Off-year elections are usually snoozes, but California's Nov. 8 vote has enough crossfire to be one of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's old movies.

The "governator" is fighting public employee unions in an escalating — and sometimes ugly — war over four propositions on the ballot. Well over $100 million has been spent so far, about $80 million by unions, to sway voters.

The key initiative is Proposition 75. Fans and critics alike see it as a potentially devastating blow to the unions' power. If passed, it could cripple their ability to raise money for political activities, decisively shifting the balance of power in Sacramento.

Prop. 75, called the "paycheck protection initiative," would require unions to get annual, written consent from a government employee to use that employee's dues or fees for political purposes.

This may sound minor, but it isn't. California's public unions raise staggering sums in dues. The California Teachers Association alone raises $150 million annually and spends 12% of it on lobbying.

The unions have aggressively used those funds to lobby the state, becoming major power brokers. They've won huge concessions on union contracts over the years and blocked much of the governor's legislative agenda.

"When you think about what is derailing California right now, and what has been for years, it's the public employees unions," Schwarzenegger told the Stockton (Calif.) Record. "They have collected so much money that they have control over the legislators."

Unions don't see it that way.

"They want to make sure we have more difficulty in speaking up against bad ideas," said CTA President Barbara Kerr. She argues Prop. 75 is unnecessary since union members can request that dues not be used politically.

Big Blow To Union Cash

But a consent requirement would severely hamper the unions' ability to raise those lobbying funds, says Steven Malanga, author of "The New New Left: How American Politics Works Today," a study of public sector unions.

"In places where paycheck protection has passed, large percentages of union members have refused to let their dues be used for political purposes," Malanga said.

California has long been a trendsetter and many think passage of Prop. 75 could inspire other states to follow. That worries public sector unions, which have been the only part of the labor movement to grow in membership and clout in recent years.

The Nov. 8 ballot has gained national attention. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and a likely 2008 presidential contender, recently campaigned with Schwarzenegger. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean have campaigned with the unions.

Schwarzenegger also is backing three other propositions as part of his reform drive: 74, 76 and 77.

Prop. 74 would make it easier to fire poorly performing teachers. Prop. 76 would cap government spending growth to the average rate of revenue growth over the prior three years. Prop. 77 would turn over congressional and legislative redistricting to a panel of nonpartisan judges.

Most of the governor's support, financial and otherwise, has come from big business, but he has won over others too.

Common Cause, the campaign finance reform group, endorsed Prop. 77. The Los Angeles Times endorsed Prop. 75, arguing public unions have gotten too powerful.

"When public employee unions wield the type of influence they do now in California, too much governing becomes an exercise in self-dealing," the paper editorialized.

Ads Take Aim At Governor

Unions have banded together into an ad-hoc group called a Coalition for a Better California to defeat the propositions.

They argue the propositions would undermine public services, saying the paycheck protection initiative in particular would hobble them while giving corporations free rein in Sacramento.

"Now (Schwarzenegger is) taking millions from developers and big business," said a recent alliance ad. "And pushing their agenda with his special election."

They've relentlessly hammered him for months with ads like that. The ads have hurt the governor, whose approval rating has fallen to 39% in some polls, down from 70% earlier in his term.

The propositions are fairing better. Recent polls by SurveyUSA found support for all four measures just above 50%, with Prop. 75 at 56% support.

Other polls have shown the race tighter. Much will depend on turnout, which is always unpredictable in off-year elections.

The propositions, especially 75, have a simple populist appeal that's enabling them to survive the ad assault, says Lance Izumi, director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute, a conservative think tank.

Propositions tend to fail, he says, when they are so complicated that people cannot understand them. Opponents can then take advantage of the confusion.

"Prop. 75 is pretty easy to understand. Should unions have to get permission from members to use their money for politics? That's easy to get across," Izumi said.