 
 |
|
Unions team up to fight initiatives Ventura County Star SACRAMENTO — When Arnold Schwarzenegger laid down the gauntlet in January, spelling out in his State of the State address an agenda that attacked issues dear to public employees, he acknowledged with some bravado the opposition that would surely follow. "We all know what's going to happen," he said. "The special interests will run TV ads calling me cruel and heartless. They will organize protests out in front of the Capitol. They will try to say I don't understand the consequences of these decisions." As it turned out, he didn't know the half of it. Schwarzenegger said he was prepared to withstand an onslaught of criticism, but he never saw Tammy Monego or Teri March or Norma Williams coming. Those three women share a common, horrendous experience. All were young mothers when, as each recounted in separate radio ads that have run on Los Angeles stations the past two weeks, "I got the call that every family member of a law enforcement officer dreads." All lost their police officer husbands to violent deaths in the line of duty. All received death benefits that gave them financial security in a time of loss and tragedy, and all felt — as Schwarzenegger predicted — that, at least with regard to the pension proposal, he didn't understand the consequences of his agenda. The radio ads they recorded on behalf of the Los Angeles Police Protective League included this plaintive message: "Tell your friends and family that the governor's plan will hurt the families of those who die keeping California safe." Governor retreats Last week, Schwarzenegger got the message. In a stunning retreat that marked the most significant setback in the 17 months of his storybook political career, the governor withdrew his proposal to revamp public employee pensions, saying he never intended to instill fear in the families of police officers and firefighters. Although Schwarzenegger's allies insisted all along that the death benefits issue was a red herring, they conceded it had been raised aggressively and effectively by an alliance of labor groups, led by powerful public safety unions. Other unions, notably the California Teachers Association, face direct assault from other aspects of Schwarzenegger's array of initiatives that may be headed for a special election in the fall, but to public safety unions, the pension issue was their driving motivation. With the pension overhaul at least temporarily off the table, will unions representing teachers, nurses and other state workers be left to fend for themselves without the backing of their comrades in public safety? No, said Chuck Alexander, vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the 30,000-member union that represents prison guards and parole officers. "I'm real familiar with the divide-and-conquer theory," he said. "As a matter of fact, we're probably going to turn it up a notch. ... I don't think anything he said was genuine, based on our dealings with him." Committed to a fight Carroll Wills, spokesman for the California Professional Firefighters Association, said his group remains committed to fighting the other aspects of Schwarzenegger's agenda. "We're certainly not going to stand down," Wills said. "Arnold's Plan B for pensions could very easily end up being even worse for police officers and firefighters. ... He certainly hasn't given us any reason to think he's as good as his word." Still on the table, union leaders note, is an initiative backed by Schwarzenegger allies that would force unions to get specific approval of their members before spending money on political campaigns. Although Schwarzenegger has been silent on the issue, Wills said "it's naive to think the governor's political operation would proceed without at least the governor's tacit acquiescence." Wills suggested a potential tactical reason for Schwarze-negger's retreat on the pension issue, which the governor vowed to bring back as a ballot measure in June 2006 if he doesn't reach an agreement on pension reform with legislators before then. "Is the idea to take labor's voice away and then come back in 2006 against voiceless labor and put the same thing on the ballot?" Influence of 'special interests' Schwarzenegger has left no doubt that he considers public employee unions "special interests" whose influence over legislators has led to pension and spending agreements that have crimped the state budget. He believes it has made it impossible to take the kind of steps needed to bring the state's long-term finances into balance. His supporters echo the theme. Joel Fox, co-chairman of the campaign group formed to promote Schwarzenegger's initiatives, said he believes that public employee unions today are the equivalent of the railroad barons in California at the turn of the 20th century: power brokers who have enough clout to tell legislators how to vote. Fox disputes critics who have belittled Schwarzenegger for comparing himself to California's legendary reformer Hiram Johnson, the populist governor who put into the state Constitution the initiative, referendum and recall provisions as a means to protect the people against the powerful railroads. "People say that there's no comparison because Hiram Johnson took on big corporations," Fox said. "but I think it's an apt comparison. Hiram Johnson took on the powers that be. The unions have that role today." Union leaders say it is ludicrous to paint them as the power brokers when Schwarzenegger raised a record $26 million last year, mostly from corporate campaign contributors in such industries as finance and insurance, pharmaceuticals and real estate development. 'Such a coming together' Whatever power they have, union leaders said, it has been magnified by Schwarzenegger's assault on their organizations. The governor's agenda, they say, has unified them in a way they have not been unified in years. "In my 15 years as a union activist, I have never seen such a coming together," Alexander said. Union battles The prison guards union and the teachers union have been at odds in the past as each group fought for a greater slice of the state budget. This year, they have teamed up to support a counter-initiative to potentially place on a special-election ballot, a measure that would increase property taxes on businesses to raise additional funds for education and public safety. "I remember a day when the CTA and the CCPOA were on different sides of the globe," Alexander said. Rick Clausen, one of the governor's political strategists, said recently he believes there is a disconnect between the agenda being promoted by union leaders and the political beliefs of their rank-and-file members. Mary Bergan, president of the California Federation of Teachers, said the opposite is the case. Her union voted last month to increase monthly dues by $3 for two years to help build up a war chest to counter Schwarzenegger. "We are under pressure from the rank and file to do more," Bergan said. "There isn't any disconnect here; this is being pushed up from the ranks." David Sickler, Southern California regional director for the state Building and Construction Trades Council, said it won't work for the governor and his supporters to try to make a distinction between union leaders and those they represent. "They try to say that the teachers union is a special interest but teachers are not," Sickler said. "Voters are smart enough to know the difference."
|