Posted on 09/17/2005 7:49:17 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Turning up the heat in his ongoing battle with public employee unions, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially endorsed a ballot measure Saturday that would require those unions to seek written permission from members before using dues money for political purposes.
Democrats, the principal beneficiaries of labor union contributions, have viewed the measure as a virtual declaration of war on their political power in the state.
Addressing an enthusiastic luncheon crowd at the state Republican Party convention, Schwarzenegger announced his support for the measure dubbed "Paycheck Protection," which will appear on the ballot as Proposition 75. The initiative was placed on the ballot and funded by close advisers of the governor but had not formally been part of his "year of reform" agenda until Saturday's endorsement.
"Public employee union members should not be forced to contribute to causes, candidates and controversial issues that they don't believe in - that isn't a contribution, it's a tax," Schwarzenegger said to a standing ovation. "Big government union leaders should not use their members' money as a personal kitty to fund political campaigns or political advertising. So reform the system and vote yes on Proposition 75."
The governor, who formally announced Friday that he would seek a second term, used most of his convention speech to plea for help in passing his other major initiatives - Prop. 74, which would extend the probationary period for teachers from two years to five; Prop. 76, a state spending cap; and Prop. 77, which would strip lawmakers of the power to draw their own political boundaries. But none was received as enthusiastically by the crowd as his endorsement of the union dues measure.
"The fact is that the employee union bosses have simply too much power over the budget, too much power over their members' paycheck, and too much power over our state," Schwarzenegger said, drawing loud applause.
Republicans have tried for years to pass similar union dues measures in California and elsewhere. They argue that unions unfairly skim dues from the paychecks of rank-and-file members - many of whom are Republicans - and contribute the money almost exclusively to Democratic candidates and causes.
To demonstrate that point, the Proposition 75 campaign produced several public employee union members at the convention who said they support the initiative.
Sandra Crandall, an Orange County kindergarten teacher who has taught for 36 years, said she planned to vote for Proposition 75 over frustration with the political activity of the California Teachers Association. The CTA is one of Schwarzenegger's major antagonists in the special election battle. Earlier this year the union assessed a $60 per year dues increase on its members to raise $50 million over three years to fight the governor's initiatives.
"They presume that any money that they get I want spent on political contributions, "Crandall said. "When CTA says 'this is how you should vote,' I know exactly how to vote - the opposite, in most cases."
Crandall said she pays fees to the union that cover only salary negotiations and other collective bargaining functions. Proposition 75, she argued, would force unions to ask their members to opt into political activism, rather than the current system which requires members to opt out.
For their part, Democrats said Proposition 75's goal is to muzzle labor's political activism in the state, and they scoffed at the notion that it has anything to do with protecting Republican-leaning workers.
State Treasurer Phil Angelides, who is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Schwarzenegger next year, said the governor's endorsement of the union dues measure proved he was intent on bringing President Bush's political priorities to blue-state California.
"Proposition 75 is the crown jewel of the Bush-Schwarzenegger agenda," Angelides said at a press conference outside the GOP gathering. "This comes straight out of (Bush strategist) Karl Rove's playbook. It's what they're after. Everything else is a mask."
Schwarzenegger has seen his popularity tumble in recent months amid relentless criticism from union activists who have spent millions on television ads discrediting his "reform" agenda. Even so, the governor waited to endorse the union dues measure until all efforts at negotiating a compromise with Democratic lawmakers over the ballot measures was exhausted. Talks with Democrats finally broke down late last month.
Recent statewide polls have shown that voters favor the union dues measure while the rest of Schwarzenegger's initiatives are failing.
For that reason, Democratic strategist Roger Salazar said Schwarzenegger's formal endorsement of Prop. 75 was likely to doom the measure.
"We're glad he's endorsing it, he'll be able to drag that one down like the other ones," Salazar said. The voters are getting tired of his act. All they see from this guy is theatrics, photo ops, and they haven't seen anything of substance. None of these issues deal with real substantive reform."
In 1998, California voters rejected Proposition 226, a similar union dues measure backed by then-Gov. Pete Wilson. In that contest, labor unions vastly outspent supporters of the initiative.
Better late than never! YES on 75!
But isn't this all about choice? Don't the union member (especially the females) have a right to choose? ;D
unions, money, someone just woke up richard gephardt.
Yeah the more I think about it, how awesome would that be if someone just had ads that ran:
Prop 75: Vote yes for the right to choose.
All those knee jerk leftists would be sooo confused...
No..choice is about which guy to go home with after the bar closes...
And then if you get pregnant its about the choice of nailing
him for child support or to pay for the abortion...
Definitely YES on prop 75. Let the workers decide if they want their hard earned dollars to go to the Rat PACS.
danged RINO! ;-)
Bull $heite, hide and watch, polls in this state are junk.
Ya wish!!!
There is irony in so-called "Democrats" not wanting union members to be able to vote on how their dues are spent...
"My union went through this years back.
You sign the card eventually."
Have you ever noticed that the liberal media will do an expose on just about any corporation regarding strong-arm tactics...but never an expose about unions strong-arming union workers...
Yeah, expanding freedom is part of the Bush agenda.
This one goes in Arnold's plus column.
This is gonna PO a bunch of union leaders but I bet the regular membership likes it and votes for Arnold.
Thank you Governor Schwarzenegger.
good one! ";^)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.