Plumbers union flexes muscle in local campaigns
Ryan Lillis, The Sacramento Bee From prison guards to teachers,
organized labor wields influence over California politics like an
iron pipe. In the Sacramento region, one group's clout rises above
the others. In 2005, Sacramento City Unified School District's
board approved a policy requiring contractors on projects over $1
million to use union workers. Trustees re-approved the labor
agreement policy for an additional four years in September 2009 …
The wages are often higher than nonunion workers would otherwise
make and help ensure that union shops can compete for projects
nonunion shops would otherwise underbid. "They're playing within
the rules to elect people who share their philosophy," Cline said.
"They're protecting their empire."