(October 6, 2005) I’m calling on my California colleagues — business owners, chief executive officers, and leaders of local chambers of commerce — to get directly engaged in the special election that is now less than five weeks away.
As the campaign rhetoric rises, along with the quantity of information — and misinformation — employers must help their employees focus on what the ballot measures mean for their jobs, our businesses, and the future of the California economy.
Communicate with Employers
Whatever is good for the economy is important to all workers in our companies. Many employees readily look to their business owners and CEOs for an informed opinion on important public policy issues that can determine the success or failure of a business. California companies don’t operate in a vacuum; they operate in an integrated network, and a ballot measure that impacts one part of that network is quickly felt in many other parts of that network. That impact often arises because these measures can affect such a wide array of cost categories — labor, energy, health care, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, taxes, fees, rent, maintenance, utilities, property taxes, transportation and education.
As I said earlier this year, business owners are within their rights to inform their employees and stockholders about the potential impacts of ballot measures, and I encourage all California business owners to do so. Armed with the knowledge of how ballot measures affect our ability to do business, our employees and stockholders will be better equipped to make decisions that keep California businesses competitive and protect California jobs.
Long-Term Impact
The top priorities for the California Chamber, because of their long-term impact on the economy, are the special election initiatives that are part of the Governor’s reform package: Proposition 76, the budget reform; Proposition 77, the redistricting reform; and Proposition 74, the teacher tenure reform.
The Chamber supports these reforms, as well as Proposition 75, an important protection that ensures political contributions cannot be deducted from a public employee’s paycheck without the employee’s permission.
Below are the Chamber’s positions on each special election ballot measure, each of which reflects our assessment of the impact on business and the economy. Short recaps of the measures and the reasons for the Chamber’s positions appear on the Chamber website.
Share Information
A California Chamber brochure gives a quick overview of what employers can and can’t do when communicating with employees about ballot measures. The brochure, “Guidelines for Political Communications to Employees,” is posted on the Chamber website at www.calchamber.com. Please feel free to share this brochure with other employers, if you have not already done so.
With so much at stake in this election, everyone needs to be involved to help set the future course of California. I urge you to share the Chamber’s articles and analyses on the special election measures with your employees, colleagues or members and encourage them to help spread the information.
The more voters know, the more apparent it will become that the November ballot reforms are essential to strengthening the California economy.
Eugene J. Voiland, 2005 chair of the California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, is president and chief executive officer of Aera Energy LLC, Bakersfield.
