The State Worker: One 'Furlough Friday' saves almost as much as three; governor pushes back

The State Worker

Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers

October 15, 2009

One 'Furlough Friday' saves almost as much as three; governor pushes back

The UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education today released, "The High Cost of Furloughs," a study that concludes that one furlough day per month would yield almost as much savings to the state as the current three "Furlough Fridays."

Here's a chart that lays out the argument:

Click the link below to get the entire report and the response from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg held a press conference to tout the report just a day after the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes concluded that furlough savings at 24/7 facilities like prisons and hospitals is "illlusory." (Click here for more.)

Steinberg commissioned the Senate report, while UC Berkeley labor expert Ken Jacobs said that the senator became aware of "The High Cost of Furloughs" study as university researchers were asking questions and gathering data.

Click here for "The High Cost of Furloughs" press release and click this link for the full report.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office kept relatively quiet after Wednesday's Senate report, but today spokesman Aaron McLear pushed back with an e-mailed response that framed the issue in terms of fairness, Legislative inaction and unreasonable demands and undue influence of state worker unions.

Click here to view McLear's e-mail.

About Comments

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.

• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.

blog comments powered by Disqus