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Union Political News Report - Monday, October 19 2009
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With approximately 98% of state employees opting out of a Union drive to observe Columbus Day as a compensated holiday, State calendar day October 12 passed by without much fanfare on the ground. Predictions of chaos and confrontation by protagonists did not materialize, though reports of sporadic union activity were confirmed, particularly at selected DMV offices. Initial assessments indicate the impact on state business was minimal. As for the petition to seek redress, SEIU 1000 is asking rank-and-file members to contact district stewards and file individual grievances to secure the appropriate remedies. A template being circulated by the Union to ease the filing and assure uniformity should expedite the process. The grievance petitions are asking for holiday premium pay for rank-and-file members at a rate of one and one-half times regular salary, plus 8 hours holiday credit.
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The Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG), which advocated member compliance with managerial directives on the cancellation of the erstwhile compensated holiday filed a 4th level organizational grievance with the DPA on October 2. That grievance sought an a-priori injunction along with post-holiday remedies for all members of Bargaining Unit # 9 who worked on October 12, as per the MOU in Article 9.1 of the contract. The grievance is set to go to arbitration. Other minor state public employment unions are also seeking redress via grievance petitions.
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The California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment (CASE) had filed a Level 1 grievance with the DPA on August 17, asking the DPA to withdraw memorandums instructing state Department Human Resource officials to notify state employees in bargaining Unit # 2 the designated Columbus and Lincoln holidays had been eliminated. The grievance was ignored by the DPA, however. After the required 30 days response period had elapsed, the CASE filed an injunctive request and a formal lawsuit on the merits in Superior Court on September 17. The case on the merits is pending.
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The California Medical Association (CMA) filed a lawsuit in Superior Court last Monday on behalf of its physicians, asking for a writ of mandate to nullify furlough orders pertaining to staff employed at the California Medical Board, and to reinstate an unlawful transfer of $6 million from the Medical Board Contingency Fund. The California Medical Board, charged with licensing and regulating practicing physicians throughout the state, is a special funds entity. Receipts of the Board, which derive primarily from physician fees and other user fees, are applied directly to the State Treasury and credited solely to the Board's Contingency Fund. Those funds are encumbered for administrative salaries and other expenditures to carry out provisions as set forth in the Medical Practices Act. Statutory provisions encoded under the Medical Practices Act prohibit the deposit or transfer of contingency fund receipts to the General Fund. In recent years the Legislative and Executive departments have utilized accounting gimmickry to unlawfully raid special funds and temporarily satisfy constitutional requirements to balance the General Fund.
The California Medical Association represents over 35,000 practicing physicians throughout the Golden State
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A UC Berkeley study on the economics of the Schwarzenegger administration's furlough regime concludes General Fund saving accruals will be considerably less than projected. According to the study, projected payroll savings from General Fund accounts must be offset by $423 million in reduced tax revenue payments and collections and $852 million in payroll costs derived from Special Funds accounts. The study included a plausible assertion more savings and productivity gains would accrue in the long run if policy was revised to incorporate the terms of AB 88 - the contract agreement between SEIU 1000 and the DPA which entailed a one-day per month furlough requirement. However, in the long-run Mr. Schwarzennegger will no longer be in Office. The administration's resolve to scale back public employee compensation is not grounded in economic theory - it's an ideological pursuit.
If current policy is not altered 193,000 members of the California state civil service will collectively forfeit $2.01 billion in salary compensation through June 2010.
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The UC Berkeley study release was accompanied by a study issued by the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes, which highlighted the impact of furlough requirements on round-the-clock state operations requiring full-time staffing. The Senate Office study delineated increased expenditure outlays for overtime pay and private contracts to maintain staffing requirements at prisons, state hospitals, and other state run facilities. With projected future liabilities to the State for repayment of accrued deferrals in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the evidence of a lackluster and undiscerning state furlough program is compelling.
Perhaps State Democrats will deem Mr. Schwarzenegger's furlough regime a usurpation of powers assigned to the Legislative Department and prepare Articles of Impeachment. Perhaps not. The Unions are in court arguing the Executive lacks constitutional authority on furloughs. In the final analysis, State Democrats, with legislative majorities in both Houses, have the wherewithal the end the furlough regime - do they have the will ?
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