Parties Divided on Union Issues in Election Year

If you listen to the political pundits, you would you think that last year was one of the more productive legislative years in decades.

Capitol lawmakers agreed on welfare reform, a $1-billion tax cut, health insurance for children of the working poor and trial court funding relief for local governments, in addition to action on dozens of other issues large and small.

But all that harmonious deal-making evaporates in an election year, when posturing often replaces pragmatism.

Take, for example, AB 2139, which was introduced last week by Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge).

McClintock’s legislation, which would make California a “right-to-work” state by ending closed union shops. In other words, the bill would prohibit employers from making membership in a labor union a requirement of the job. The bill is backed by the Sacramento-based Californians for Freedom to Work.

Nevada, Arizona and 19 other states have enacted similar laws that let workers choose whether to join the union. The Democrat-controlled state Legislature, however, is stridently opposed harming unions, which are among the party’s most important voter bases.

Meanwhile, Republicans, including Gov. Pete Wilson, are backing Proposition 226, a June ballot initiative that would severely curb the use of union dues for political purposes. If it passes, Proposition 226 would require unions to get written permission each year from their members to use their dues for election campaigns. Recent public opinion polls show most California voters--including Democrats and union members--would vote for Proposition 226.

But Assembly Labor and Employment Committee Chairman Dick Floyd (D-Wilmington), a staunch backer of organized labor, has different plans for AB 2139. The bill is expected to head first to Floyd’s committee in April.

“This is not about right to work. This is about the right to scab and take another guy’s job for a whole lot less money,” Floyd said. “We’ll kill that bill. . . . It’s dead on arrival.”

The GOP would love nothing better than to force Democrats to vote “no” on McClintock’s bill, a measure they think--like Proposition 226--is popular with voters. That kind of election-year jockeying rarely leads to meaningful reforms or practical new laws, but it can get politicians reelected.

Dave Titus, chief of staff to Assembly Labor and Employment Committee Vice Chairman Thomas “Rico” Oller (R-San Andreas) summed it up best: “Democrats are probably glad Tom’s pushing that bill. It gives them a chance to prove to their constituents that they’re pro-labor, and Republicans are happy because they can show the voters they’re pro-business.”