Here is the key, difference I think..
From an LA Times article - traditional mouthpiece of the anti labor right of course ..
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-labor10oct10,1,6529410.story?coll=la-headlines-california(Current law does allow union members to block the use of their dues for political campaigns; the measure would require unions to ask approval in advance.)
Full article, also makes great reading to see split between union leaders (all political hacks of democratic party) and individual union members...
Prop. 75 Worries Union Leaders
# Many in the rank and file could support the measure, which would limit use of members' dues. Opponents have been slow to rally.
By Michael Finnegan, Times Staff Writer
With thousands of Californians already voting by mail, leaders of organized labor are increasingly anxious about the strength of their push to mobilize union members against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's November ballot measures.
Their chief worries are that many won't vote and that many of those who do will support Proposition 75, a measure fiercely opposed by labor leaders yet alluring to many in the rank and file.
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The measure, backed by Schwarzenegger, would bar government employee unions from spending members' dues on political campaigns without prior consent. Labor leaders fear it would sharply diminish their ability to make campaign donations, tilting the balance of political power in California toward business interests.
"We're not winning on this thing, and we've got to step it up," Steven Neal, a Los Angeles County Federation of Labor official, told scores of union leaders at a campaign breakfast last week in downtown Los Angeles. He likened the battle against Proposition 75 to a "sinking ship" in need of rescue.
The gathering, called by the labor federation, was designed to arouse a sense of urgency among union political operatives in fighting Schwarzenegger's agenda in the Nov. 8 election.
But the event also showcased the nervousness among union leaders, who fear that the Republican governor could pull off a victory with Proposition 75. Polls have found most voters support the measure, one of four Schwarzenegger is campaigning to get passed.
Passage of Proposition 75 would be a major setback to the nation's fractured labor movement. Unions representing more than 5 million workers have bolted the AFL-CIO this year, a rupture that has distracted the national leadership from labor's high-stakes clash with Schwarzenegger.
Within California, the split has not kept unions aligned with both national factions from working closely against Schwarzenegger. But Art Pulaski, leader of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, told union leaders at the breakfast not to expect the vast resources that national unions sent in 1998 to defeat then-Gov. Pete Wilson's campaign for a similar measure.
"The AFL-CIO and your national unions sent out carloads and planeloads of people here to help us do that campaign," he said. "That's not happening this year. They're busy with other things. They're relying on us."
The 1998 measure would have applied to all California unions; Proposition 75 covers only those for government workers. But more than half of the state's 2.4 million union members are public employees.
In an interview, Pulaski acknowledged that unions had been relatively late in starting to rally members against Proposition 75 and, most important, slow to start direct campaigning in workplaces.
After the breakfast, the county labor federation distributed thousands of fliers as well as wall charts for leaders of union locals to use in making workplace presentations opposing Schwarzenegger's ballot measures. Labor strategists say workplace campaigning is the most effective tool for solidifying the union vote.
The limited reach of such efforts was apparent last week at the Kaiser Permanente medical complex in Los Feliz.
Deidre Brown, 43, a medical records clerk wheeling a metal cart of files through the corridors, said she had heard nothing about Proposition 75 from leaders of her union, Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers-West. She said she trusted her union to spend her dues wisely but understood the appeal of getting members' consent for political spending.
"It makes sense to ask permission," she said.
"It sounds like a good idea," added Malcolm Drake, 59, another medical records clerk who said he had heard nothing about Proposition 75 from the union.
Both said they were undecided on Proposition 75. But their openness to voting for it illustrates the danger union leaders face: Their own members could defy them and nudge Proposition 75 into law.
Union leaders say members have been almost evenly split on the measure. Strategists say labor risks losing the campaign if support for Proposition 75 among union members fails to drop to 30% or lower.
In their first radio ad promoting the measure, the Yes on 75 campaign featured union members, mimicking labor's tactic against Schwarzenegger. "I've been a sheriff's deputy for 10 years," a man says in the ad. "I want the right to choose not to have my dues spent on a political campaign I disagree with."
(Current law does allow union members to block the use of their dues for political campaigns; the measure would require unions to ask approval in advance.)Lew Uhler, the conservative anti-tax advocate who led the drive to put Proposition 75 on the ballot, said the campaign would use "precisely the same approach" in upcoming TV ads. "A powerful way to present the message," he said, is to have "abused public employee union members" tell their stories.
