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September 30, 2010

EDITORIAL: Business Council endorsements likely to further alienate unions.

Press-Republican

It's no secret, of course, that business and labor unions have historically been at odds. That disparity is likely to become even more prominent, as the Business Council of New York State Inc. prepares to endorse state candidates for office for the first time this fall.

Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of the Business Council, was in Plattsburgh last week and acknowledged that the council's board is considering offering endorsements this fall.

The council professes to be apolitical — strictly nonpartisan. But, in discussing issues important to the council, it's impossible to avoid political aspects of the council's work.

Typically, Business Council advocacy sidles more closely to Republican ideals than Democrat. Traditionally, the GOP is the party of business, while Democrats and unions are more closely allied.

Look at the five-part platform the council has adopted this year: a cap on property taxes, a cap on state spending, reduction of the tax burden, reforming public-employee pensions and limiting government borrowing. At least one and perhaps as many as all five fly in the face of could be argued to be contrary to the interests of organized labor. Certainly, pension reform is, and a case could be made that any cap on government revenue could threaten the well-being of members of public unions, even though those members pay taxes.

Are unions at the root of fiscal problems, in the Business Council's view—

"They offer no solutions, so they are a big part of the problem," Adams replied.

He cited the New York City and state fiscal predicaments in the 1970s and noted that public unions did offer contract concessions then to help the governments escape the mess. But not this time.

The council feels that the key to rejuvenating the economy is twofold: Government spending must be brought under control so business — the real driver of the economy — is able to prosper and spread prosperity. That is the substance of fiscal reform.

The other part is what Adams calls the message of reform: Business inside and outside the state must see and understand that New York state is not hostile to their interests. That will happen when real reforms are enacted so it will be obvious to all that the state wants to be competitive with other states and countries for employers and employees. New York has many advantages to business, Adams said: significant population, an educated work force and many natural assets, among them.

But high taxes and unyielding unions are counter to the effort.

Choosing to endorse is a big step for an organization historically billing itself as nonpartisan and must be done carefully so as not to alienate influential and invulnerable office-holders.

And doing so could further widen the cleft between business and its wealthy and, up until now, largely undeclared foe, labor unions.

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