The State Worker

What does the budget bill mean for state workers in unions without a contract?

The budget language we referenced in this post includes these key paragraphs (we've underlined the vital wording) that lay out how employee compensation is going to be cut:

SEC. 3.91. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, each item of appropriation in this act, with the exception of those items for the California State University, the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, the Legislature, and the judicial branch, shall be reduced, as appropriate, to reflect reductions in employee compensation achieved through the collective bargaining process or through administrative actions for represented employees and a proportionate reduction for nonrepresented employees (utilizing existing authority of the administration to adjust compensation for nonrepresented employees) in the total amounts of $896,000,000 from General Fund items and $661,000,000 from items relating to other funds ...

(e) Appropriation reductions implemented pursuant to this section may be those related to collective bargaining agreements or other administrative actions put into effect either prior to or subsequent to the enactment of this act.

So what are "administrative actions"? As we understand it from Senate floor discussion of the measure on Thursday and from background discussions we've had with union officials, that language deputizes the governor to furlough state workers in bargaining units without a current labor contract.

Although AB 1630 in the Assembly and its Senate twin, SB 870, don't use the word "furlough," the language is broad enough to allow them. Click here for the Thursday State Worker column that dealt with the Legislature's struggle to address furloughs in the budget bill in light of Monday's California Supreme Court ruling.

I'm a manager. What about non-union employees like me?

The budget bill also says that the governor can use "existing authority" to order comp cuts for managers and supervisors. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't wait for the budget to pass, however. Last night he ordered compensation cuts and pension contribution hikes for 35,000 exempt employees. Click here for more about Executive Order S-15-10.

Regarding the voluntary paid leave program -- will the furloughs be retroactive, or will they simply count 12 months from October?

The Personal Leave Program that mandates one unpaid day off per month will start when the contract is ratified. Affected employees won't have to cram in 12 unpaid days off by the June 30, 2011 end of the current fiscal year. If you start PLP in December, your last PLP month will be November 2011.

The agreement guarantees no furloughs during the 12-month PLP period, but not after that.

It is unclear how the furloughs executed from August to October will be handled -- do they count for nine of the 12 required, or it is actually 21 furlough days required?

The SEIU agreement adds the PLP days on top of the nine furlough days that started in August and run through this month, so the deal anticipates a total 21 unpaid days off.

How much of the state's leadership/budget problem is again being foisted on state workers?

If you're asking how much the SEIU contract cuts state employee costs, the administration says it's $383 million for the current fiscal year. Roughly half of that is savings to the General Fund.

Will the 3 percent top step raise kick in when the new contract is ratified?

No. It kicks in July 1, 2013.

What is up with CCPOA? Are they just no longer bargaining?

CCPOA met informally with the administration over the summer. The union sent in a new team in an effort to move past the rocky bargaining history that led to impasse and imposed terms for its members. Schwarzenegger tapped Dave Gilb, the respected former DPA director to represent the administration.

The discussion went nowhere and nothing has happened since then. This post has more details.

Can you post a copy of the tentative agreement? I want to read it for myself.

DPA has posted the TAs for all nine bargaining units represented by Local 1000. Each post contains a summary of provisions and the tentative agreement itself. Warning: The TA files are large and may exceed the download limits of some servers.

Do you know if a 5 percent across the board cut in pay is also included in the agreement? I know that it was discussed but I can't find it actually listed as one of the concessions.

Many people have confused the governor's January order for a 5 percent "workforce cap" which mandated a reduction in departments' personnel costs, with a 5 percent individual pay cut. Click here for a blog post that clears up the confusion.

This gives us a chance to explain the rough math that gets the SEIU deal to the 15 percent cut in employee costs the governor has insisted on since his first budget proposal in January.

The nine furlough days, combined with increased employee pension contributions and the 12 unpaid leave days, translates to a 10 percent payroll savings. Kick in the 5 percent personnel cost reduction mentioned above, the the administration says the state gets an immediate 15 percent payroll savings from this deal.