CSUEU E-News: October 20, 2011
Biweekly news digest from the California State University Employees Union
If you would like to receive CSUEU E-News directly via email, please sign up at the CSUEU site.
NO TO THE PARKING PAY CUT PROPOSAL!
BOARD OF DIRECTORS ENDORSES OCCUPYWALLSTREET
CSUEU ACTIVISTS ATTEND ALL-COMMITTEE MEETING
2011 WOMEN’S CONFERENCE IS A SUCCESS
POSTER HONORS LABOR ORGANIZER DOLORES HUERTA
CBP: WE’RE DISINVESTING IN EDUCATION
WE CAN’T LET THE 2/3 MANDATE DECIDE OUR FUTURE
CALPERS WEBINAR PREPARES THOSE SOON TO RETIRE
* * *
No to the Parking Pay Cut Proposal!
by John Orr, Member, CSUEU Bargaining Team
The CSUEU bargaining team met with CSU representatives at CSU Long Beach Tuesday and yesterday, October 18-19, and those discussions are continuing today, October 20, at CSU Dominguez Hills.
So, a big issue during this week’s negotiations: it’s been 15 years since we lost merit salary increases and four years since we’ve had any type of raise (the last was only one percent)—and now management comes along with a proposal to cut our pay.
Now, they’re not calling it a pay cut; what they are proposing is to allow individual campuses to set the parking fees for staff. Under the current contract, parking fees are tied to General Salary Increases, so, if they give you a three percent raise, they can raise your parking fees by three percent. With this new proposal, each campus can raise your fees without increasing your salary. For some campuses, that means as much as $61 a month more being removed from your paycheck.
This proposal has not gone down well with the bargaining team. VP of Representation Russell Kilday-Hicks stated, “Don’t they want to get an agreement?”
We consider this a “non-starter,” meaning there is no room for compromise here. It’s not OK to increase fees and not give raises for four years. Unfortunately, there is nothing new about this, as they have repeatedly tried to increase our parking fees in the past. This team will fight this ridiculous proposal, just as past teams have. This is a way to cut our pay without bargaining, not a one-time pay cut. It could allow campuses to cut our pay through increased parking fees whenever they want.
This is a part of a larger atmosphere of mistreatment. We are also fighting off a series of proposals that add up to the CSU going after loyal employees. Management has rejected increasing vacation accrual and expanding the accrual cap to match other campus employees, has proposed eliminating red circle rates in layoffs, has continually rejected our language to move us through the salary ranges, and is targeting long-term employees in some of the layoffs we’ve experienced on various campuses.
In order for us to fight this, we need your help. A petition will be sent out to all the chapters soon. Please sign it so we can show management that we are unified in our distaste of this proposal.
CSUEU Long Beach Chapter 315 staged a spirited rally and member lunch yesterday in support of the bargaining team. You can read all about it in this October 19 article in the campus newspaper, the Daily 49er, quoting chapter President Peggy O’Neil-Rosales and Statewide VP for Representation Russell Kilday-Hicks. Thanks to the chapter for its support!
Board of Directors Endorses OccupyWallStreet
In a teleconference meeting on the evening of October 6, the CSUEU Board of Directors endorsed the OccupyWallStreet movement, declaring:
“We stand in solidarity with the occupiers because they, like us, are the part of the population that is systematically denied a voice in our country, a voice lost in a mainstream media that emphasizes sound bites and simplistic arguments over the very complex solutions required to address this wealth disparity, the corruption in our political system, and the state of our environment.”
Many CSUEU members have participated in local OccupyWallStreet activities in their cities. Last Saturday afternoon, a group of All-Committee meeting participants (see the article below) visited Sacramento’s Cesar Chavez Park to hear anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan speak and to show their support for the movement.
Read the board’s full statement.
Visit http://occupywallst.org/ for more information on the movement and daily updates on actions taken by the 99 percent. Donations of food and supplies are welcome.
Visit http://www.occupytogether.org for more information on the movement across the world. Find a local occupation and get involved!
CSU San Marcos members at a recent OccupyWallStreet action in Encinitas, including (from left) Steve Wiener, Alessandra Leslie and William Leslie
 |
 |
CSUEU Activists Attend All-Committee Meeting
CSUEU’s second All-Committee meeting, bringing together members of all CSUEU committees to discuss common issues and goals, took place last Friday and Saturday, October 14-15, at the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza in Sacramento. It provided special opportunities for CSUEU activists to share ideas for the contract campaign, upcoming election campaign, and related issues.
“Meetings of this kind help us solidify our campaign in support of our bargaining team and beyond,” said CSUEU President Pat Gantt. “The more we can network with one another, exchange ideas and identify our common interests across classifications and committees, the stronger we will become.”
Among the committees participating in last weekend's All-Committee Meeting was the Organizing Committee, which really got into the OccupyWallStreet spirit with special signs
 |
 |
2011 Women’s Conference: Embracing our Past, Envisioning our Future
By Nancy Kobata, Chair, CSEA Women’s Committee
Marking the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in California, the annual CSEA Women’s Conference was held October 7-8 at the Westin, LAX. This year’s appropriately named theme: “Embracing our Past, Envisioning our Future.”
On October 10, 1911, California passed the 8th amendment, giving women the right to vote, a full decade before the federal 19th amendment was passed in the U.S Senate. The road to obtain the right to vote was not an easy one, and the daunting task of convincing a majority of male voters that they should share that right required women activists that were both resilient and persistent.
The CSEA Women’s Committee has the important mission to organize and train women members to assume leadership roles in the association, as well as to educate and inform all members about the needs and concerns of women in the association and in state service. It promotes a policy of more aggressive advocacy and sensitivity in such areas as affirmative action, upward mobility, comparable worth, pay equity, child care, discrimination, sexual harassment, hostile work environment and violence in the workplace.
Just as did the early suffragists, we face a daunting and monumental task. Our legacy is one of pride and determination, and our biennial conference is one way to pass this legacy along to future generations.
This year’s event featured a wide range of speakers, including Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, political activists Blanca and Teresa Alvarado, social media expert Sarah Granger, and many others who delighted our 150-plus participants. Workshops covered topics which reflected the diversity in our lives and our organizations.
We appreciate everyone’s participation and support of this year’s conference. All of the participants were uplifted and empowered to reach out into their DLC’S, chapters and community to share the knowledge and enthusiasm that was gained from this year’s successful event.
New CSUEU Poster Honors Labor Organizer Dolores Huerta
The CSUEU Communications Committee has produced a striking poster in honor of Dolores Huerta, the co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO (UFW). Limited quantities have been sent to each chapter for distribution.
In 1962, Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with César Chávez. In 1965, she directed the UFW’s national grape boycott, taking the plight of the farm workers to consumers. The boycott resulted in the entire California table grape industry signing a collective bargaining agreement with the United Farm Workers in 1970.
On June 5, 1968, Huerta stood beside Robert F. Kennedy on a speaker’s platform at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles as he delivered a victory statement to his political supporters shortly after winning the California Democratic presidential primary election. Only moments later, Huerta was a safe distance behind Kennedy as he and five other people were wounded by gunfire inside the hotel’s kitchen pantry.
In 1988, in front of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, Huerta was severely beaten by San Francisco police officers during a peaceful protest of the platform of then-candidate for president George H.W. Bush. The beating was caught on videotape and broadcast widely on local television news, including the clear ramming of the butt end of a baton into Huerta’s torso by one of the helmeted officers. Later, Huerta won a large judgment, the proceeds of which were used in benefit of farm workers.
California Budget Project: We’re Disinvesting in Education
The title of the California Budget Project’s (CBP) latest School Finance Facts says it all: “A Decade of Disinvestment: California Education Spending Nears the Bottom” (PDF).
Although the report deals exclusively with K-12 funding, author Jonathan Kaplan, a CBP educational policy analyst, sees strong parallels to underfunding of the CSU.
As he puts it, “Because of significant reductions in state revenues over the last four years—and, indeed, the last decade overall—we’ve perennially experienced major budget crises. Absent additional revenues, all of our public systems that depend on the state budget face additional reductions, including the CSU.”
He adds, “While this latest analysis focuses on K-12 funding, there are many aspects in terms of disinvestment over time that apply to state higher education.”
Among the more striking K-12 findings in the CBP report:
- California schools ranked 46th among the 50 states in K-12 spending per student in 2010-11. California schools spent $2,856 less per student than the rest of the U.S. that year.
- California’s schools ranked 50th in the nation with respect to the number of students per teacher; the state averaged 20.5 students for each teacher in 2010-11, nearly 50 percent more than the rest of the U.S.
- California schools ranked 50th in the nation with respect to the number of students per librarian.
- California educates more students than any other state; in 2010-11, 6.1 million students attended public schools in California.
We Can’t Afford to Let the 2/3 Mandate Decide Our Future
In an impassioned Los Angeles Times opinion piece last Tuesday, State Senator Kevin de León (District 22-Los Angeles) eloquently argued in favor of changing California’s two-thirds mandate for approving any tax increases.
He pointed out that, if revenues decline and triggers are pulled at the end of this year, about $2.5 billion in state investments in healthcare and education will be slashed. Those cuts will include up to $200 million in higher education as well as an estimated $30 million in higher tuition fees. About $1.8 billion is likely to be cut from K-12 education, which will probably mean seven fewer days in the school year as well as the elimination of school bus transportation.
He goes on to say, “In California, balanced solutions just aren’t possible because of the requirement that two-thirds of the legislature approve any tax increase. Many arguments have been made about how undemocratic this mandate is. It means a small minority can dictate to the rest of the state.”
He adds, “More immediate, however, is the massive obstacle it represents to forward movement. At a time when we should be putting people to work, we are instead eliminating jobs because a small minority refuses to compromise.”
His ringing conclusion: “It is quite possible that, next year, Californians will be asked to decide the issue with a ballot measure. The system as it exists lacks fundamental accountability, and it is un-American. Mr. and Mrs. Voter, please help us tear down this wall.”
CalPERS Webinar Prepares Those Soon to Retire
The CalPERS Customer Service and Outreach Division will conduct a free 2-hour webinar at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday November 10, for members who are one to three years away from retirement. “Planning Your Retirement” is designed to inform members about their retirement choices and the process of retirement. The live session will be conducted by CalPERS staff members Jim Cale and Laurie Daniels, who have many years of experience in presenting retirement plan options and in explaining the retirement process to members.
Topics will include:
Service Credit: Earned or Purchased
Retirement Formulas and Benefit Factors
Final Compensation
Retirement Calculation
Cost of Living Adjustments
Retiree Health Benefits
Working After Retirement
Register for the webinar.
In related news, CalPERS has announced that it’s earmarked up to $800 million for investments in California infrastructure over the next three years. Its plan calls for investments in both public and private infrastructure, including transportation, energy, natural resources, utilities, water, communications, and other social support services.
“We remain committed to California’s future and to the investment opportunities that run deep between our coastline, mountains and valleys,” said Rob Feckner, President of the CalPERS Board of Administration. “We are prepared to increase our investments in infrastructure, with our first and foremost goal being investment returns, and with a secondary goal of supporting essential community services that are crucial to continued economic development, a safe environment, and healthy schools and communities.”
CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund, with approximately $220 billion in assets, providing retirement benefits to more than 1.6 million state, public school, and local public agency employees, retirees, and their families. For more information, visit www.calpers.ca.gov.
* * *
See back issues of CSUEU E-News, distributed every other Thursday.
— End —