CSUEU E-News: November 25, 2009
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.
BUDGET UPDATE FROM PRESIDENT PAT GANTT
PROTESTS AT CAMPUSES ACROSS THE STATE
JOIN THE E-MARCH TO PROTECT EDUCATION
"DISGUISED" LAYOFFS MERIT NOTICE TO HEADQUARTERS
CSUEU BOD MEETING FEATURES CALPERS CEO
SIGN A BALLOT INITIATIVE? JUST SAY NO!
VOTE IN THE CALPERS RUNOFF ELECTION
SHARE THE TROUBLEMAKING SPIRIT
WEB UPDATES
UPCOMING EVENTS
* * *
Budget Update from President Pat Gantt
Last week, the CSU trustees formally started the next fiscal year budget process with their Trustees 2010-11 budget request. The request, which was passed by the full trustee board, requests restoration of previous budget cuts and seeks to go back to a compact budget funding level. While this request gets closer to a needs-based budget that meets all the demands on the CSU, we certainly can’t break out the champagne quite yet, for one must bear in mind the dire economic environment within which this request occurs.
The Legislative Analysts Office (LAO) recently released its summary of this environment in a new report, The 2010-11 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook (PDF). It highlights many of the structural challenges that the governor and the legislature yet again face in developing a balanced budget. The state faces a $20.7 billion shortfall between now and the end of next fiscal year in June, 2011. The opposing forces will be once again lined up for developing some revenue options on the one side or a cuts-only budget on the other. It is unclear what the governor may be thinking at this point, but it’s clear that, with each passing year, fewer one-time tricks and stop-gap measures are available in the budget bag of tricks. Federal stimulus funds, a stop-gap measure that helped the state budget last year, may not be extended or renewed this next fiscal year.
It is also important to note that we are not alone in our state budget woes or in the impacts of those budget problems on state employees. Fully 29 states have instituted some sort of furlough program, most of them combined with layoffs. The National Conference of State Legislatures web site provides details from across the United States on actions and proposals to balance 2010 state budgets. Note that, unlike California, whose fiscal year begins each July 1, many states’ fiscal years mirror the calendar year.
In closing, we have another tough budget cycle ahead of us as CSU and public sector employees. There will be attacks and proposed cuts, but we have a story to tell and we will tell it. A recent report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office(LAO), The Master Plan at 50:Assessing California’s Vision for Higher Education, is a reminder of why California’s system of higher education was created. It was a visionary undertaking, and we all must remind the public and the legislature of the value of the master plan and the need to reinvest in it.
Protests at CSULA and Campuses Across the State
Reflecting actions taking place on campuses across the state, about 150 students, staff and faculty gathered at Cal State Los Angeles on Tuesday, November 17, to protest a reduction in course offerings, staff furloughs and tuition hikes.
Like similar rallies at other campuses, it also was in support of AB 656, which would create an oil severance tax whose revenues would be used to support higher education.
The rally and march to the president’s office culminated a 24-hour event themed “Empty Backpacks = Stolen Dreams, Cal State L.A. Speaks Out!”
At CSU Fresno earlier this week, nearly 100 protestors spent the night in Madden Library. Last week, up to 150 S.F. State students staged a sit-in at the Administration building lobby as a means of protesting budget cuts and fee increases.
Pictured at the CSULA rally, from left, are Chapter 311 CSULA Unit 9 Rep Ken Castillo, Vice-President Diana Balli, and President Gilbert Garcia.
Join the E-March to Protect Education in Next Year’s Budget
With the governor currently preparing his budget proposal for 2010-11, now is the time to take preemptive action to influence the state budget process. Participate in an historic action to build a broad public education coalition and send a message to the governor demanding full funding for all of public education in California.
CSUEU—along with the California Faculty Association and other allies from every part of California’s public education system—is participating an electronic march, or E-March, on the governor’s office to demand adequate funding for public education in next year’s budget proposal.
The idea of the E-March on the governor is to send messages from supporters of public education all over the state (staff, faculty, students, parents, labor allies, alumni, community supporters, and others) before he finalizes his budget proposal, which will be released in early January.
It will be a first to have stakeholders from across California’s public education spectrum working together on a budgetary advocacy effort. This is an initial step toward more assertive actions around the budget this spring, designed to help engage a larger network of activists to help in the fight to protect student access to the greatest education system in the world.
This is a busy time for everyone, but before you leave your campus or work for the holidays, take one quick and easy action:
• See the common message we are all sending to the Governor
• If you wish, add a statement with your specific concerns about the impact of the cuts to higher education
• Add your sender information
• Click on “Send Message.”
Take a few minutes to participate, and your voice will join thousands of others speaking up for public education in California.
"Disguised" Layoffs Merit Notice to Headquarters
All notices of layoffs—in whatever form—must go to CSUEU headquarters in Sacramento. This includes changes to employee status as a result of bumping by an employee from another bargaining unit. A campus cannot notice a chapter or negotiate directly with the chapter without the involvement of headquarters and the elected bargaining team.
Sometimes management goes directly to a chapter president and attempts to reach an arrangement on a layoff without calling it a layoff. Our contract does not permit this. Layoffs, even if a campus tries to call them something else (such as demotions due to bumping), require notice to headquarters and cannot be negotiated directly with chapter officers or labor relations representatives (LRRs).
If you become aware of anything like this happening on your campus, please immediately notify your bargaining unit chair, the statewide vice-president for representation, your LRR and/or the CSUEU chief of staff. If a campus manager attempts to tell you it’s confidential or a campus issue, that’s a red flag that something questionable is going on--most likely that the campus is trying to do something it shouldn’t.
You have not only the right but the obligation to alert the elected bargaining representatives and headquarters of anything like this.
CSUEU Board of Directors Meeting Features CalPERS CEO
The Executive Officers and Board of Directors met in Sacramento over four days, November 12-15, to discuss current union issues on behalf of represented employees. The Executive Officers met on Thursday, November 12, committee meetings and a strategic planning workshop took place on Friday, and the Board of Directors met in all-day sessions on the weekend.
Guest speaker at Sunday’s session was CalPERS Chief Executive Officer Anne Stausboll, who discussed her role at CalPERS, shared the latest news about retirement benefits, and answered questions.
CalPERS currently manages a portfolio of about $200 billion, despite a decline over the last few years. As Stausboll pointed out, the fund was down to $160 billion at the depths of the recession earlier this year, so it’s earned back $40 billion in just the last few months. She made it clear that she’s committed to extending the tighter-ship practices that resulted in those gains into all operations.
“Our economists are cautiously optimistic that we’ve seen the worst of the downturn,” explained Stausboll, whose background includes serving as a CSEA labor attorney from 1987 to 1992 and, more recently, as CalPERS’ Chief Operating Investment Officer. “The housing market appears to be stabilizing, and loans are freeing up.”
She reaffirmed that CalPERS management’s goal is to protect and ensure future resilience against economic roller coasters. Closer scrutiny of all investment agreements is one method of achieving that end, she indicated.
On the national healthcare reform front, she pointed out that CalPERS supports federal healthcare reform efforts, citing the fact that CalPERS is one of the largest purchasers of healthcare, spending $5.5 billion per year on healthcare.
An area of concern is the growing pension reform movement, which has resulted in the introduction of three ballot initiatives that could potentially be on the ballot in one year, if they receive enough signatures. All are ultimately designed to change pension formulas and reduce benefits. In addition, there’s speculation that the governor will be introducing legislation to reform CalPERS as well.
Supporting CalPERS in its efforts to combat this movement is Californians for Health Care and Retirement Security (CHCRS), an organization supporting state worker retirement plans in the face of growing opposition. CSEA and all its affiliates, including CSUEU, is an active member.
Stausboll rounded out her talk by encouraging everyone to check out the CalPERS Responds web site, devoted to countering misinformation in the media about retirement benefits.
Meeting at the Holiday Inn Capitol Mall, the Board of Directors approved a number of changes to the CSUEU Policy File. One measure in particular will affect all represented employees: elections of officers will now be held every three years in order to bring CSUEU’s election cycle into alignment with the newly implemented terms of CSEA officers and schedule of General Council meetings. In June, current CSUEU officers were elected to two-year terms ending in 2011, but the next GC will be held in 2012, leaving a one-year gap. In coming months, chapter presidents will ask members to weigh in on options for dealing with that one-year gap.
The proceedings were highlighted by a group dinner on Saturday evening honoring union activists, just one of many events throughout the three days providing participants with opportunities for networking, catching up on the latest developments, and breaking bread together.
This was the last of three Board of Directors meetings this year, with the next meeting set for March 26-28, 2010.
Sign a Ballot Initiative on Pension Reform? Just Say No!
Be wary of those who try to convince you to lend your signature to proposed ballot initiatives concerning pension or health benefits reform. Despite such noble-sounding names as the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility, these are in fact the same folks who are hell-bent on gutting CalPERS and other state worker retirement plans via the ballot box.
Our advice: Just say no! And spread the word about the consequences of providing signatures for these initiatives.
Vote in the CalPERS Runoff Election
CSUEU encourages you to cast your ballot in the runoff election for the CalPERS Board of Administration.
Ballots for the runoff in this year’s election were mailed to members' homes on November 9 and must be returned by December 4.
CSUEU has endorsed J.J. Jelincic in this election. “As an investment officer at CalPERS and as a strong leader and outspoken advocate for public employees, J.J. has fought to protect your pension investments, strengthen your retirement income and improve your accessibility to quality health care,” says CSUEU President Pat Gantt. “He deserves your support and vote.”
Share the Troublemaking Spirit
Labor Notes, an online and hard copy magazine covering the labor movement for the last 30 years, has holiday specials to make giving gifts to new activists a little easier.
For a limited time, you can get the popular Troublemakers Union T-shirt together with A Troublemaker's Handbook 2 for the discounted price of $30.
Check out these special items and other great gift ideas, like their comfy Troublemakers Union hooded sweatshirt.
After all, you're never too old to be a troublemaker.
Web Updates
A new Bargaining Update concerning recent Bargaining Unit 13 negotiations has been posted.
The latest MPP list has just been uploaded to the Library’s “Management Personnel Plan Lists” folder.
A gallery of nearly 130 GC 2009 photographs is now available in the Photos section. Thanks to Steve Sloan of San Jose State for all the great photos.
We’ve posted links to impassioned comments that members made at the CSU Board of Trustees meeting last week.
* * *
UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursday-Friday, November 26-27
Thanksgiving holiday
Headquarters closed
Friday, December 25
Headquarters closed
Friday, January 1
New Year’s Day
Headquarters closed
Saturday, January 30
CSEA Board of Directors meeting
Sacramento
* * *
See back issues of CSUEU E-News, distributed every other Thursday.
— End —