Proposition 75 and the public good

Re “ ‘Paycheck protection’ or partisan ploy?” Opinion, Oct. 12

Ezra Klein echoes the union script, castigating Proposition 75 as a restriction on union political power that would sacrifice Californians’ interests to domination by big business. Unions contrast their lobbying with “selfish” business lobbying for government favors.

But they don’t oppose business lobbying to impose restrictions on other businesses (as in their anti-Wal-Mart campaign), which are the proposals that harm workers in their role as consumers.

Unions only focus their opposition on “pro-business” bills that would reduce their ability to restrict labor market competition for their workers. But pro-business positions in such cases are also pro-consumer, and therefore pro-worker, as they would result in lower costs and lower prices.

Virtually all nonunion members will lose from believing union misrepresentations of Proposition 75 as threatening state domination by big business, and many union members agree that it is a waste of their dues. It might threaten union leaders’ power, but it would improve the representation of California workers’ interests.

GARY M. GALLES

Professor of Economics

Pepperdine University, Malibu

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Rhetoric from the Schwarzenegger campaign attacking labor organizations is clearly part of his not-so-secret plan to distract the public from his own slavishness to corporate bosses. Funding for his campaigns comes from huge corporations that have benefited and expect to continue to benefit from the governor’s “leave no corporation behind” policies.

The governor and his corporate bosses would rather see teachers, nurses and firefighters give him the power to unilaterally gut the budgets of public education, healthcare, senior services and more. Unfortunately for him, those of us in the trenches are not prepared to allow him, on behalf of his corporate masters, to gut critical public programs and services. We, after all, have the public good to consider. If we don’t stand up for the children, disabled, young and elderly people we serve, then who will?

LILLIAN TAIZ

History Professor

Cal State Los Angeles

The writer is vice president of the California Faculty Assn.