{"id":394240,"date":"2026-07-11T02:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T02:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/394240\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T02:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T02:00:09","slug":"california-unions-need-to-use-their-power-more-responsibly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/394240\/","title":{"rendered":"California unions need to use their power more responsibly"},"content":{"rendered":"

California\u2019s governing class, and the state\u2019s public unions, should take a page from the comic book that introduced Spider-Man in 1962<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cWith great power there must also come \u2014 great responsibility!\u201d<\/p>\n

In California, the unions in essence run state government, as The California Post reported<\/a> this week. The power they wield is nothing short of enormous.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time they started showing responsibility.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s governing class, and the state\u2019s public unions, should take a page from the comic book that introduced Spider-Man in 1962: Getty Images<\/p>\n

In California, the unions in essence run state government, as The California Post reported this week. The power they wield is nothing short of enormous. SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Not just for their own interests \u2014 they\u2019ve got that covered.<\/p>\n

But for the broader interest of the state that supports them, for the communities they purport to serve, and for the taxpayers who foot the bill for the lavish compensation packages unions have coaxed out of their handpicked allies in government for decades.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s time to call out California\u2019s public unions for their gluttony. For their radicalization. And for their disregard of anything beyond their own narrow interests \u2014 even as the state falls apart around them.<\/p>\n

With great power, comes the responsibility to think of others.<\/p>\n

The unions in this state need to do that.<\/p>\n

They need to consider the current and long-term health of the state. They need to consider communities that struggle, children who will bear future burdens, and residents who can barely afford rent.<\/p>\n

This includes the California Teachers Association and the Service Employees International Union \u2014 arguably the two most powerful unions in Sacramento \u2014 along with associations of nurses, prison guards and a range of other public employees.<\/p>\n

This includes the California Teachers Association and the Service Employees International Union \u2014 arguably the two most powerful unions in Sacramento \u2014 along with associations of nurses, prison guards and a range of other public employees. SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Our quibble is not with the workers themselves, as a great many do admirable jobs.<\/p>\n

But as entities, their unions are a big problem for California.<\/p>\n

They need to be better, more mindful stewards of the state that pays them \u2014 and not simply take, ad infinitum.<\/p>\n

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Yes, we get that unions exist to serve their members. And at one point, they did that in a reasonable way.<\/p>\n

There was a time when public pay trailed that of comparable jobs in the private sector, and unions fought to correct that.<\/p>\n

Problem is, they overcorrected by orders of magnitude \u2014 and grew into bullies and behemoths.<\/p>\n

Taxpayers are now on the hook for extravagant packages of pay, benefits, pensions, lax work schedules<\/a> and all kinds of others perks tucked quietly into contracts that unions negotiate with those they helped elect. AP<\/p>\n

Taxpayers are now on the hook for extravagant packages of pay, benefits, pensions, lax work schedules<\/a> and all kinds of other perks tucked quietly into contracts that unions negotiate with those they helped elect.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s become a racket, as public employees collect perks those in the private sector pay for (but don\u2019t come close to receiving themselves), including pensions that let some public workers retire yet still collect up to 90% of their salary for life.<\/p>\n

And still they want more.<\/p>\n

Not only ever-more perks and pay, but also, increasingly, political concessions that have scant connection to working conditions<\/a>. Recall how LA teachers refused to return to post-COVID classrooms in part based on issues like defunding the police.<\/p>\n

The state can\u2019t continue on this path.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a path of decline: declining affordability, declining public services, declining education, declining livability \u2014 and declining prospects for everyday Californians.<\/p>\n

Each dollar state or local government directs to concessions to unions is a dollar that can\u2019t be spent providing tax stability, or genuinely improving public services, or meaningfully addressing a long list of crises that plague the state.<\/p>\n

And the unions demand constant concessions.<\/p>\n

Among the worst offenders is Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West and architect of the \u201cbillionaire tax\u201d on the November ballot. Zoom\/ Ro Khanna<\/p>\n

Among the worst offenders is Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West and architect of the \u201cbillionaire tax\u201d on the November ballot.<\/p>\n

To serve a narrow interest \u2014 more cash for his union \u2014 he would have the state slap a 5% tax on those whose net worth exceeds $1 billion.<\/p>\n

The mere prospect of the tax caused an exodus of some of California\u2019s leading innovators<\/a>, who took their wealth, jobs, talent, ingenuity and tax receipts<\/a> to other states.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a huge loss for the public. But Regan doesn\u2019t care. He just wants more<\/a> for himself and his union.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom claims<\/a> he\u2019s against the state billionaire tax, but for a national billionaire tax.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom claims<\/a> he\u2019s against the state billionaire tax, but for a national billionaire tax. AP<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not leadership; that\u2019s useless posing.<\/p>\n

Californians would do well to soundly reject the billionaire tax on Nov. 3, and think long and hard about who they want for their next governor.<\/p>\n

Do they want more of the same government-by-union? More of the same overtaxing and overspending? More of the same policy failures?<\/p>\n

We need elected officials who put daylight between themselves and the union bosses, rather than acting as puppets or patsies.<\/p>\n

We also realize that\u2019s tough when the unions spend hundreds of millions of dollars each election cycle \u2014 plus walk neighborhoods, knock on doors and help with voter turnout \u2014 to elect union-appeasing candidates.<\/p>\n

But California\u2019s current path is unsustainable.<\/p>\n

The costs are extraordinary, the crises fester, the state\u2019s crumbling, crime and homelessness are rampant, the governance is abysmal, education\u2019s a mess and millions of people have already fled for sanely-run states.<\/p>\n

Talk about squandering the inheritance of what was once truly a beacon, a leader, a Golden State.<\/p>\n

One way or another, the most powerful forces in California \u2014 unions and the political class that defers to them \u2014 must show responsibility.<\/p>\n

One way or another, the union gluttony must end.<\/p>\n

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