Biweekly news digest from the California State University Employees Union
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PROP. 30 WILL HELP SAVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS
THE ECONOMIST: GAP WIDENS BETWEEN PUBLIC, PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES
NEW CSUEU POSTER HONORS WOMEN ACTIVISTS
WATCH THE GOLDEN BEAR CROSS THE PANAMA CANAL
CSEA GENERAL COUNCIL MEETS LABOR DAY WEEKEND
NEW CONTEST: IDENTIFY THE CAMPUS
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
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Prop. 30 Will Help Save Vital Education, Public Safety Programs
For the past four years, the state has been forced to cut more and more vital programs that help California’s working families, including access to the CSU system, because there has been no new stream of revenue during a bad economy.
The Schools & Local Public Safety Protection Act, or Proposition 30, on the November ballot, aims to help put the state on a more solid fiscal footing by funding education and public safety programs through new revenues.
“Cuts-only state budgets hurt education and social services first, and they rarely can take any state government from red to black ink,” said CSUEU President Pat Gantt. “At some point, there must be new revenues, and Proposition 30 is a reasonable way to provide funding for higher education and public safety while making the budgeting process more predictable.”
Proposition 30 temporarily raises income taxes on the state’s highest earners—those making $500,000 or more per year—and would temporarily raise the sales tax one quarter of one percent. The sales tax rate would still be lower than sales taxes were last year.
If the measure fails to pass in November, the state will be forced to cut an additional $6 billion from schools and public safety programs, including at least $250 million from the CSU, which would in turn create more pressure to reduce other vital state services on which Californians depend.
For more information on Proposition 30, visit yesonprop30.com.
The Economist: Gap Widens Between California’s Public and Private Universities
The Economist, the venerable newspaper established in the U.K. in 1843, has taken a hard look at California’s higher education systems and found a widening financial gap between its public and private universities, in direct parallel to the state’s endemic budget crises.
In an August 11 article titled “Higher Education in California: One State, Two Systems,” it finds that public universities in California have been hard-hit by the state’s fiscal woes, with CSU fees having risen by 47 percent in just the last three years.
Mark Yudof, the UC president, is quoted as saying, “The historical model has broken down,” referring to the year-over-year erosion of funding of the California Master Plan for Higher Education.
Meanwhile, the article points out, the state’s largest private universities, including Stanford and USC, are more than healthy financially, raking in billions in donations alone.
Comments CSUEU President Pat Gantt, “It’s telling that this article ends with a reference to the dire consequences if Prop. 30, the governor’s revenues initiative, is rejected this November. This measure, so crucial to the future of the CSU system, has already come to the attention of international publications more than two months before the election itself.”
He adds, “We must do everything possible to make sure Prop. 30 passes. That’s the only way to avoid a $250 million cut to the CSU and thus mitigate potentially devastating impacts to our members.”
New CSUEU Poster Honors Women Activists
Just in time for Labor Day, the Communications Committee has created a new poster honoring CSUEU’s women activists. Designed by member volunteer Marilyn Huerta of CSU San Marcos Chapter 321, it features a colorful collage of photos of members from across the state under the banner “Celebrating CSUEU’s Women Activists.”
A limited number of hard copies have been sent to chapter presidents for distribution to their members. Download an electronic copy (PDF 4MB).
Speaking of Labor Day, check out the new downloadable holiday cards at the AFL-CIO’s website, ideal for thanking graphic designers like Marilyn and the many other workers in your work world or private life who add a little oomph to your day.
Watch the Golden Bear Cross the Panama Canal
Cal Maritime Cadet Ancil Hoffman, a class of 2013 mechanical engineering student, put together this fascinating time-lapsed video of the training ship Golden Bear transiting the Panama Canal during Cal Maritime’s 2012 recent summer training cruise. Nearly 300 cadets and 57 officers and staff participated in the two-month international training voyage, which spanned approximately 8,500 nautical miles. In addition to transiting the Panama Canal, the ship visited ports of call that included Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Haiti; and La Union, El Salvador.
CSUEU members from all four of our largest bargaining units were onboard to support the cruise, as is always the case when the Golden Bear travels around the world. Kudos to all on a successful cruise! Represented employees included:
Unit 5
Ismael Garcia, Cook 2
Jeri Hawkins, Food Service Worker 2
Charie Jopes, Food service Worker 2
Connie Keenan, Cook 1
Pat Kikos, Cook 2
Cesar Lazaro, Food Service Worker 1
Laura Morgan, Food Service Worker 2
Rodrigo Olazo, Food Service Worker 1
Priscilla Przygocki, Cook 1
Romaine Purdy, Cook 2
James Sears, Food Service Worker 2
Filemon Ulanday, Cook 2
Hirschel Williams, Food Service Worker 1
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Unit 2
Danielle Ellison, Clinical Assistant
Unit 7
Par Harper, Purser
Lisa Power, Logistics
Unit 9
Michael Bowlin, Equipment Tech
Tom Morgan, Information Tech
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The galley crew on this summer's Golden Bear training cruise
CSEA General Council Meets over Labor Day Weekend
More than 100 CSUEU delegates will be participating in the CSEA General Council (GC), to be held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles over the Labor Day weekend. The event provides CSEA’s affiliates an opportunity to elect new CSEA leaders and to make policy changes.
The program begins with an Affiliates Day agenda on Friday, giving CSUEU participants time to meet each other and to learn more about CSUEU’s and CSEA’s history. GC officially opens on Saturday afternoon and continues through Sunday. Look for photos and a full report in the next issue of E-News.
View photos of the 2005 and 2009 General Councils.
New Contest: Identify the Campus
With this edition, we inaugurate a new contest to identify campuses from landscape photos. The prize: bragging rights--plus the awesome, ego-boosting experience of having your name mentioned in the next edition of CSUEU E-News!
Just to keep it from being too much of a slam dunk, you won't be eligible if you work at the campus depicted in the photo. So, to get things rolling, here's the contest photo of the day:
Send your entry with "Contest" in the subject line, along with your full name and chapter, to campuscontest@csueu.org, and good luck!
This Day in History
August 26, 1920: After three-quarters of the states ratify the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, women win their long struggle for the vote.
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See back issues of CSUEU E-News, distributed every other Thursday.
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