Schwarzenegger Endorses Deceptive Union Dues Measure

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has endorsed an initiative that would require public employees to obtain written permission before using member dues for political purposes. The measure does not make the same restriction on corporations or businesses. According to the Alliance for a Better California, corporations outspend unions 24 to 1 for political purposes.

Opponents of the measure argue that the US Supreme court has already ruled that no public employee can be forced to join a union or association and contribute to politics. All public and private employees in a union or association have the right to opt-out of having their fees used for politics.

Proponents believe that the law should restrict only the political voice of public employees who belong to a union or association - not the political voice of corporations or their employees. The measure is crafted to replace individual decision-making with a bureaucratic, government-imposed process.

Schwarzenegger, who announced that he is seeking a second term, has seen his approval ratings drop. The decline has been the price the former actor has paid for pushing an unpopular agenda, which includes attacks on the benefits of firefighters, police officers, nurses, and teachers. "Public employee union members should not be forced to contribute to causes, candidates and controversial issues that they don't believe in," Schwarzenegger said. The Governor earlier proposed the elimination of death benefits received by the widows and orphans of firefighters and police officers who die in the line of duty. Schwarzenegger backed down on his proposal after the unions objected.

The No on Prop 75 campaign is asking citizens to educate themselves and others about the measure. They have published the following facts about the proposition on their website:

Prop 75 is an elaborate plan to take away your pension and health benefits - The 1st step in a politically-motivated 2-step plan.

• Right wing extremists and large corporations intend to use Prop 75 to cripple employees' ability to fight on a level playing field.
  
  
• Once they've successfully silenced employees, the plan is to demolish the current pension system.
  
  
• Gov. Schwarzenegger's pension privatization scheme failed earlier this year, so now supporters of that effort concocted this new ploy.
  
  
• Prop. 75's lead sponsor is Lewis Uhler, a former leader of the right-wing extremist John Birch Society and an active supporter of President Bush's Social Security privatization plan.
  
  

Prop. 75 is unnecessary.

• The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that no public employee can be forced to join a union or association and contribute to politics.
  
  
• All public and private employees in a union or association have the right to opt out of having their fees used for politics.
  
  
• Prop. 75 replaces individual decision-making with a bureaucratic, government-imposed process.
  
  

Prop. 75 is unfair.

• Prop 75 only restricts workers who belong to a union or association.
  
  
• It does not restrict corporations - even though corporations regularly spend an enormous amount of shareholders's money on politics.
  
  
• Prop. 75 is expressly designed to increase costs and red tape for unions and associations, while simultaneously decreasing the amount of money unions and associations could spend on fighting for workers' rights.
  
  

Behind the smoke and mirrors, Prop. 75 is really designed to strengthen the political power of large corporations.

• Prop. 75 is being funded by the deceptively named Small Business Action Committee which, in fact, is a front for a host of large corporations.
  
  
• These large corporations are tired of being held to fair and reasonable standards for their working class employees by unions and associations.
  
  
• Prop. 75 will unfairly restrict the ability of union or association members to contribute to their organization, while large corporations will continue to make political contributions without shareholders' permission.
  
  
• For the most part, these corporations are against minimum wage, against overtime after 8-hour days, against providing adequate health care - so they've resorted to Prop. 75 to silence working people.