In this September 2 Sacramento Bee opinion piece, two California Budget Project leaders argue that federal and state budget cuts are shortsighted, in part because they're decimating such public services as education. They state, "Private sector job growth has picked up in California, but these gains have been partly offset by the disappearance of public sector jobs, especially in education. In fact, in the past three years, the state lost public sector jobs at a rate more than double the national average."   

The California State Legislature approved $150 million in funding cuts to the California State University in the state budget bill adopted last night. These cuts come on top of $500 million in cuts enacted in March.   

In a move designed to encourage compromise between Republican and Democratic state legislators in this time of budget crises, the SEIU California State Council has announced the formation of the Golden State Committee, a Republican Political Action Committee. CSUEU Bargaining Unit 7 Council Vice Chair John Orr participated in a June 9 press conference announcing the initiative, and he's quoted in this SEIU press release (PDF) and this Sacramento Bee article.   

On Monday, May 16, Gov. Jerry Brown released his revised budget proposal for the 2011/12 fiscal year. He outlined his plan to place $6.6 billion in revenues in a ballot measure “as soon as possible.”   

(San Bernardino, CA) – California State University (CSU), San Bernardino students, faculty, and staff launched an aggressive online campaign today, urging legislators to “Stand up for California” and keep the doors to higher education open to Inland Empire students by supporting Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget plan.