California's 1958 Right-to-Work Initiative TV opposition ad

This brief clip shows a TV ad opposing a right-to-work initiative on the 1958 California ballot - supported by Republican candidate for governor William Knowland. The initiative would have banned the "union shop" in California. Knowland was minority leader in the U.S. senate and hoped to use the California governorship as a springboard to the presidency. He forced the incumbent Republican governor, Goodwin (Goody) Knight to run for Knowland's senator seat while Knowland ran for Knight's position. Knowland's insistence on this switch and his support for the right-to-work initiative (which was defeated) killed the careers of himself and Knight. And it led to the victory of Pat Brown for governor and other Democrats.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• right-to-work
• California
• initiatives
• Knowland
• Knight