Labor’s surprising new target

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It is not often that labor leaders call out Democrats as the villain. The unions spend a large share of their members’ dues helping elect politicians from that party to office. And the Democrats aggressively push a pro-labor agenda at the Capitol.

But many in labor have grown frustrated with concessions Democrats made over the last year to address the state’s chronic fiscal crisis. Now, the intense bickering between liberal politicians and their longtime allies in labor that has been playing out in back rooms over the last several months has spilled into public with a press release from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME.

“In the history of modern legislative governance, Democrats have never once resisted Republican calls for cuts to public service programs,” the statement said. “It is now time to see whether the Democratic majority will actually find the courage to stand up for ordinary Californians.”

-- Evan Halper in Sacramento