Teachers unions, AB5, and Gov. Newsom's "Washington Monument" strategy

May 29, 2020
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** California Government Of, By and For Public-Sector Unions
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Kind words from the OC Register edit board for Santa Ana Councilmember and CPC Education Director Cecilia Iglesias:

The police-union-funded effort to recall Santa Ana Councilmember Cecilia Iglesias is a means to silence the council’s most-prominent “truth-teller.” Sadly, voters – according to unofficial results in the recent low-turnout, mail-in election – appear to have ousted Iglesias and replaced her with a likely union ally.

As a result, Santa Ana residents will be hearing a lot less straight talk about the state of the city’s finances and about how officials spend public dollars and manage its government.

When one gets past the Santa Ana Police Officers Association’s relentless bluster about Iglesias and her supposed transgressions, the main issue was simple. She and Councilmember Juan Villegas voted against an unaffordable $25.6 million retroactive raise for officers last year. They also don’t kowtow to the public-sector unions that essentially rule the roost…. (Read the full editorial here ([link removed]) .)

Can’t they think of the children? Elsewhere in the Register this week, the editorial board writes ([link removed]) , “The goal of public schools should be to effectively teach schoolchildren — not maintain growing administrative fiefdoms and world-class retirement benefits. Unions should have a voice in the process, but their employee-protection priorities shouldn’t top the list. Yet once again, these bureaucratic priorities are dominating the school debate. California’s student performance has not noticeably improved over the past decade, even as public-school budgets have soared by 60 percent.”

California teachers unions refuse to let a crisis go to waste: This week, the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers demanded more money as a condition to reopen schools that have been closed due to the shutdown. “Schools and colleges cannot physically reopen safely with the funding level proposed in the [governor's] May [budget] revision,” warned ([link removed]) the unions. Teachers unions see this pandemic as their opportunity to capture increased funding that they otherwise couldn’t attain.

For teachers unions, it’s never enough: As Steve Malanga points out ([link removed]) recently in City Journal, “In the last 20 years, the amount that state government has been required to contribute to CalPERS has grown from less than $400 million in 2000 to $15 billion last year. The pension system’s administrators warn that stock market losses could require substantial new contribution increases over the next five years.”

While post-pandemic education will change, one part won’t: As CPC contributor Larry Sand writes ([link removed]) , “Pundits are continuously speculating about what the post-pandemic “new normal” will look like in education when schools open (hopefully) in a few months… But every expert knows that one aspect of education will not change: children who remain in brick-and-mortar public schools will be assigned to a building according to their zip-code.”

Do legislators work for voters or unions? No surprise, but California’s Senate majority announced ([link removed]) this week that it plans to oppose Gov. Newsom’s proposed 10 percent public-sector pay cuts in response to the coronavirus-induced economic downturn. (Newsom’s cuts won’t take effect if the federal government bails out state governments in forthcoming stimulus legislation.)

Gov. Newsom follows the “Washington Monument” strategy: Rather than address bloated public-sector pension costs to help fix the state’s fiscal crisis, Gov. Newsom warned ([link removed]) on CNN recently that without federal assistance, cities and counties in California will lay off firefighters and police. By holding the small fraction of government that enjoys widespread support hostage for more funds, Newsom is trying to win allies for a broader bailout for public-sector unions. This strategy ([link removed]) is similar to the one taken by federal officials, who are quick to close popular national parks and tourist attractions like the Washington Monument during government shutdowns to build public support for increased taxpayer dollars. As State Sen. John Moorlach writes ([link removed]) , this is a “tacky
bluff.”

A prime example of how the mainstream media doesn’t understand public-sector pensions costs: The Sacramento Bee reports ([link removed]) this week that the state plans to cut 88 private-sector consultant jobs from the bullet train and replace them with 70 new public employees. The story highlights the “savings” as a result of this move. Yet, when pension and healthcare costs are factored in, this decision will undoubtedly cost taxpayers in the long-run. “I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that high-speed rail has been a gravy train for engineering consultants,” said Ted Toppin, executive director of the union Professional Engineers in California Government. Look in the mirror, Ted!

Trump vs. Twitter: CPC President Will Swaim and Board Member David Bahnsen discuss Trump’s attack on Twitter and then consider the Ninth Circuit’s decision declaring the Bill of Rights a “suicide pact” to be suspended by judges “with a little practical wisdom” in the latest episode ([link removed]) of National Review’s Radio Free California.

AB5 on November’s Ballot: The ballot measure to roll-back AB5, which outlaws many contracting jobs in the state, officially qualified ([link removed]) for November’s ballot this week. Voters should be on the lookout for well-funded union-backed PR campaigns that spread misinformation to drum up opposition to the measure.

Which union operative ghostwrote this AB5 tweet ([link removed]) for Biden? “Last year California passed #AB5, affording gig workers protections and benefits like a minimum wage and overtime pay. Now, gig economy giants are trying to gut the law and exempt their workers. It's unacceptable. I urge Californians to vote no on the initiative this November.”

Meanwhile, California’s unemployment rate exceeds 15 percent: According to recent Department of Labor data, California’s unemployment rate is 15.5 percent ([link removed]) – the 10^th highest rate in the nation. This figure reflects the state labor market in April, so it will undoubtedly increase when May numbers are released. Yet unions want to outlaw millions of contract job opportunities in the state?

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Jordan Bruneau
Communications Director
[email protected]


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