It’s no secret that Jerry Brown’s main funding source for his gubernatorial run is labor unions, many of them state employee “associations.”
Of course, the goal for these union bosses is to continue fleecing taxpayers through the payment of ludicrous pension and compensation package for state workers, and maintain prevailing wage – and other imbalances in the work place – even in the midst of the worse economy since the Great Depression.
Lesser known, is the labor unions’ strategy to buy a seat on the Board of Equalization vis-a-vis Chris Parker, a candidate for BOE District 2, Barbara Alby’s seat.
Obviously, the second district is a safe Republican seat that will be won by candidate (and Flash Report blogger) George Runner.
Still, the Republican Party cannot afford to ignore the donations to Parker’s campaign by labor unions — $35,000 since April including from:
- American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME);
- State Employee International Union (SEIU);
- California State Council of Service Employees (CSCSE);
- Operating engineers Local 3.
Now $35,000 is not a lot of money when compared to the enormous money spent on other campaigns, but that amount was for a primary race that Parker had nailed down (he earned 50 percent of the Democrat vote). Now that Parker has a real opponent in Runner, it will be interesting to see just how much labor unions are willing to spend to buy a seat on the BOE.
The Board, which collects state sales and use tax, as well as fuel, alcohol, and tobacco taxes to the tune of $50-plus billion annually, should be managed by taxpayer advocates who champion small business and families, not someone beholden to union heavies.