Crain's New York Business - December 17, 2012 - (Page 10)

OPINION Preventing unholy unions CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS editor in chief Rance Crain publisher, vp Jill R. Kaplan EDITORIAL editor Glenn Coleman managing editor Jeremy Smerd deputy managing editors Valerie Block, Erik Ipsen assistant managing editor Erik Engquist senior producer, news Elisabeth Butler Cordova news producer Amanda Fung contributing editor Elaine Pofeldt columnists Greg David, Alair Townsend crain’s health pulse editor Barbara Benson senior reporters Theresa Agovino, Aaron Elstein, Lisa Fickenscher, Matthew Flamm reporters Chris Bragg, Daniel Geiger, Andrew J. Hawkins, Annie Karni, Adrianne Pasquarelli web reporter, producer Nazish Dholakia art director Steven Krupinski deputy art director Carolyn McClain staff photographer Buck Ennis copy desk chief Steve Noveck copy editor Thaddeus Rutkowski data editor Suzanne Panara assistant data editor Emily Laermer researchers Eva Saviano, Amy Stern intern Ali Elkin ONLINE AND INTERACTIVE SERVICES senior web developer, interactive Chris O’Donnell ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND PRODUCTION advertising director Trish Henry senior account managers Irene Bar-Am, Courtney McCombs, Suzanne Wilson account executive Jill Bottomley Kunkes sales coordinator Danielle Wiener newsletter product manager Alexis Sinclair credit Todd J. Masura (313-446-6097) director, audience development Michael O’Connor senior marketing manager Catherine Schutten event producer Courtney Williams reprint sales manager Lauren Melesio production and pre-press director Michael Corsi advertising production manager Suzanne Fleischman Wies TO SUBSCRIBE: For print and digital subscriptions or customer service, e-mail customerservice@crainsnewyork.com or call 877-824-9379 (in the U.S. and Canada) or 313-446-0450 (all other locations). $3.00 a copy for the print edition; or $99.95 one year, $179.95 two years, for print subscriptions with digital access. www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe TO ADVERTISE: Contact Advertising Director Trish Henry at thenry@crainsnewyork.com or call 212-210-0711. www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise FOR INFORMATION ON OUR EVENTS: Contact Event Producer Courtney Williams at cwilliams@crainsnewyork.com or 212-210-0257. www.crainsnewyork.com/events TO CONTACT THE NEWSROOM: C ity Council Speaker Christine Quinn last week postponed action on a bill that would allow labor unions to coordinate campaign activities with candidates without it counting as a donation under campaign finance rules. She did so not because she opposes the bill—in fact, Ms. Quinn and her council colleagues are enthusiastic supporters, undoubtedly because they and their union allies stand to benefit from it. Rather, she pushed back a decision until 2013 because Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the bill a “terrible idea” and bad for democracy. Ms. Quinn said she hopes to convince the mayor that he is mistaken. But he is right. The reason this bill looks and feels like it creates a loophole is because it does exactly that. Moreover, it’s a galling example of hypocrisy by the council. Virtually every council member was elected with the help of matching funds from the Campaign Finance Board. In accepting those funds, they accepted the premise of the public financing system, which is that ordinary citizens’ support for candidates should be magnified and special interests’ role in elections should be limited. Now these council members, having won their seats and developed symbiotic relationships with politically powerful unions, want to have their cake and eat it, too. Mr. Bloomberg should continue to reject the council’s disingenuous portrayal of the bill as a minor clarification that simply reaffirms the legality of low-level coordination Labor, council members seek a campaign finance loophole between candidates and outside groups. In fact, the legislation would open the door to full-fledged integration of candidates’ campaigns and unions. That is why the Campaign Finance Board strongly objects to it. It doesn’t want to be rendered a mere ATM for candidates while the sanctity of the campaign finance system is undermined. It’s worth noting that the council has already granted unions an exemption from a rule aggregating contributions from affiliates of a single organization. That means every one of a union’s locals and its national parent can shower a campaign with money as if they were separate entities, each with its own contribution limit. This latest bill, which the council was prepared to introduce, consider and approve over a period of eight days, would solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Labor, business and advocacy groups are already able to communicate messages about candidates to their members, and are not at risk of being punished for, say, asking a candidate for a photo to be used in mailings, as one councilwoman claimed. That is a contrived rationale ginned up to pass a measure that further empowers unions, which already have too much influence on the council. CRAIN’S ONLINE POLL COMMENTS A JFK Christmas special STRIKE ONE Re “JFK workers threaten to strike” (CrainsNewYork.com): Unions are now starting to have an impact on the safety of the general public. Government needs to take SHOULD NY MELLOW OUT ON ITS MARIJUANA LAWS? Pot should be legalized. Adults enjoying a joint in the privacy of their own home should be free to do so—and pay taxes for the privilege. It should stay illegal. If the feds don’t permit Mary Jane, neither should the states. It should be prescribed. Studies show marijuana has a long list of benefits for certain illnesses. Let doctors dispense it as needed. Date of poll: Dec. 7 that’s “starting to have an impact on the safety of the general public”? Would you accept an airport security guard’s job for $8 an hour without affordable health insurance? —fred FAST FOOD, FAST MONEY? Re your online poll “Should fast-food workers get $15 an hour?” (Nov. 29): Fast-food workers tend to be unskilled, younger and transient. They are paid what they are worth. And if they want to make more than minimum wage, they are free, as we all are, to learn a skill that is valued higher in the market than slinging french fries. —jack STRIKE TWO Re “Broadway union members authorize strike” (CrainsNewYork.com): The limited health care coverage seems very unfair to these workers, and that should be changed, but the salary level of around $17 an hour for cleaners does not seem unreasonable for the work involved, as described in the story. Everyone wants to be better paid, but there are some limits as to what can reasonably be paid for what is basically unskilled labor. That is a cruel reality, I recognize, but nonetheless it is a reality. —elinor GONE TO POT Re your poll “Should New York mellow out on its marijuana laws?” (Dec. 7): It should be legalized by changing federal law. State laws can’t nullify federal law. We aren’t a confederacy—the people who believe that lost a bloody war in the 19th century. —george What was the question? And is there any cookie dough left? —spyder darling 711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4036 editorial phone: 212.210.0277 fax 212.210.0799 Entire contents ©copyright 2012 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. ®CityBusiness is a registered trademark of MCP Inc., used under license agreement. 310 votes 14% 73% 13% action and shut down this irresponsible behavior. Unions did this at LAX before Thanksgiving, and now it is JFK airport’s turn, right before Christmas. Every airport is going to be affected by this at some point, and the unions are being totally irresponsible. —roger Roger: Is it really the union PUBLISHED BY CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. chairman Keith E. Crain president Rance Crain secretary Merrilee Crain (1942-2012) treasurer Mary Kay Crain executive vp, operations William Morrow senior vp, group publisher Gloria Scoby group vp, technology, circulation, manufacturing Robert C. Adams vp/production, manufacturing David Kamis chief information officer Paul Dalpiaz founder G.D. Crain Jr. (1885-1973) chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. (1911-1996) FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS: Go to www.crainsnewyork.com/poll to have your say. CRAIN’S WELCOMES SUBMISSIONS to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@crainsnewyork.com. Send columns of 475 words or fewer to opinion@crainsnewyork.com. Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number. 10 | Crain’s New York Business | December 17, 2012 http://www.CrainsNewYork.com http://www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe http://www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events http://www.crainsnewyork.com/poll

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's New York Business - December 17, 2012

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
CORPORATE LADDER
OPINION
GREG DAVID
ALAIR TOWNSEND
REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS
FOR THE RECORD
CLASSIFIEDS
REAL ESTATE DEALS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crain's New York Business - December 17, 2012