Governor Vetoes New Labor Rules for Stable Hands

A measure that would have improved labor and living conditions for workers in the stables of California’s racetracks was vetoed by Gov. Gray Davis late Saturday over concerns that part of the bill would foster gambling in the state.

The bill, AB 2760, was unique in that it had garnered almost unanimous support from legislators and the often fractious coalition of trainers, breeders and horse and track owners that make up the state’s racing industry.

Horse racing in the state employs about 52,000 people and last year took in $3.8 billion in wagers.

The bill would have established a means for workers to unionize and would have allowed state housing officials to conduct annual inspections of living quarters in what is known as the backstretch of racetracks, where many workers targeted by the bill live in decrepit and filthy housing with no running water.

To garner industry support, a provision was included to legalize and regulate Internet and telephone betting, which proponents argued would help to infuse much-needed revenue into a business that is beset by competition and is seen to be ailing on many fronts.

It was that provision, however, that ran the bill aground. Davis, in a veto message Sunday, said the measure would significantly expand gambling in the state and make it easier for children and teenagers to place bets using their parent’s Internet accounts.

“If this bill contained only the backstretch provisions, I would sign it,” Davis said. “However, I cannot support the provisions lifting the state ban on Internet and telephone wagering. It would expand the scope of gambling by allowing Internet and telephone betting on out-of-state and out-of-country horse races. And it would allow continual betting through commercial betting systems without being limited by the racing season.”

Proponents expressed disappointment and warned that the racing industry faces serious hardship without legislative support.

“We had put together a coalition that I don’t think has ever been put together in the history of this industry for the passage of this bill,” said AB 2760 co-author Assemblyman Herb Wesson (D-Culver City). “I have respect for the governor and his reasons for vetoing this, but I intend on having a discussion with him to see what he is really concerned about, to see if it can be tweaked and fixed.”

Ed Halpern, executive director of the trade group the California Thoroughbred Trainers was more doubtful.

“I guess the governor’s personal views about horse racing overrode anything else,” said Halpern. “It’s a major setback. My personal opinion is that the governor seems to be so single-minded on this that any further efforts will be questionable.”

The push to clean up conditions at horse tracks followed a Times story in April that found that grooms and other stable hands were often subjected to wage and overtime violations and lived in substandard and unsanitary housing at some of California’s better-known racetracks, including Santa Anita in Arcadia, Fairplex in Pomona and the Bay Area’s Golden Gate Fields.

The workers, who technically are hired by horse trainers, are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act and California’s Agricultural Relations Act, although they recently gained protection from working overtime without extra pay.

Union leaders said that despite increased scrutiny of industry practices by the state Labor Commissioner, the bill’s defeat will leave 4,000 stable workers vulnerable to mistreatment.

“I haven’t talked to anyone I know in the industry who doesn’t think the business is still rife with cash pay, wage and hour violations,” said Allen Davenport, director of government relations for the Service Employees International Union. “It remains to be seen how much will be cleaned up by existing laws. The labor commissioner doesn’t have the resources to enforce them, and making special efforts to bring this industry into 21st century behavior takes away energy that should be directed elsewhere.”

Supporters of AB 2760 also noted that the telephone wagering to which the governor so objects is already well-entrenched in California. According to Wesson, Californians can simply open up an account in one of the nine or so other states that allow the practice.

Neither the state, track owners, breeders or workers reap any of the millions of dollars bet each year on such out-of-state wagering operations. AB 2760 would have routed an estimated $2 million in extra revenue each year to the pension and health plans for the stable workers, Wesson said.

Some horse-racing leaders said they were disturbed by the governor’s apparent lack of regard for the industry, which has an aging fan base and is facing fierce competition from card clubs and tribal casinos.

“We’re a legitimate business that has been in the state since 1933, contributing to charity, to the entertainment industry, providing jobs--most of which are union, and contributing literally billions to the state economy,” said Norm Towne, president of the California Assn. of Thoroughbred Racetracks. “Other businesses have been allowed to grow and compete, but racing has been regulated to the point that it is almost impossible.”

Bob Fox, a lobbyist for horse trainers and breeders, said that many owners and breeders are finding it difficult to make a living, and that has already resulted in a dwindling of the number of horses running at California racetracks.

He added that the industry would be unlikely to support any labor measures that did not include new betting or other provisions that would make California racing more competitive.

“Unless we got some incentives from the governor,” Fox said, “I would not recommend to my clients that we go through this anguish again.”