In a column published October 17 and aptly titled, “Prop. 32′s Real Purpose is to Cripple Labor Unions Politically,” the long-serving Sacramento observer put it succinctly:

“Prop. 32′s real purpose is to cripple labor unions politically. It would do this by prohibiting unions from using payroll deductions for political purposes, with or without a worker’s permission.

“Corporations — and this is particularly deceptive — also would be covered by the ban. But they generally don’t raise political money with payroll deductions. They do it either by dipping into their corporate treasuries or by putting the squeeze on highly paid executives,” Skelton writes.

“As a solution to special-interest influence in politics, Prop. 32 is a self-serving sham,” Skelton concludes.

Read the entire article in the LA Times: George Skelton’s Oct. 17 Column on Prop. 32.

Sacramento Bee Columnist Jon Ortiz knows what billionaire political players and special interests had in mind when they put the Special Exemptions Act on the November 2012 ballot – gutting the political power of middle class working women and men and silencing their voices.

Ortiz reports that the measure pretends to level the political playing field, but it will in reality allow wealthy political contributors to skirt regulations and increase their political power. These wealthy interests already outspend labor by a ratio of 15-1.

“It promises to gut the power of labor unions because they raise nearly all of their money for political and other purposes via payroll-deducted dues from their members’ paychecks,” Ortiz writes. “Corporations, by contrast, raise the bulk of their campaign money from donations given by top executives and drawn from company treasuries.”

Read more about this deceptive and cynical power play in the Sacramento Bee’s  Move  Over Wisconsin.

California Common Cause, the nonpartisan good government group, has announced its
opposition to the CTA-opposed measure on the November ballot that would provide
exemptions from political funding regulations for corporate special interests.

Declares Common Cause: the initiative “effectively bans the current practice of payroll deductions, thus eliminating a major funding source of labor unions, while leaving ample room for indirect political spending by corporations from their corporate treasuries. This initiative would result in significant undue advantages for one set of interests over another that we believe will do more harm to California’s democracy than good, and we urge voters to vote ‘No.’”

For more information about Common Cause and its opposition to the initiative, click Common
Cause.