Organized Labor,
El Toro, and the
Supervisors’ Deal
While Doug Chappell (Jan. 10 letter) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 441 would like Orange County to believe that labor unions are looking out for our collective interests, some will argue that the only interests they are really looking out for are their own.
Chappell believes it’s a “shame that organized labor has been given such a bad name in Orange County.” What he and other union leaders fail to recognize, however, is why organized labor has a bad reputation in Orange County. That bad reputation grew when union members recently harassed an entire neighborhood because a resident in the neighborhood does not employ union labor. That bad reputation grew when union members recently shouted insults at those who spoke against another attempt to raise property taxes in Irvine. That bad reputation grew yet again when union members recently got into bed with big business to shove an airport down Orange County’s throat.
What Chappell and other union members fail to recognize time and time again is that actions do indeed speak louder than words.
Anthony Clifton
Chair, Orange County Chapter
UnionWatch California
Fullerton
https://listen.to/unionwatch
I am outraged by the county’s new plan to award contracts to only unionized shops. As an owner of a small business that is not unionized, I currently bid (and sometimes win) contracts with the state of California and other businesses. The process is complicated, but at least it’s fair. The OC Board of Supervisors is out of control! Surely what they are doing is not legal.
John Santora
President
Viridian Technologies Inc.
Aliso Viejo
The project labor agreement between the county and organized labor proves, as if there were any doubt, the concept of representative government has disappeared from Orange County. Supervisors Smith, Silva and Coad do not represent anyone but themselves and one or two wealthy Newport Beach developers.
Their latest actions are but another slap in the collective faces of the people of this county.
Richard Soden
Lake Forest
I find it fascinating that the Orange County Board of Supervisors made an agreement with the labor unions to assure the county’s public works projects would be dominated by union members.
The supervisors have traded the welfare of the taxpayers and the livelihood of the 80% of all building trade workers who are non-union for help in defeating the Safe & Healthy Communities Initiative, Measure F.
Great trade! We shouldn’t be surprised when big money suddenly becomes available to fight Measure F. Maybe more people will realize that we need Measure F to protect ourselves against a county government that is supposed to represent the people.
Gail Brunell
Laguna Niguel
Our LA colleagues are obviously in need of serious help from their Orange County brethren. According to news reports, they are about to spend millions of dollars for soundproofing of homes surrounding LAX.
Additionally, Inglewood will be spending another truckload of cash for necessary scientific research on the adverse effects of airport noise on the residents nearby. Could someone please give them a call to let them know that none of that is necessary around large airports? Why? Well, simply because OC Supervisors Chuck Smith, Cynthia Coad and Jim Silva say so, that’s why.
Dave Mulnard
Tustin
We are right under the El Toro flight path 34 (10 miles from the airport) and the noise was terrible during the testing in June. The Marine jets never sounded like that! I say “no” to an airport. As far as I’m concerned, they could close John Wayne also and move all airports to an unpopulated area farther south.
Kathy Courtney
I recently read an article in your paper regarding the El Toro airport controversy. It was a great article, interesting and well-written.
I had actually mentioned to my wife, “Why don’t they put that airport far away and send people back and forth on speedy trains, maybe monorails like at Disneyland, or subways or something?”
Then, I was looking through a bunch of old historical Irvine Company stuff and someone actually thought of this way back 30 years ago! The idea was to place an airport at Camp Pendleton with “Santa Fe Railway high-speed commuter trains (tracks already in place) whisking jet passengers north and south from the terminal.”
It just seems short-sighted to put airports so close together. Someday, most of Southern California will be densely populated. It’s dumb to keep hopscotching airports as the population grows, instead of carefully planning the location of the new international airport to accommodate future growth.
Mark Fitch
Vice President, Operations
Custom Craft Corporation
Orange
