Todd Gloria is a coward—plain and simple. His campaign has the support of the labor unions across San Diego, but just a few years ago the unions despised him. In fact, he was given a failing grade by the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, the county’s largest labor organization which was uncoincidentally led by Lorena Gonzalez.
This was due to a decision by the San Diego City Council to impose new labor contracts on AFSCME, the city’s blue collar workers’ union. Gloria was given the silent treatment by the unions for a long time because of his decision. He also removed a city ordinance that would have been an obstacle to Walmart’s growth in San Diego. So what has changed in the past few years? Gloria sold out to the unions, giving them concessions for years to earn back their favor.
Lorena Gonzalez used to be one of those heated voices speaking out against Todd Gloria when he was ostensibly acting against union interests. Now, she is one of his biggest supporters and it’s no coincidence. Gloria was the assemblyman who co-sponsored Gonzalez’s ill-fated AB 5 bill that attacked independent contractors across a variety of industries throughout California. He gave Gonzalez her bill and she got him back into the good graces of big labor in San Diego.
Gloria has proven that he’s willing to bow down before Big Labor if it means a hefty donation and other means of support for his campaign. This shows that Gloria has a disturbing lack of ethics and disregard for the interests of his constituents. The labor unions already have a stranglehold over politics in California and that worries a lot of people—rightfully so.
The Democrats are perfectly happy with the status quo where the unions fill the politicians’ wallets and the politicians give the unions free reign. Gloria will not challenge this corruption, as he is already neck-deep in it himself. Gloria realized that he could not further his political career in California without selling himself to the unions. If he’s elected mayor, the labor unions will be running San Diego.
