County Democratic Party Sides with Firefighters Union Against Measure D

The Santa Clara County Democratic Party added fuel to the flame war between the and its unionized firefighters Monday by coming out against Measure D, the November ballot measure that would .

Steve Preminger, who chairs the county Democratic Party, said Measure D “takes away the basic rights of firefighters and police officers.”

“This is a simple issue of fairness,” Preminger said in a statement. “Firefighters and police officers deserve the same rights as other city employees. Just like the attempts to take away the collective bargaining rights of workers in Wisconsin, Measure D aims right at the heart of working people. We urge a 'No' vote on Measure D."

Today’s announcement, which was sent to media by the Palo Alto Fire Fighters Union, certainly helps the union in its effort to defeat the ballot measure but came as no surprise to Councilman Pat Burt, who said county Democrats have strong, longstanding ties to labor.

“They’ve been an organization that has been strongly allied with the South Bay Labor Council, so it’s not at all surprising that they take a position opposing these reforms.”

Burt took issue with the way Preminger is framing opposition to the measure and noted that the City Council and the city as a whole is overwhelming Democratic.

“We don’t think that the position of the County Central Committee in this circumstance is representative of the voter’s outlook,” he said.

“Mesaure D does not take away the basic rights of firefighters," Burt continued. "If Measure D passes, they’ll still have very strong collective bargaining rights, just like 95 percent of the cities in the state have. Even for those other cities, not having binding arbitration has still meant that police and firefighters have had very strong compensation packages.”

Burt does not represent the entire council in his disagreement with Preminger, however. Vice Mayor Yiaway Yeh and Councilwoman Gail Price both oppose the measure, as do former members, John Barton and LaDoris Cordell.

The measure was placed onto the November ballot by a 5-4 vote and prompted a complaint last week by the California Public Employment Relations Board, which is accusing the City Council of unfair labor practice and violation of state law in allowing the initiative to reach voters.