would have bolstered workers’ rights: one that would require a human safety operator in self-driving trucks — “that’s a good 300,000 union jobs,” said Dubal — then a bill that would have given striking workers unemployment benefits.

Butler’s appointment “falls more in line with his vetoes, in choosing a candidate who has drawn a line in the sand with regards to whether she’s fighting for workers’ rights or capitol rights.”

The Democratic Insider

Most Democratic leaders who know her, or know her history, however, see her as a plus.

“Laphonza is a champion for building a more inclusive and representative government and will certainly be a champion for women, people of color and LGBTQ+ people in the U.S Senate,” said former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute

Butler is president of EMILY’s List, (EMILY stands for Early Money is Like Yeast) created in 1985 to elevate women supporting abortion rights into office and to gain influence. The group has become a fundraising behemoth, credited with helping elect women around the country.

It spent $4.2 million to help elect 58 Democratic House and Senate candidates in the 2022 election cycle, according to the nonpartisan Open Secrets, which tracks political money.

Democrats were pleased with the choice of Butler. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, called her “a lifelong champion for women and girls and working families,’

“Thrilled to welcome such a strong champion of women’s rights, labor, and reproductive freedom to the U.S. Senate — looking forward to working with you on so many issues, from protecting abortion rights to making child care more affordable and accessible!” tweeted Senate President Pro Tem Patty Murray, D-Wash.

Debbie Walsh, president of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University in New Jersey, noted that since Harris left nearly three years ago, “There’s been no black woman’s voice in the discussion in the conversation. That’s a void. That’s a voice for all of us.”

Abortion opponents were furious about the Butler appointment.

“The abortion lobby spends millions to elect Democrats who back its agenda of abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy, paid for by taxpayers. Democrats like Newsom, in turn, are beholden to the abortion lobby,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “The pay-to-play system couldn’t be more obvious, with an unelected Senate seat as the ultimate reward.”