Regardless of whether or not Barack Obama or Mitt Romney occupies the White House for the next four years, or Prop. 32 passes in California, or Prop. 2 passes in Michigan, there is a growing awareness among American voters, Democrats and Republicans, that public sector unions exercise too much influence in politics. Rather than reiterate...
California’s Proposition 32 is the country’s most high-profile election in November 2012 directly related to labor unions and labor policy issues. There are also several California local elections – particularly Measure V to enact a charter in the City of Costa Mesa – that will potentially strengthen or weaken union control of government. Here’s a summary of...
Here are links to the top stories available online over the past week reporting on union activity including legislation, financial impact, reform activism, etc., from California and across the USA. Jerry Brown vs. the 99% By Allysia Finley, October 29, 2012, Wall Street Journal At the outset of his administration in 2011, California Gov. Jerry...
Here are links to the top stories available online over the past week reporting on union activity including legislation, financial impact, reform activism, etc., from California and across the USA. Prop. 32 not unions’ only worry By Bob Egelko, October 22, 2012, San Francisco Chronicle Proposition 32, which would cripple labor unions politically in California...
Editor’s note: Earlier this month, Manhattan Institute senior fellow Daniel DiSalvo released a study entitled “The Nays Have It: When Public Sector Unions Win in California.” DiSalvo has agreed to allow UnionWatch to republish two key sections of that report here, concerning California’s public sector union influence over the outcome of citizen initiatives and over...
As explained by the League of California Cities, the California Constitution gives cities the authority to enact “charters” and thereby manage their purely municipal affairs without interference from the state. Cities have been increasingly eager to seek charters in recent years in order to free themselves from costly state mandates. Since 2007, voters have increased...
Here are links to the top stories available online over the past week reporting on union activity including legislation, financial impact, reform activism, etc., from California and across the USA. Ex-Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan’s pension-reform plan irks unions By Rick Orlov, October 16, 2012, Daily News Former Mayor Richard Riordan on Monday took the...
Here are links to the top stories available online over the past week reporting on union activity including legislation, financial impact, reform activism, etc., from California and across the USA. The Imaginary Teacher Shortage By Jay Greene, October 9, 2012, Wall Street Journal Last week’s presidential debate revealed one area of agreement between the candidates:...
The raging controversy in Wisconsin over eliminating collective bargaining “rights” for government employees cast a bright and harsh light on public-sector unions. Some commentators have distinguished public-sector unions from private-sector unions, but the vested interests of the two are much the same. Both are expressions of what might be called “the modern union,” which came...
In October 2010, approximately one month before the 2010 Mid-Term Elections, I wrote the blog Who Is Running the Country? At that time, my first book, The Devil at My Doorstep, was approximately one year old and starting to gain national attention. Much of its success is owed to Andrew Breitbart and BigGovernment.com. They are...
Here are links to the top stories available online over the past week reporting on union activity including legislation, financial impact, reform activism, etc., from California and across the USA. California Is Latest Stage for Election Battle Over Unions By Adam Nagourney, October 2, 2012, New York Times The battle to curb labor’s political clout...
If taxpayers want to curb pension costs with a ballot measure, do they need an OK from unions before they start collecting signatures? San Diego’s Municipal Employees Association seems to think so. The MEA, which represents 6,000 workers on the city payroll, wants government unions to have a gatekeeper role in the initiative process —...
Finally, ordinary citizens in the San Joaquin Valley learn how construction trade unions block solar power plant projects by exploiting the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Residents of Kings County (in the San Joaquin Valley of California) see local opportunities for economic growth and job creation through the construction and operation of proposed solar-powered electrical generation facilities....
California residents are depressed about the economy and see little hope for change in the near future, yet they seem more reluctant than ever to change the current high-tax, union-dominated political course that has led to the struggling economy. As the Field Poll revealed in July, “Californians have had an extremely gloomy view of the...