Thread: California Gov. Lays off 10,000 more workers

http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/1123989.html

Health and Safety are exempt. What does that tell us?

The story from the above link which is dated 7/31/08
Schwarzenegger cuts state worker jobs, moves to cut pay
By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Jul. 31, 2008

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order today eliminating jobs for an estimated 10,300 temporary state employees and reducing pay for about 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour, portraying it as a stopgap measure to ensure the state can pay its bills without a state budget.

The Republican governor intends to reverse those moves once lawmakers reach a budget compromise, meaning the state would rehire temporary workers and give employees their entire back pay. The governor's order also imposes a strict hiring freeze and eliminates overtime but exempts workers in health and safety fields.

Schwarzenegger said the state's financial situation and the fact that no budget has been signed "leaves me with no easy choices."

"I have a responsibility to ensure that our state has enough money to pay its bills. This is not an action that I take lightly," he said.

Schwarzenegger said he understands that the action will affect families that are already struggling financially. "I want to apologize to all the state employees for having to do this," he said. "State employees are working very hard...But this is the only way out."

California's budget is now 31 days late as Democrats and Republicans remain divided over how to bridge a $15.2 billion shortfall in a $101 billion general fund budget. Democrats have proposed $8.2 billion in tax increases, while Republicans are calling for cuts in education and social programs in addition to long-term changes to reduce future state spending.

While budget delays have nearly become an annual rite in the Capitol, Schwarzenegger argues that this year calls for drastic steps because the state has less cash due to a sour economy. The move could save roughly $1 billion per month, and the governor believes California will not have a sufficient cash reserve in September without the executive order.

But Democratic state Controller John Chiang disputes Schwarzenegger's view of the state's cash situation, insisting the state has enough cash to last through September without engaging in expensive borrowing. Chiang has vowed to defy part of the governor's order by paying state workers their full wages, though he cannot help temporary state employees retain their jobs.

There remains a high threshold for the federal minimum wage cut to take effect for 200,000 state workers. Most get paid at the end of the month, so the lawmakers would have to remain in a stalemate through the end of August. Even then, Chiang has said he intends to issue full paychecks at that time, so Schwarzenegger would have to sue the controller to ensure workers receive the federal minimum wage, a process that could take weeks or months and pose image problems for the governor.

Schwarzenegger said he will sue Chiang "if that is what it takes."

Meanwhile, agency secretaries and department heads will have leeway to determine which employees can be exempted from receiving federal minimum wage because they serve a crucial health and safety capacity. That could reduce the total number of state employees subject to the wage cut below 200,000.

The state already has withheld paychecks from lawmakers, legislative staff and gubernatorial appointees since July 1, the first day of the fiscal year. They receive their full pay -- and lawmakers receive their full per diem in addition -- once the budget is signed. Schwarzenegger, whose net worth is more than $100 million, does not accept his $212,179 annual salary as governor.

Local banks are preparing to help state employees should they ever receive the federal minimum wage on a temporary basis. The Golden 1, for instance, is offering no-interest loans to members who had direct deposit as of June 30, though state workers who are not members cannot receive the same deal.

Chiang believes the governor's order may be illegal under a 2003 court decision, White v. Davis, and said the state could incur legal damages if it pays workers the federal minimum wage. But Schwarzenegger has insisted his move is necessary and fully backed by the same decision.

The Legislature's legal adviser, Diane Boyer-Vine, wrote an opinion last week that said Schwarzenegger could not compel Chiang to pay minimum wage because the controller is a constitutional officer independent of the governor.

Some believe the governor's move is designed to pressure Democrats and Republicans into quick compromise by expanding the real-world impacts of the budget impasse. Democrats and labor groups have charged that the governor is using state workers as political pawns.

The governor's order has sparked daily protests from the Service Employees International Union Local 1000, which represents 94,000 state workers. The labor union on Monday set up 121 cots with placards for each state legislator and Schwarzenegger outside the Capitol as president Yvonne Walker called on Democrats and Republicans alike to move swiftly on a budget deal. The union on Wednesday staged an early morning protest outside the governor's Hyatt Regency suite in downtown Sacramento, using bullhorns to wake up Schwarzenegger, who spent the night in his Brentwood home.

Call The Bee's Kevin Yamamura, (916) 326-5548.
http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/1123989.html

Related:

Schwarzenegger to send layoff warnings to 20,000 workers
By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will send layoff warnings to at least 20,000 state workers Friday unless he reaches a budget agreement with legislative leaders that precludes the need for such cuts, his office announced Tuesday.

The Republican governor intends to eliminate 10,000 full-time positions from the state's general fund, either by job cuts, attrition or transfer to positions funded by special revenue streams, according to Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. The layoff notices would go to 20 percent of the least senior workers in each department, initiating a process to eliminate jobs by July 1.

The state would save an estimated $750 million in the next fiscal year by eliminating 10,000 jobs, according to McLear, five times the amount the governor proposed saving in his January budget. Schwarzenegger is also seeking to save roughly $75 million by eliminating two holidays and overtime pay on other state holidays. Schwarzenegger already has imposed twice monthly furloughs on state workers to save an estimated $1.3 billion over 17 months.

Schwarzenegger proposed only $150 million in layoffs in his January budget. McLear said the governor now believes he must unilaterally take additional steps to save money because the state loses savings each day the budget is late beyond Feb. 1.

"Because we don't have a budget, and we're into February, he needs to look at ways in which he can unilaterally save the state money, cut back on government spending, and this is one of the few options that he has," McLear said.

Workers who receive layoff notices will not necessarily lose their jobs. Those workers can retain their jobs for 120 days upon receiving a so-called "surplus" notice. But they will be subject to layoff, demotion or transfer thereafter. The governor gave an informal warning to workers in a December letter that they were at risk.

The governor also could rescind the layoff notices if he and lawmakers reach a compromise after Friday that saves $750 million through other means, McLear said. Schwarzenegger plans to issue notices to twice as many workers who will be cut because some will receive exemptions or cannot legally be laid off.

Jason Dickerson, a budget analyst at the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office, said the state has never laid off 10,000 workers before.

"It might be possible to lay off 1,000 to 2,000 people, but laying off 10,000 or more employees would be next to impossible without gutting core services," Dickerson said. "So I think it is next to impossible that layoffs could reach 10,000 unless the budget impasse drags on for many more months."

He said that to reach 10,000 layoffs, for instance, the state would have to cut jobs in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. But doing so would likely run afoul of legal agreements the state is under related to overcrowding and prison medical care.

Schwarzenegger and lawmakers continued to negotiate Tuesday on a budget deal to bridge an estimated $40 billion shortfall through June 2010. They are working on a general plan that includes a balance of taxes and cuts, as well as a cap on future state spending and rollbacks in environmental and labor regulations. But they continue to disagree over which combination of changes to impose.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said he remains committed to having a vote sometime this week.

"I don't want to make any sort of prediction," Steinberg said. "I just know this: that successfully solving the budget deficit will go a long way toward resolving the issues related to state employees, will begin resolving a number of the issues relating to construction and private-sector employment."

Call Kevin Yamamura, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5548. The Bee's Jim Sanders contributed to this report.
http://www.sacbee.com/1095/story/1614250.html

Just cut the benefits of 10,000 illegal aliens instead! Oh no, we can't do that!

....and in the meantime, parasitic illegal aliens who have never paid a dime into any U.S. social services are still getting their WIC, Welfare, free pre-natal care, subsidized housing, food stamps, free medical/emergency room care, free education, etc.

Good luck to any STATE Workers who try to participate in any of those programs that they have paid into for themselves and their families...it would be laughable if it wasn't so serious. CALIFORNIA AND SCHWARZENEGGER IS A JOKE!