CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 75

Protecting Labor's Voice in a Come From Behind Victory

No on Proposition 75

A handful of wealthy conservatives put Proposition 75 on the California special election ballot in an effort to silence union opposition to their political agenda.

The measure was widely viewed as Governor Schwarzenegger's most important initiative on the 2005 ballot. With public support for Prop. 75 near 60 percent, National conservatives were eagerly anticipating a California victory and planning similar measures across the country.

More than a dozen of California's most powerful labor organizations including the California Teachers Association, California State Council of Service Employees International Union and the California Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, hired The Strategy Group to defeat Proposition 75. We overcame a 25 point deficit and won decisively.

How We Did It

Proposition 75 was described on the Official Ballot as a measure that would require unions obtain written permission from each member before spending their dues for political purposes. Sounds reasonable enough, particularly to the vast majority of California voters who don't belong to a union and have no real experience with union dues or point of reference for voting on the issue.

We didn't have time to educate voters on those details. Instead we focused on persuading them to look beyond the Governor's description of the measure and see that Prop. 75 was not what it seemed. It was actually designed by the Governor's corporate, millionaire supporters to silence the voices of teachers, nurses, firefighters and police who opposed the Governor's destructive legislative agenda.

Working with the coalition, we designed an effective broadcast media, public relations, Internet and direct mail strategy featuring real, everyday teachers, nurses, firefighters and police who opposed the Governor's policies and were unfairly targeted with Prop. 75 for their opposition to his agenda. These real Californians presented voters a choice between supporting Schwarzenegger and his policies to cut education, health care and public safety or supporting teachers, nurses, firefighters and police who want to protect those issues.

Dozens of real, local teachers, nurses, firefighters and police were trained to spread the word by addressing meetings and forums across California. Each received a Power Point presentation, a sample speech, talking points, and prepared answers to tough questions. Selected workers in each media market were trained to participate in press interviews, media debates, editorial board meetings, and to write letters to the editor. Thousands more delivered the message to their friends, family, co-workers and neighbors with tool kits including talking points and literature. By developing a convincing message and using effective spokespeople voters could relate to best, we capitalized on the strength of our coalition and delivered an important win to preserve their voice in the political process.

By developing a convincing message and using effective spokespeople voters could relate to best, we capitalized on the strength of our coalition and delivered an important win to preserve their voice in the political process.