The California February ’08 Ballot, From the Perspective of Working Families

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Art Pulaski
Executive Secretary-Treasurer
California Labor Federation

Next year will be a complex year for California voters. In addition to the June primary and the November general election, we will vote on a number of important ballot initiatives in February 2008. To help voters better understand these initiatives, the California Labor Federation has carefully analyzed each of the measures and announced its positions based on the impact these initiatives could have on California’s working families.

The California Labor Federation Firmly Opposes the Indian Gaming Compacts on the Ballot and Urges a "No" Vote on the Referenda Propositions. California’s unions have stood in strong opposition to these tribal gaming compacts since they were originally proposed in 2006. Under tribal law, casino workers on Indian reservations have no enforceable right to organize into a union unless it is expressly specified in the gaming compacts. These four gaming compacts do not include provisions to protect the rights of these workers, which is why labor will continue to oppose these compacts as referenda.

The Federation Does Not Support the Transportation Funding Protection Act (Proposition 91). The goal of Proposition 91 is to prevent the state from spending gas tax revenue on non-transportation related endeavors. While Proposition 91 was being qualified, the Governor and legislators put a different measure, Proposition 1A, on the November 2006 ballot. Labor supported Proposition 1A, which accomplished the same thing that Proposition 91 set out to do, and was approved by voters last year. Due to the passage of Proposition 1A, proponents of Proposition 91 agree that this initiative is no longer necessary, and we will not endorse this initiative.

The California Labor Federation Endorses the California Community College Initiative (Proposition 92). This initiative would give every Californian the chance to go to college by lowering fees. In 2004, when the Legislature hiked fees to $26 per unit, over 300,000 fewer students enrolled in community colleges. Proposition 92 would reduce community college attendance fees to $15 per unit, ensuring that community college remains accessible and affordable. Community colleges help improve the economy -- for every $1 the state spends on community colleges, $3 are generated back to the state through increased wages, as students see their wages jump from an average $25,600 to $47,571 in the three years after completing a vocational degree or certificate.

The California Labor Federation Supports the Term Limits and Legislative Reform Act (Proposition 93). Proposition 93 would impose a shorter total limit on legislative terms, while permitting legislators to serve longer in either legislative house, and allowing current legislators to serve beyond existing term limits. This initiative strikes a reasonable balance between the need to elect new people with fresh ideas, and the need for experienced legislators with the knowledge and expertise to solve the complex problems facing our state.

Art Pulaski is Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, which represents 2.1 million members of 1,200 manufacturing, service, construction, and public sector unions.