A Mistake They Won't Forget

It never dawned on them that this campaign
would re-energize the entire Labor movement
and enlist 24,000 new activists just in California

By Gerald W. McEntee

There is an old saying that goes, “That which doesn’t kill us, will only make us stronger.”

Apparently Americans for Tax Reform Pres. Grover Norquist, insurance tycoon J. Patrick Rooney, California Gov. Pete Wilson (R) and all the other supporters of the recently defeated California measure Proposition 226 and similar so-called “Paycheck Protection” measures have never heard that saying.

You may remember that “Paycheck Protection,” or as I prefer to call it, “Paycheck Deception,” would require labor unions to get annual written permission from their members before spending dues money on political and legislative activities.

Norquist, Rooney and Wilson never dreamed that the Labor movement would or could coordinate a come-from-behind win. It never dawned on them that this campaign would re-energize the entire Labor movement and enlist 24,000 new activists just in California. And they certainly didn’t intend to shine a spotlight on Labor’s many accomplishments.

But that’s exactly what happened.

Norquist, Rooney, Wilson and their friends had not taken into account the fact that once union members — and for that matter, the general public — learned what the measure would do and who was behind it, strong support for “Paycheck Protection” turned into strong opposition.

They had not counted on people like Cheryl Obasih-Williams, RN, a member of the United Nurses Associations of California/National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees/AFSCME Local 1199.

Obasih-Williams and other nurses at the Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center launched their own anti-Prop 226 campaign — with cookies. They handed out cookies wrapped with the phrase “Vote no on Prop 226” to workers, patients and their relatives, and even passers-by. In return for the cookie, they just asked people to con-sider voting against Prop 226.

It was that simple.

And simplicity was the key to our victory in California.

Post-election polling showed the biggest influence on union members for voting no on Prop 226 was good old-fashioned personal contact from their union — whether from mailings, phone calls or from personal contact in the workplace or in the home.

We were reminded of the importance of telling not only union members, but the general public that unions are responsible for many of the workplace rights we take for granted. The 40-hour workweek. Strong OSHA laws. Paid sick leave. Vacation days. Family and medical leave. A safe and secure pension. These are all things that unions fought long and hard for — largely in the political and legislative arena. Put simply, if unions’ political wings were clipped, then extremists would have a much easier time pushing their anti-worker agenda — watered-down workplace safety laws, elimination of the minimum wage, cuts in Medicare and Social Security — in Congress and in state capitals.

These issues are exactly what our members and the electorate in general are responding to. It’s the same approach we took in 1996, when the AFL-CIO launched its Labor ‘96 voter education campaign. It was successful then, and if California is an accurate indicator, we are confident that Labor ‘98 will be even more successful in the fall elections.

The short-term fallout of the California election may be pretty fierce. Wounded by the defeat of Prop 226, the radical right desperately needs a victory. And you can be sure they will be looking to score that victory at the polls this November.

However, the long-term effect of the Prop 226 defeat may be very positive for AFSCME. As our union gathers next month at our Convention to embrace new and innovative ways to grow stronger, we will do so knowing that our victory in California is an example of that new spirit of strength. As we work to become an even more effective voice for working men and women in the 21st century, we will do so knowing that our collective voices still echo in the ears of the radical right.

There is a lesson that all young hunters learn: You’d better be sure you can kill the bear with the first shot, because you may not get a second chance. Norquist, Rooney and Wilson took their shot. In November and the years to come, they are going to regret the fact they missed.