Pat Flannery makes some good points in this column in his blog - but again he fails to understand that while, yes, unions are only 15% of the work force EVERY union employee is forced to give money for politics, while private employees are not and do not. I think this blog should ask Eric Christen for more on the topic.

The right not to associate - union shop vs. merit shop. 01/28/09
by Pat Flannery

There is an interesting exchange between Sheila Jackson, president of the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) board of education and Eric Christen, executive director of the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction (CFEC) in the U-T this morning. It heralds a gigantic fight between union and non-union construction interests, not just in the spending of the $2.1 billion Proposition S school bond, but the $1 billion to $2 billion Sunrise Power Link, which the unions have supported.

Both sides have a lot at stake in the School District fight. Whichever side wins will be in the drivers seat during the spending of all the manna from Washington over the next few years. We are entering a new age from which the private sector may never recover. America is in danger of becoming one giant TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority). Yes, that FDR-era government behemoth is still there. It even has its own police force.

It reminds me of Ireland's Shannon Development, formed 50 years ago to promote Shannon Airport and still there, the de facto government for one fifth of Ireland. It is registered as a private company with minimal reporting duties, every politician's dream slush fund. Former San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy admired it so much he tried to form a "sister city" with it.

Oh, how these elected officials and union bosses love power. We can only imagine the power lunches between Sheila Jackson, Richard Barrera and John Lee Evans, the SDUSD "Union Three", with Lorena Gonzalez, Tom Lemmon and Donald Cohen, the "Union Cardinals".

But what about the other side? There is another side. The unions only represent approximately 15% of San Diego construction workers! Sheila Jackson et al will not get reelected on union votes alone. There are many pickup trucks parked in driveways all around the District waiting for a call from a general contractor with a job contract. Not all jobs are union jobs.

Eric Christen accuses the unions of buying the "Union Three", as he has dubbed them, for $400,000. The payback being the exclusive right of the "Union Cardinals" to decide who gets into Heaven - i.e. a piece of the $2.1 million bond action. This is hard-ball politics. This is a real prize fight.

What is at stake is how public works, which looks like being the main economic engine for some time, will be manned. We may be entering an era that resembles the 1930's in more ways than one: we may need to revisit its labor relations text books as well as its economic text books.

But right now it is purely political. It is being "duked" out in the opinion pages of the local media. There is even talk of recalls in the air. $2.1 billion is a prize worth fighting for. It is a "must win" fight for Lemmon, Gonzalez and Cohen but the "Union Three" can hedge their bets. They are already selling their "everyone is welcome to help improve our schools" slogan.

Politicians always follow the votes, irrespective of who paid their election tab. If the School District PLA runs into heavy weather, the "Union Three" will run for cover. A good example is Todd Gloria who abandoned the Our Lady of Peace (OLP) girls High School in its expansion bid before the City Council last Monday. OLP heavily backed his election campaign.