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SEIU Wins Major Victories, Defeating Prop. 98

Prop 98 hurted renters, homeowners, & the environment

In the June primary election, SEIU helped defeat the dangerous and deceptive Prop. 98, which would have gutted rent control and environmental laws and made it nearly impossible to build public works, by a 61% (No) - 39% (Yes) margin. We also helped pass real homeowner protection, Prop. 99, in a 62.5% (Yes) - 37.5% (No) vote.

NO on 98 – The Landlords' Scheme & YES on 99, Real Homeowners' Protection

Vote No On 98NO on 98

Proposition 98 was a deceptive measure that a group of wealthy landlords placed on California's June 3, 2008 ballot. These landlords wanted you to believe the measure is only about 'eminent domain', but Prop. 98 was full of hidden provisions that would hurt Californians. 

Prop 98’s hidden agenda was to:

  • Overturn rent control
  • Gut environmental laws
  • Make it impossible to build public works projects like schools, transit lines, and reservoirs.

Summary:
  • Prop. 98 attacked renters by eliminating renter protections and rent control.
  • Prop. 98 would have gutted important environmental protections like laws we need to combat global warming, and protect our land, air, water and coasts.
  • Prop. 98 would have hurt our students by making it more difficult to relieve classroom overcrowding.



YES on 99
Proposition 99 offers real homeowner protection – without the hidden agenda. It outlaws taking away anyone’s home in order to transfer it to a private developer, a rare but real abuse of “eminent domain” * that Proposition 99 clearly outlaws.

AARP, League of Women Voters of California, California Professional Firefighters, California Teachers Association, National Wildlife Federation, SEIU and hundreds of other organizations who don't always agree on the issues all OPPOSE Prop. 98. 

* Eminent domain is a legal doctrine that allows the state to compel property owners to sell their property to the state for public uses such as railroads, utilities, and schools.

Labor Endorsements
List of labor organizations opposed to Proposition 98 - The Hidden Agendas Scheme:

  • California Labor Federation
  • SEIU California State Council
  • State Building and Construction Trades Council
  • American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
  • National Organization of Legal Services Workers NOLSW, UAW Local 2320, AFL-CIO
  • (AFSCME) Los Angeles Retiree Chapter 36
  • (AFSCME) Chapter 2712
  • International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
  • San Francisco Labor Council
  • Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance
  • Marin County Building and Construction Trades Council
  • People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER)
  • Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 159

 

Prop. 98 was an Attack on Renters
Prop. 98 Eliminated Renter Protections and Rent Control
Wealthy apartment and mobile home park owners are spending millions on a deceptive campaign to pass Prop. 98 for their own financial gain. These landlords wanted voters to believe that Prop. 98 - dubbed the Hidden Agendas Scheme - is about eminent domain. But their hidden agenda was to eliminate rent control so they could make hundreds of millions of dollars by raising rents on seniors and working families.

Prop. 98 Attacked our Environmental Protections
All Leading California Environmental Organizations Agree: No on 98
There was a dangerous measure on the June 2008 Ballot that could wipe out important laws and regulations that protect our environment. Every leading environmental organization were opposed to Proposition 98 - dubbed the "Hidden Agendas Schemes". The proponents wanted voters to believe it's about eminent domain. But a legal analysis by the respected environmental law firm of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger has found that hidden provisions in this measure would wipe out regulations intended to protect our environment. Specifically, the measure prohibits laws and regulations that "transfer an economic benefit to one or more private persons at the expense of the private owner." The courts have ruled that virtually all environmental regulations and land-use decisions are likely to impose costs on the affected party, while transferring economic benefits to another private party. Thus, the measure would gut all manner of laws and regulations that protect our environment and regulate growth and development.


Prop. 98 Would Have Hurt our Students
Prop . 98 would have lead to overcrowding by making it more difficult to build new schools or expand old schools.
Respected education organizations like the California Teachers Association and the California School Boards Association oppose Prop. 98 on the June 3, 2008 ballot because it would have made it much more difficult to build new schools or expand existing ones to relieve overcrowded classrooms. That is because the measure makes major changes to laws governing use of property, including use of eminent domain and regulation of land use. These changes could have had a significant impact on the construction of needed new schools.