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Learning from the ABATE experience

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Illinois

It took Illinois Senate President John Cullerton 20 years to learn a very valuable lesson: When your attacks are making the other side stronger, stop the attacks.

It’s a lesson Gov. Bruce Rauner should heed now.

Cullerton was the original sponsor of a mandatory child car-seat law. A few years later, he passed a mandatory seat belt law.

In 1986, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that his seat belt law was constitutional, and the court appeared to overturn a 1969 opinion striking down the state’s mandatory motorcycle helmet law. So Cullerton announced he would introduce a helmet bill as soon as he could. A motorcycle helmet law seemed to be just over the horizon.

Fast-forward almost 30 years and the North Side Democrat is one of the most powerful politicians in the Illinois General Assembly—but the state still doesn’t have a helmet law.

It wasn’t for lack of trying. The accomplished legislator introduced his helmet bill year after year.

“The more Cullerton kept poking the bear, the bigger we got,” lobbyist Todd Vandermyde recalls. Vandermyde was a bulldozer operator in the early 1990s when he started working with A Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education, a loosely organized group that opposed the helmet bill. ABATE leaders ironed out their regional differences and used Cullerton’s bill to recruit members who didn’t want the government telling them they had to wear helmets.

Membership peaked at 20,000 motorcycle riders in the early 2000s. Rauner should know this story. He’s a motorcycle enthusiast who attends ABATE meetings all the time.

Meanwhile, Cullerton’s helmet bill was becoming more unpopular with his fellow legislators every year. Local ABATE chapters were springing up all over the place, and its hardcore members were becoming very politically active.

“They used my bill to build up their membership,” Cullerton says. It got to the point where he couldn’t even pass a bicycle helmet bill.

So about a decade ago, Cullerton finally realized that his efforts were counterproductive and he stopped introducing helmet bills.

Vandermyde went on to work the statehouse halls for his union. A social conservative, Vandermyde, like many trade union members, never cared all that much for public employee unions. He no longer works for the union, and he has endured cuts to his own pension benefits to save the union fund. It sticks in his craw that the courts have ruled that government employee pensions can’t be touched.

But he says he has watched in amazement this year as Rauner “galvanized and coalesced the labor movement” like never before with constant attacks. Rauner started with a months-long push for a so-called right to work law and then refused to negotiate the state budget until local governments are allowed to strip unions of their collective bargaining rights and remove prevailing wage protections for construction workers.

In Vandermyde’s eyes, this is

Click here to read the rest before commenting please.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 8:51 am

Comments

On the plus side if it does take Rauner 20yrs to learn it won’t matter. If he doesn’t learn it pdq he won’t have more tgan 4yrs to apply it anyway.

Comment by Mason born Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:07 am
“I’m going to keep poking that beehive until they all go away.” Gov. Rauner

Comment by Rufus Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:10 am
Todd Vandermyde is my Kendall County friend, and someone, personally and professionally, I respect.

What’s great about the piece by you, Rich, is the raw politics of understanding the real fallout, or in this case, the galvanization of people and policy by pushing beyond what is seen beyond “your own” vision, and hurting yourself with every continual “poking the bear” instance.

The warning signs are not only there, they are outlined in bright neon, lit up with stadium strength halogen white light, and horns, bells, and whistles signaling their existence too.

The one thing Rauner (and ironically, Comptroller Munger this cycle) does not want is the Democrats, the Labor Movement, and social service groups and their Advocates to see the frontal assault(s) on them all as ONE unifying theme to rally against Bruce Rauner and his candidates. That includes IllinoisGO Democrats and Raunerite Republicans.

To bring it back to the Labor Movement, if they, collectively, can NOT see that Rauner’s demand of Prevailing Wage and Collective Bargaining effects them all, then Rauner will continue his 2 campaign winning streak against them all.

“What is the Labor Movement prepared to do?” Together. No daylight, no parsing, one voice.

They have their first test this March with IllinoisGO. Labor, that’s real. Rauner thinks IllinoisGO will make Democratic Raunerites, that plan to destroy the two things you all can agree on without hesitation.

Todd Vandermyde gave the playbook, will the Labor Movement run the plays?

This is an outstanding column Rich. It’s getting down to marrow of the bare bones of what retail politics can do, when “properly motivated”

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:11 am
It’s not the continual poking of the nest that counts, it’s the demonstration of the stingers.

Comment by walker Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:19 am
==Todd Vandermyde gave the playbook, will the Labor Movement run the plays?==

Let’s say they do run the play book. What if labor doesn’t knock off Rauner or his agenda? They went after Scott Walker in a big way, and they lost big time. Now Wisconsin is right to work. Not saying Illinois will be, but be careful when you declare war and lose. Your “allies” may not have your back anymore.

Comment by Wheaton 411 Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:30 am
Will it not only galvanize unions against Rauner but also against their Republican state representatives and senators who have demonstrates they are all in Rauner’s deep pockets?

Comment by Earnest Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:34 am
- Earnest -

Bruce Rauner isn’t on the 2016 ballot.

Raunerites are. Comptroller Munger is. IllinoisGO candidates are.

The trick? Galvanize the Labor Movement to see the “enemy” framed in the 2 solidifying issues, and voting their better selves against “Republican or Democratic” Raunerites.

Can they educate enough by March that IllinoisGO candidates in Democratic primaries are Raunerites.

That’s the first test.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:40 am
=====Todd Vandermyde gave the playbook, will the Labor Movement run the plays?==

Let’s say they do run the play book. What if labor doesn’t knock off Rauner or his agenda? They went after Scott Walker in a big way, and they lost big time. Now Wisconsin is right to work. Not saying Illinois will be, but be careful when you declare war and lose. Your “allies” may not have your back anymore. ===

Wisconsin also had a Republican/Tea Party legislature. Big difference.

Comment by GraduatedCollegeStudent Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:49 am
Illinois is NOT Wisconsin.

Please, keep up.

Thank you.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:53 am
New members are counseled not to pick up bills that have repeatedly failed. It wastes everyones time, and agitates the electorate.

If i recall, ABATE also requires members to be registered to vote. So if they have 300 members in a district, voting on one issue, it gets the members attention. They also show up in january to put signs up. That stuff counts.

Comment by Langhorne Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:57 am
Excellent article. Well written and cogent.

Comment by The Equalizer Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 10:16 am
Great column Rich.

But as Dr. Murray Fishel always says:

“Just because you’re talkin’, doesn’t mean they are listenin’.”

It seems a stretch to hope that Team Rauner is gonna read your column and have an epiphany.

After all, they learned nothing from watching Rahm unify the CTU.

And by “Team Rauner” and “they”, I am specifically including the Tribune editorial board.

Comment by Juvenal Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 10:18 am
The question I have is what do non-union members think of all this? Indeed, as Oswego Willy points out, Illinois is not Wisconsin, with its tradition of hardcore Republican conservatism, Joe McCarthy, and racial and political polarization at least in the Milwaukee area that makes Chicago look mild. However, divide-and-conquer strategies have worked in places even less polarized than Illinois. And we have precious little polling that doesn’t try to coax an agenda out of respondents.

What’s everyone’s read of the situation currently?

Comment by Angry Chicagoan Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 10:22 am
==Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 9:11 am:==
Good one! Thanks

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 10:25 am
==Let’s say they do run the play book. What if labor doesn’t knock off Rauner or his agenda? They went after Scott Walker in a big way, and they lost big time. Now Wisconsin is right to work== Yes, and Scott Walker left Wisconsin in a mess! Talk to the people, and they will tell you that they are NOT better off due to RTW!
“Wis union went after Scott Walker and lost.”
Illinois unions can learn from Wisconsin unions’ mistakes.

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 10:32 am
I’ve never understood why Rauner even wants to have this fight. SCOTUS is already poised to overturn the Abood decision this term, eliminating “fair share” fees for public employee unions.

Ironically, his anti-labor crusade may actually help labor whether that storm if/when it hits.

Comment by David Starrett Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 10:37 am
>Can they educate enough by March that IllinoisGO candidates in Democratic primaries are Raunerites.

Thanks OW. I agree and it will be a big test. In some ways I feel galvanized against him myself. Some incremental progress in some of his priority areas would be good for the state, but his methods are odious. The structural problem with Illinois that is negatively impacting businesses is the structural deficit. Everything else pales in comparison.

Comment by Earnest Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 10:56 am
David Starrett–you make a great point. I think the SCOTUS is likely to overrule Abood, thus handing Rauner, for free, what he at great cost (to the State of Illinois and her citizens) is tying to gain through hostage-taking.

Comment by Concerned Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 11:17 am
The implications of overturning Abood are too great. I don’t think there is any pretzel logic that could force unions to negotiate for non members. If anything it may allow multiple wage scales in which case unions would grow. It is pretty easy to attract folks by giving them higher pay in return for dues. For this reason I don’t think Abood is going anywhere. Maybe I’m just an optimist, but I think overturning it could hurt rtwfl more than help.

Comment by Me too Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 11:37 am
Great story. I remember the rally of motorcyclists when the bill was up way back when. I was out in front of the Capitol and watched one big, loud motorcycle after another roar down Capital Avenue, take a left on 2nd, then a right on Edwards and park in the south parking lot of the Stratton Bulding. Later, on the house floor I looked up and the all sides of the gallery were packed to the brim with leather and jeans attired motorcycle riders. The vote failed, the parking lot was left in a mess of partying remains, and I’ll never forget that particular warm day..

Comment by Mouthy Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 11:55 am
Couple of things, first I don’t dislike public sector unions. They have a very important role in state government and the labor movement.

I just don’t agree with them on a lot of issues.

As a member of a private sector union, we made decisions about reducing pension calculators, which reduced our benefit payouts in order to keep the fund solvent and not have the feds make cuts. At the time and prior to the Governor’s election, you would have very little sympathy in a trade union hall/meeting for the refusal of public sector unions to make any concessions on pensions.

Many more of the public sector unions rally to the cry of social justice. And then support and push and agenda that has little to do with “union” issues. Voter ID laws as an example. When I worked for my union, it was about the members. We provided healthcare, and yet we were not in favor of Obamacare. It has placed a burden on our system and taxes us to pay for others when at the same time we were doing the right thing by having a healthcare plan. And the added mandates heaped cost on top of cost to our plan which our members have to bear the burden of.

You want healthcare? Join a union. You want overtime after X many hours? Join a union. Want to bargain over a pension instead of a 401K? Join a union. And that is the biggest difference I have with public sector unions is it’s not our job to protect everybody. It’s our job to represent our members and protect our crafts. Minimum wage? None of our guys worked for it. We cared about prevailing wage. Tax the rich; never worked for a poor man when I was in the field. Go look up the cost of a Cat 365 backhoe or D8 dozer and next time you drive by a construction site count them up and see how much capital is sitting there.

John Cullerton gave the ABATE members something and someone to focus on. And when you loose committee votes do to politics, “I voted for it in committee but it won’t pass on the floor”, which a LOT of people just do not get, it gives you a reason to pay attention to something that is that close to you.

And government telling you, you have to wear an article of clothing when in public or face a fine, too a lot of people that is government getting way to close to their lives. What Cullerton didn’t grasp was that. John thought it was just like a seat belt law, or child restraint law or some other “safety” law that was abstract. It wasn’t. And it galvanized people to action.

Walker was successful because he did it in stages, and promised to leave the trades alone. Then 2 years later he flipped. The damage that has done to the relationships with republicans across the country is yet to be measured. But it is significant. He left a lot of labor leaders with egg on their face and gave all those in the left leaning labor movement bragging rights at the bar to say see we told you so, you can’t trust them.

The attacks from Michigan to Wisconsin to Indiana has brought this state’s labor movement closer together than it has ever been in years. It has done what the AFL-CIO could not do. And all you need is to go back and read some of Rich’s columns about Margret Blackshire and her tenure to see.

The real question in my mind, is will all this anti-union talk and bashing, lead to a downfall of the republican party? To illustrate this point, most would consider Ronald Reagan to be the patron saint of the modern conservative movement. Can you dear readers, remember where Ronald Regan was coming out of the day he was shot?

He had just given a speech to the AFL-CIO building trades. And if Ronald Reagan could find common ground with the trades there is no reason why the republicans should be attacking them.

Because in the end, all those Reagan democrats will need a place to call home. And right now Cullerton and the Speaker are giggling all the way to the bank and ballot box.

Comment by Todd Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 12:03 pm
===The real question in my mind, is will all this anti-union talk and bashing, lead to a downfall of the republican party? To illustrate this point, most would consider Ronald Reagan to be the patron saint of the modern conservative movement. Can you dear readers, remember where Ronald Regan was coming out of the day he was shot?

He had just given a speech to the AFL-CIO building trades. And if Ronald Reagan could find common ground with the trades there is no reason why the republicans should be attacking them.

Because in the end, all those Reagan democrats will need a place to call home. And right now Cullerton and the Speaker are giggling all the way to the bank and ballot box.===

Ball game, bud. Ball game.

Thanks for that. That’s as plain as plain can be.

First round on me, OW

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 12:24 pm
The problem is none of us can conceive of Rauner’s vision of what constitutes winning. I don’t think re-election is his primary goal. Given the improbability of passing his agenda whole its unlikely that’s his end goal. All signs point to damaging the political structures to the point that they have to be rebuilt. But not by him.

Comment by Relocated Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 12:28 pm
Todd makes an important point that the Governor has not picked up on. The trade unions and the public unions are entirely different animals. My trade union friends view the public unions with distain for the same reasons given by Todd.

Comment by Keyser Soze Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 12:54 pm
The column presents — in a fairly interesting way — the standard view of union supporters that Democrats will never agree to Rauner’s “union-busting agenda.”

What they downplay is that Rauner’s agenda on unions has several different parts, and hence several points of possible compromise. What some call “demands,” others might call a starting point for negotiations.

If Democrats are playing a winning hand on the budget and “Turnaround Agenda,” more power to them. But it’s hard to see how simply calling Rauner’s plans “extreme” and refusing to negotiate will cause Rauner to capitulate. Perhaps Dems are looking to swing a small number of GOP legislators, which seems more likely.

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 1:36 pm
Todd -maybe failure to connect with the concerns of working people (social/economic justice) and willingness to compromise with those who would take away our benefits is why private sector unions only represent 7% of the private sector workforce. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got problems with the monied Dems too. I think labor should run it’s own candidates from it’s own party, like most other countries. Sorry to say it union brother but I don’t think the trades should be lecturing public about who to protect.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 4:58 pm
(Tips cap to - Earnest -)

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 8:41 pm
The thing is, I’m not sure that Rauner is interested in doing anything else but the union busting.

Fiscal responsibility is out tne window, as is efficient delivery of services. I don’t see racking up billions in past-due bills as particularly business-friendly.

What’s left on the agenda? Pushing muni bankruptcy?

Comment by Wordslinger Tuesday, Nov 3, 15 @ 10:24 pm
@wordslinger @10:24

BVR will get around to municipal bankruptcy when he and his private equity friends figure out how they can make $$$$ from it. Please don’t give him any ideas in advance…

Comment by Lynn S. Wednesday, Nov 4, 15 @ 1:44 am
Great article, Rich.

This is a new day for Republican union members. They can’t trust many politicians in their own party. Look what happened in three of our neighbors, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan–and now possibly in Kentucky, with the election last night of a Republican governor.

We can see some of that here in Illinois, with Republican GA members now towing the billionaire line. I really hope that these GA members can find some independence–perhaps if Rauner’s approval numbers stay low or go lower.

These are not the Republicans of old. These are a new breed who are financed/supported by super-wealthy anti-union interests. It’s imperative that private sector union members now realize that rights are for every type of union, and the attack on one group’s rights is an attack on all rights.

Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, Nov 4, 15 @ 8:43 am