The umbrella group of labor unions that rumbled with Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005 have kept their 2006 efforts aimed only at criticizing the guv... until now.

This morning, the Alliance for a Better California released a new TV ad that they say is going up statewide, and is a full-throated endorsement of Democrat Phil Angelides.

The ad, which you can see here, highlights Angelides' call for a middle-class tax cut and (using audio from the candidate) his pledge to "do for the kids of this state what my parents and grandparents did from me."

But the ad also returns to what worked so well for the Alliance last year: testimonials from union members that take none-too-subtle digs at Schwarzenegger. "When Phil Angelides makes a promise, it's real," says firefighter Pat Lynch in an on camera close-up. "He'll be a governor we can trust," says nurse Nancy Lyerla.

The news release announcing the ad refers it being a "response" to Schwarzenegger's comments yesterday to the San Francisco Chronicle and on NBC's "Tonight Show." But it's hard not to believe that this ad has been sitting on the shelf, with the union group just waiting for the right moment in the campaign. And for the Angelides camp, it's not a moment too soon.