Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders was in California this week to kick off a ballot measure campaign to tax the state's billionaires. Under the proposal, which has rattled wealthy Californians, residents worth more than $1 billion would have to pay a one-time 5% tax on their assets to help pay for the state's healthcare, K through 12 education, and food assistance programs. Sasha Kanji reports.

Wednesday afternoon outside The Wiltern, a line stretched around the block. But this wasn't a crowd camped out for a concert; these were union members, healthcare workers, and everyday Angelenos who showed up for the official kickoff of the California Billionaire Tax Act, a ballot initiative that would impose a one-time 5% tax on the state's wealthiest residents.

Headlined by Senator Bernie Sanders, speakers from some of California's most powerful unions, and the surprise performance by Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, the energy outside matched what was building inside. Before the program began, we caught up with Lou Villalvazo, principal officer of Teamsters Local 630 in Los Angeles.

I see a tremendous amount of organizing that's happening, especially with the youth and also now with a lot of veterans that are just fed up. And what I mean fed up is they followed the rules, they're paying their share of taxes, and they're getting screwed and they're getting tired of it. They don't have a say at work. They're seeing that the government's not doing anything about it. They see that if you cheat the system or if you become a convict, you can get into the office and just do what you want.

The reason we're here is because of the Billionaire Tax initiative that we're pushing because the reality is that these corporations want more and more and more. These tech billionaires want more and more. At the end of the day, it's the worker that provides, right?

We asked Lou about the man who filled the Wiltern on a Wednesday night in the middle of rush hour and what it meant to have his support.

Senator Sanders is the GOAT. He's been on message since the '60s and the '70s. He hasn't changed. He's done the work. That's why labor stands behind him and I wish more politicians did the same. Because at the end of the day, the reality is it's not Republican versus Democrat. It's not religious versus non-religious or gay versus straight. It's us versus the billionaires. The reality is back in the days they were paying 73% and the economy was good for everybody, including them.

The unions aren't the only ones supporting the Billionaire Tax Act. The initiative has drawn support from across the state, including from those actively running for office.

My name is Faizah Malik and I'm a candidate for LA City Council District 11. I'm a civil rights lawyer and a housing attorney, and I'm here today to support the Billionaire Tax. In a state like California, we talk a lot about how we're the fourth largest economy, and if that's the case, we need to make sure that the people that need the most in the state are being taken care of.

After a panel of speakers that included SEIU United Healthcare Workers West Chief of Staff Suzanne Jimenez, Dr. Jackline Lasola, and Teamsters member Nidal Rafeedie, the evening had one more surprise. Proud card-carrying member of AFM Local 47, the Los Angeles branch of the American Federation of Musicians, and legendary Hall of Fame guitarist, Tom Morello took the stage delivering a passionate set and a message that was equal parts performance and rallying cry.

The next Mozart might be slaving away in a sweatshop along the Mexican border, or the person who has the cure for cancer locked in their head, might be locked up for seeking an abortion in Alabama. Or the person who just wanted to stand up for their neighbors might be gunned down by mass government thugs on the streets of Minneapolis. Simply put, the world is not going to change itself. That's up to you. But the people who have changed the world in progressive, radical, or even revolutionary ways do not have any more money, power, courage, intelligence, or creativity than anyone here tonight.

Tom Morello had set the stage, but when Bernie Sanders stepped up to the microphone, the energy in that historic venue shifted into another gear.

Let me thank the unions here in California for bringing to the forefront the need for our country to finally confront the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that we are currently experiencing.

It is not just income and wealth inequality or concentration of ownership today, the billionaire class to an unprecedented degree determines what the American people see, hear, and read. Through their ownership of media. It is billionaire control over the media in a way that we have never seen.

We are here today to send a very clear and profound message: enough is enough. Starting right here in California, these billionaires are gonna learn that we are still living in a democratic society where the people have some power.

That's what the oligarchs say. Oh, Mamdani wins. We're all fleeing New York. They didn't. I doubt that they will flee the great state of California, but I would say to these oligarchs, be careful because you are treading on very, very thin ice.

Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google, who is spending $20 million to defeat this tax on billionaires. But it's not just Mr. Brin. Mark Zuckerberg is the wealthiest man in California, and the fourth wealthiest person in the world. Larry Ellison is the second wealthiest person in California. For Mr. Ellison, one private jet is just not good enough, so he bought five private jets along with several fighter jets he uses for recreational purposes, and on and on it goes. The richest people are doing phenomenally well, and in many cases they are paying very little in taxes.

15 million people thrown off of healthcare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in order to provide a trillion dollars in tax breaks for these very same billionaires.

So all that the folks in California are saying is that at a time when the very rich are becoming phenomenally richer, when the very rich have been given a massive tax break by Donald Trump, when millions of people in this state are struggling to be able to afford healthcare, maybe billionaires should start paying their fair share of taxes.

All of you are aware of the heroic efforts of our brothers and sisters in Minnesota who stood up to ICE, they put their lives on the line and some lost their lives in order to defeat and push back against Trump's domestic army. What Minnesota showed is that when people get organized and have courage and stand together, they can win struggles. That was Minnesota standing up to authoritarianism and now the ball is in California's court.

Senator Sanders left the stage having made one thing clear: California's fight for the Billionaire Tax Act is its own defining moment. A chance to prove that when people organize, they can take on the billionaire class and win. After the event, we caught up with René Saldaña, press secretary for SEIU United Healthcare Workers West, one of the unions behind the Billionaire Tax Act.

We are a healthcare workers union of over 120,000 frontline healthcare workers across California. We put together the Billionaire Tax Act knowing that a hundred billion dollars in cuts are coming just for California. Everybody's insurance is gonna go up, healthcare services are gonna get cut, patients are gonna suffer. We are here to support the California Billionaire Tax by just making 200 of the wealthiest people in our state pay their fair share.

Our healthcare workers union is Democrats, Republicans, independents, and our executive board members voted to support this Act. So I would invite folks such as Gavin Newsom and Katie Porter to reconsider, come out and talk to some healthcare workers, and we're really hoping they'll come around and change their mind when they see who is really gonna be impacted by this.

Not everyone in the Democratic Party agrees. Governor Gavin Newsom has forcefully opposed the initiative, warning it will drive billionaires out of the state and ultimately reduce funding for schools and public safety. Former Congresswoman and gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter has also come out against it, but René said the energy in the Wiltern spoke for itself.

The powers that be are trying to divide us. They want to divide us between race, class, economic standing. But when you're in here, you feel that we really are one together. It's just incredible. It feels electric. We are confident that this will make it to the ballot.

Whether the Billionaire Tax Act makes it to the November ballot comes down to one thing: signatures. Nearly 875,000 of them are needed by June 24th to secure a place on the ballot. More information about the Act is available at cabillionairetax.org. Reporting from KPFK in Los Angeles, this is Sasha Kanji.