So long as payments remain compulsory, union dues constitute legally compelled tribute. Proposition 226 would require employers to obtain prior written permission from employees for withholding any portion of an employee s paycheck that goes to political advocacy. The employee has the right to retain a portion of his withholding. Proposition 226 is full of irony. It is ironic that Conservative causes are continually supported in California by referenda.
Conservatives prefer the deliberative choices of legislatures.
Conservatives may one day regret their dependence upon so populist an approach. It is doubly ironic that pro-choice Liberals are convinced that teenage girls are perfectly capable of making informed, intelligent decisions, without parental notification, about issues as profound as whether to have an abortion. Yet adults are unsuited to decide whether or not they wish to contribute to causes supported by their unions. It is about guaranteeing certain outcomes. Choice is only a value if it serves those ends.