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Monday, October 15, 2012

Proposition 32 Divides California's Education Reformers

Proposition 32 Divides California's Education Reformers:


Proposition 32 Divides California's Education Reformers


When Californians enter voting booths this November, they will face a slew of ballot propositions. Among them will be Proposition 32, a "paycheck protection" measure that the state's labor groups liken to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's union-busting bills.

Prop 32 would prevent unions from using dues automatically pulled from employees' paychecks to sponsor political activity. The measure is backed by $4 million from the Koch brothers and the contributions of other wealthy donors, like Charles Munger Jr. The California Teachers Association asserts that the measure would shut the union out of the political process, thereby devastating organized labor in California, where unions remain a powerful force. CTA has spent $18 million against the ban.

A Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California poll found that 44 percent of voters oppose the measure, while 36 percent support it.

But in July, Prop 32 got a new ally: California's arm of the national group Democrats for Education Reform, led by