Posted on 11/09/2005 3:59:29 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Buoyed by a come-from-behind victory over a ballot initiative that threatened labor's powerful role in state politics, union leaders said Wednesday their next move is to defeat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election bid.
"In the coming days and weeks, working families are going to begin our efforts to ensure that in California we elect a Legislature and a governor that will fight for the interest of working families," said Martin Ludlow, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.
Proposition 75, which would have required public employee unions to get permission from members annually before dues could be spent on politics, was rejected with 53 percent of voters opposing it and 47 percent in favor.
The measure's defeat, which came after it led in the polls for weeks, capped the failure of four ballot initiatives Schwarzenegger touted as government reform.
Union leaders, who spent more than $100 million against Schwarzenegger's platform said Proposition 75 was aimed directly at muffling labor's voice in statewide politics, which is largely in support of Democratic candidates and goals.
"This was an attempt by the governor to silence working people from ever taking him on again," Ludlow said at a news conference by several union leaders. "This wasn't about an agenda that Californians put forward, this was about an agenda that the governor put forward to silence us and not allow us to continue to fight on behalf of all Californians."
Schwarzenegger galvanized unions that don't have much history of cooperation to form an unusual alliance after he made a series of strategic mistakes, observers said.
The governor's first volley against unions came when he tried to override a law requiring higher nurse-to-patient ratios at hospitals last year. He then angered teachers by breaking a promise education leaders thought they had secured over $2 billion in school funding. A pension reform measure he supported drew opposition from police and fire groups and he then tried to make it harder for teachers to get tenure.
"This is a strange coalition of interests that normally would not have come together," said Larry Gerston, a political science professor at California State University, San Jose. "All of it happened because of a series of miscalculations by the governor."
In the wake of Tuesday's defeat, Schwarzenegger has said that he wants to meet with Democratic leaders in an effort to rekindle bipartisanism in the Capitol. But Democrats and labor groups are watching him closely, well aware that restricting union's ability to raise political money has been a longtime goal of the California Republican Party.
Labor leaders said that regardless of what amends are made in Sacramento, they will be ready to run vigorous campaigns next year - including opposition to Schwarzenegger's re-election.
The relationship between the unions and the governor has been harmed by the special election, said Lou Paulson, president of the California Professional Firefighters.
"We've lost trust. He reneged on promises to education. He belittled nurses," Paulson said. "That's what voters said - we don't trust him."
The alliance, while formidable, could easily fall apart given their formerly tenuous ties.
"They ought not to overstate their clout," Gerston said.
But their ability to raise funds - twice as much as Schwarzenegger and his supporters raised - remains unhindered after Tuesday's vote and the army of union members is vast.
"We're not tapped out," said Brian D'Arcy, spokesman for Local 18 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. "We will have plenty of money to do all that, but we'll also have the troops."
The unions have spent their money, and taken out loans, even. They'd have a tougher time fighting this initiative next year.
I'm confident that increased taxation will be the fall back before existing pensions are renegotiated. Short of a catastrophic natural disaster in California or a compelling external threat, that posture will prevail, at least through 2010, and beyond if moderate Republicans and liberal Democrats continue to control the political class in California.
Public service retirees can certainly expect that their fixed income will stay fixed in hard times and they can expect to shoulder higher percentages of their medical costs but the retirement packages for sworn officers and firefighters are a third rail for both political parties, only subject to major readjustments if the end is near and as long as the political class can tax, the end is seldom near.
Right, have another bunch of propositions for them to financially fight in both 2006 and 2008.
I want them to get brown spots in their shorts thinking of all the defense and money they will have to spend to try and defend this.
Keep in mind that 38 years ago, Reagan also lost a similar fight to the unions and he did well later.
In a special election like this, it totally favored the government employee unions. Few regular people voted and most all of the union ones did vote and also probably got assessed a pretty penny out of their checks for the 20% of a billion they spent on this one off year election.
The fight is on, and Arnold has to come out fighting almost daily to combat the commercials and false slander from the left side of the isle.
They know darn well that Arnold is dangerous for them and they want him out.
Well, we want them out more, propositions are cheap to get on the ballot compared to what Democrats had to spend so "Let's Roll"!
Thanx, there are some retired cops in the legislature so we have a built in lobby : )
You got that backward.
When you decided to become a sworn officer you risked your life, statistically risked your marriage and complicated your relationship with your children during their teens. For 28 years you preformed a service that was often monotonous and seldom received praise. In spite of the risk and potential determent to your personal life you accepted a salary that was on a par with lower management in private industry or a productive salesperson at a cellular phone store.
My hat is off to you and you have my Thanx.
Next step, a liberal for Supreme Court and a tax increase. Gotta pay the interest on all that new debt!
The point is Arnold got his initiatives on the ballot, the people who bothered to vote turned them down. The unions were more fired up than Republicans or fiscal conservatives.
Arnold needs to stop listening to Wilson's inept cronies.
well thank you and you're welcome. A first for me!
All those who support him deserve is unemployment (preferably for an extended period).
Ah, hubris.
Although agreeing with you in principle, Hugh Hewitt had the opposite take and said get rid of the libs in his office setting his agenda, e.g., environmentalists. Hugh quoted Nixon in doing so: "Can't win with just conservatives, can't win without them."
The sad part is that this round was entirely winnable. Turnout on both sides was down, however, the 1.3 million rat advantage in CA and expected union turnout was the death knell. Arnold & Co. needs to return to the RNC/Mellman model of grass roots and turnout, not just spending money on ads. Running from W didn't help either as to the conservatives. Oh well, I'm done with my Thursday morning QBing and gotta get to work after catching up with some other replies. Have a great day...
Norms,
I'm right there with you.
12 year career fire fighter. EX - IAFF member.
The unions were bitching about the governement spending 60 million for the initiative election and the union spend over 125 million that bought a narrow victory.
I want to highlight a few points for those not familiar with the impact of paycheck protection.
Prop 75 would have required union members to sign a form once a year indicating what money from their dues they would allow to be spent on political purposes.
This would have required some extra leg work for the unions but it would not have effected PAC fund contributions. As it stands that is optional and the members who are donating will likely continue to donate.
The bigger and less talked about issue are the dues and fees.
We need a national pay check protection law. The union's line to the ignorant is dues aren't used for political purposes that is what PAC funds are for.
Bull Hockey!!! The next time you hear that ask them if it was dues money that payed Harold Schaitberger's pay check of $240,000 a year with hundreds of thousands in his expense account to act as John Kerry's campaign manager.
( Harold is President of the International Association of Fire Fighters )
This consumed him and required his full attention for over an entire year. A point to consider is that the members are 44% registered GOP and 29% registered Democrats.
The focus is shifted by the unions to other issues such as the threat to their pensions and the claim that it will hamstring them. This is a smoke screen.
Pay Check protection will not affect their PAC funds to any extent. It will attempt to control how dues money is spent for political purposes.
CONSERVATIVE UNION MEMBERS, You'd better wake the hell up. Your dues money is funding politicians and and left wing special interest groups that are in direct conflict with what you believe in.
YOU ARE THE ONES ALLOWING THIS ABUSE!
We have a system in place that will facilitate the change. Take advantage of it.
If you must be a union member, get involved and promote change.
Take over and demand that your affiliates represent the will of the members and work as a democracy or deaffiliate.
If you are truely a conservative it is very hard for me to understand why you would allow your locals to extort money from you to fund organizations such as the AFL CIO, which is an extreme left organization that give virtually 100% of its money and engergy to the Democratic Party or entities that are further to the left.
Right to Work Laws, Pay Check Protection, and the Right to Volunteer as Fire Fighters should be the cornerstone of conservative thinking within the union and outside the union in the Fire Service.
"Like when CA is on the verge of bankruptcy thanks to another crazy Democrat governor."
Orange County declared bankruptcy in the 1990's.
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