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Union Political News Report - Wednesday, July 8 2009
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Sacramento -
Budget talks stalled yesterday after Assembly Speaker Karen Bass skipped at least one Big Five meeting. Ms. Bass wants to focus talks on closing the $26.3 billion budget gap - Republicans, led by governor Schwarzenegger, want to talk about public pensions, the IHSS program, CalWorks, and MediCal.
- Speaker boycotts budget talks over substantive issues
- Speaker blasts governor over statements and focus
- Governor lists government programs he wants reformed
- Video : Speaker Karen Bass news conference on budget stall
The GOP's demand that sweeping public pension reform be included in a final deal is a snag. Republicans want pension legislation signed in 1999 - SB 400 repealed. Democrats and the Unions have other ideas. The battle could drag on for weeks and weeks.
- Schwarzenegger public employee pension reform proposal
- Sacramento Bee editorial supporting repeal of SB 400
- J.J. Jelincic, former CSEA President, rebuts Bee editorial
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State workers have been trying for years to expose the public costs of contracting out government work to private entities. They argue private contracts cost taxpayers up to 50% more for work which could be done better by professionals in the state civil service. In February, Assemblyman Mike Eng, D - Monterey, introduced AB 756 - a requirement that private contracts be posted online for public scrutiny. The bill passed the Assembly last month 51-27. All twenty-seven Assembly Republicans voted against the legislation. The Senate Governmental Organizational Committee is scheduled to hold hearings on the bill today. The bill is sponsored by SEIU.
Annual budget expenditures for private contracts is estimate at $34 billion annually.
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A recent forecast estimates up to 60,000 public sector jobs will be lost in the next year due to government cutbacks. It would raise the unemployment rate in California to 11.4% by mid 2010. Former EBay CEO Meg Whitman promised half that to a group of business people, telling them she would cut 30,000 state workers if elected governor. Ms. Whitman is favored to win the Republican nomination for governor in 2010.
California leans Democratic in the race for Governor in 2010 - CQ ratings.
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After a lengthy court battle, former comedian Al Franken took his seat today as the junior Senator from the great state of Minnesota. With that, the Democrats now have a 60-40 advantage in the United States Senate. As the newest member of the US Senate, Mr. Franken is 100th in seniority.
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Last week's ouster of leftist Honduran President Manuel Zelaya put a local labor leader in a bind. Bill Camp, executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, was in Tegucigalpa the day of the coup and reportedly was in the thick of things. Mr. Camp managed to escape unharmed - landing hours later at Houston's George H.W. Bush International Airport.
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