Back in the latter part of the 19th century when unionists and populists railed against the emerging power of the robber barons and corporate America, the refrain used was “Wealth versus Commonwealth.”
Were democracy and electoral politics going to be the province of a wealthy elite or would ordinary people have a say by taking collective action and speaking, as workers and citizens, with a unified voice?
Today as corporate power has accelerated to the point where many would argue it exceeds the days of the robber barons, the Governor and his corporate allies (who outspend teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other unionists by 24-1 in the political arena) would like to convince you that it is “big labor” that is running the show in Sacramento.
Our yearly struggles to simply maintain our level of funding prove the claim that teachers unions “calling the shots” does not even pass the laugh test. Indeed, such claims are a complete inversion of reality. It is labor that is on the defensive and radically outspent in state and national politics. Claims to the contrary are simply doublethink like Arnold’s “invitation-only town hall meetings.”
We all need to stand together and just say NO with our collective voice to big money’s attempts to stack the deck even more dramatically in their favor. Please urge all of your friends and family members to VOTE NO on Proposition 75 on November 8th.