Unions have long been the agent that has controlled the California Democratic Party. By passing laws giving them mandatory dues payments from their members Democrats have eliminated opportunity for internal dissent or accountability to their members.  In return, union leaders take their unchecked influence and make massive political donations to Democratic candidates. Additionally, they represent a large portion of the “grassroots” support for Democrats by walking precincts for them during get out the vote efforts. Essentially they have become the one-stop-shop political machine that has commanded the complete obedience of Democrats for at least 40 years.

Now it seems that Democrats might be realizing the truth — that Unions are completely self-serving, that by remaining unchecked they are slowly destroying the California Government, and that they will eventually ruin the California economy. The Los Angeles Times ran an article yesterday characterizing this move by Democrats to break free of their union controllers:

The relationship between Democratic leaders and some of their labor benefactors has turned particularly frosty: Many of the programs union members rely on for paychecks — and the unions rely on for dues — have been slated for deep cuts…

…The union leaders say they are appalled that Democratic leaders are talking openly now about decimating government programs without first making a stand for bigger, broader tax hikes that could substantially offset budget cuts.

The purpose of a union is to further perpetuate the existence of unions.  They have no concern for the quality of services coming from the state government, they constantly fight to reduce or remove accountability for union employees or for programs that employ union members, and the quotation above demonstrates their lack of concern for the average citizen — they are openly advocating for “bigger, broader tax hikes”.

California Democrats vote liberally because they believe they are promoting socially liberal values when in actuality their efforts keep big labor unions who promote higher taxes in control of the government.

California’s public employee unions must be stopped.  Their unchecked influence over the California Democratic Party — and ultimately California has run the government into the ground.

There is light on the horizon as Democratic Leaders begin to realize that labor unions don’t promote sound fiscal policies.  Darrell Steinberg, the Senate President Pro Tem was quoted in the article as saying “”Of course there are going to be cuts… This is the worst drop in revenue since the 1930s. We’re going to try to be as surgical as we can in making very difficult decisions, but we will make the decisions.”  This is a welcome break from the Union-Democrat Coalition’s traditional ‘No Cuts Ever’ mentality.

Even though Steinberg didn’t go so far as to credit the labor unions for the worst economic condition in almost a century, he still deserves praise for stepping up to the plate and showing some common sense.  The “bigger, broader tax hikes” that the labor unions seek would take an economic engine that already is operating at minimal capacity and seize it altogether.

Lawmakers must use this opportunity to cut some fiscal fat and begin to operate a leaner, stronger government then we have seen in decades.