The Senate Rules Committee has scheduled a 1:30 p.m. hearing today to consider confirming Ron Yank as director of the Department of Personnel Administration.
Gov. Jerry Brown's tapped the former labor lawyer to the state's top DPA post in January. As acting director, he negotiated new contracts with six bargaining units, including the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. CCPOA had been without a labor contract since July 2006.
Brown's decision to tap a former labor attorney who counted CCPOA among his clients drew some fire as a gift to the unions. Later, the labor pacts Yank brokered came under some criticism from the Legislative Analyst's Office for failing to save enough money.
Still, we expect the Yank appointment will be a slam dunk confirmation from the Democrat-controlled committee chaired by Senate President Pro Tem (and former SEIU lawyer) Darrell Steinberg.
Want more proof? Here are recommendation letters from both management and labor officials who filed with Senate Rules on Yank's behalf. Click the names of the authors to open the documents:
M. Carol Stevens, executive director, California Public Employers Labor Relations Association
Charles D. Sakai, managing partner, Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLP
Micki Callahan human resources director, City and County of San Francisco
Arthur Hartinger, chairman, labor and employment group of Meyers Nave
PHOTO: Ron Yank, acting director of the Department of Personnel Administration at his office in Sacramento on Friday, Jan. 11, 2011.
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