California Labor Federation

Negotiations have clearly not been going well on health care reform. It was truly puzzling to see the make-up of the revised plan from Arnold. He had not moved much towards the Democrats plan. Obviously, loads had been going on behind the scenes, so it was tough to get a good read on it. However, the pace was troubling. We know a lot more now that the labor coalition has broken radio silence. They will be officially campaigning against Arnold's plan. It will be a mix of field and media. LAT:

Abandoning their facade of cooperation, a coalition of California labor unions and consumer groups says it is gearing up a campaign to discredit Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's healthcare proposal as too expensive for many workers.

Organizers say they will trail Schwarzenegger throughout California to challenge and rebut him, hold prayer vigils and news conferences, press elected officials to oppose his proposal and run critical ads on television. They plan to deride the governor's program as the "Arnold Middle-Class Gouge."

The coalition, which includes most major unions and two prominent consumer groups -- Health Access California and Consumers Union -- has hired one of the nation's most aggressive Democratic strategists to run the campaign.

That last paragraph is actually not accurate. The California Labor Federation, not the coalition has hired Chris Lehane.

The campaign represents a break from labor leaders' strategy, which had been to encourage Schwarzenegger's efforts while gently prodding him in their direction. Leaders say they no longer believe that the governor will ever agree to their priorities without pressure.

"The year for healthcare reform has been a failure, and it has largely been a failure because of the governor," said Art Pulaski, head of the California Labor Federation.

This campaign is not without risks, but they would have never taken this step if it seemed like there was a reasonable chance things could have been worked out at the negotiating table.

They are sticking to their guns. They will not support a plan that forces people to purchase insurance they cannot afford. Nor will they support a plan that does not get significant funding from employers.

If Arnold does not come around and there is no legislative solution, then this coalition is considering taking a proposal directly to the ballot. Most likely it would be pretty similar to AB8, which was passed overwhelmingly by the legislature, but vetoed by Arnold. It was widely heralded by the coalition that is now opposing Arnold's plan.