CSUEU E-News: December 16, 2010
Biweekly news digest from the California State University Employees Union
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BROWN’S SECOND BUDGET FORUM FOCUSES ON EDUCATION
CALIFORNIA’S ECONOMY IS STILL THE WORLD’S EIGHTH-LARGEST
YEE RE-INTRODUCES PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY BILL
HOLIDAY TIME OFF
CALPERS MAKES HEALTH PLAN BENEFIT CHANGES
FOR-PROFIT COLLEGES: MORE DEBTS THAN DIPLOMAS
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Brown’s Second Budget Forum Focuses on Education
Governor-elect Jerry Brown said Tuesday that he wants to complete a budget agreement within two months of unveiling his budget, an accelerated timeline that would allow a late-spring special election for potential tax increases or other revenue generation.
Brown has refused to publicly discuss his budget plans, but he has met privately with lawmakers and interest groups. People involved in the meetings expect him to enact an austerity budget in the spring, then hold a special election in which voters can decide whether to raise taxes or other revenues in order to restore services. He pledged during the campaign not to increase taxes without voter approval.
The governor-elect’s comments came during his second budget forum, which focused on education. Brown and other state officials painted a bleak picture, saying the deep fiscal problems mean there will be more reductions affecting California's classrooms.
Brown said that public schools in California should brace for more budget cuts when he presents his spending proposal in the next few weeks to solve the state’s $25.4 billion budget deficit.
He called education and public safety the pillars of a civilized society but warned that the magnitude of the deficit problem facing California is “unprecedented in my lifetime” and that the state must prepare for drastic changes.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has forecast that the K-12 school system and community colleges will receive $47.5 billion in the upcoming fiscal year, $9 billion less than four years earlier. In the past, state leaders relied on one-time gimmicks, some of which made the state’s deficit worse, and one-time cash infusions to patch over flawed spending plans.
Those days are over, Brown said.
“The day of reckoning is upon us, and I'm determined to bite the bullet and get it done in whatever way the consensus of California can be built,” he said. “Fair, transparent and enduring—that’s my goal.”
California’s Economy Is Still the World’s Eighth-Largest
Despite the worst recession in 60 years and one out of eight workers out of a job, California, if it were its own country, would still be in eighth place with a gross domestic product of $1.9 trillion, according to World Bank figures for 2009.
California is nestled between No. 7, Italy, and up-and-coming No. 9, Brazil.
The United States, with a GDP of $14.1 trillion, has a lock on first place, followed by Japan ($5.1 trillion), China ($5 trillion), Germany ($3.3 trillion), France ($2.6 trillion) and the United Kingdom ($2.2 trillion). Spain ($1.5 trillion) rounds out the top 10.
“The California economy, while hard-hit by the construction collapse and national recession, remains a world economic powerhouse,” said Stephen Levy, director of Palo Alto’s Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy, who put together an analysis comparing California’s economic might with other U.S. states and foreign nations.
“With perpetual discussion of cuts to the CSU budget in recent years, it’s easy to forget that the CSU exists within a very vibrant economy,” commented CSUEU President Pat Gantt. “The challenge is finding equitable ways to turn our state’s multi-trillion-dollar economy into a steady, dependable revenue source so that public higher education can fulfill its academic mission while providing its staff with consistently excellent salaries and benefits, all for the betterment of California’s future.”
Yee Re-Introduces Public Transparency Bill
Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) is hoping the third time’s a charm—or more importantly having a new governor—as he reintroduces legislation to bring greater transparency and accountability at California’s public higher education institutions.
On Monday, Yee introduced a bill that has twice been vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. Yee’s bill would update the California Public Records Act (CPRA) to include auxiliary organizations and foundations that perform government functions at the University of California, California State University, and California’s community colleges.
“I am confident that unlike his predecessor, Governor-elect Jerry Brown will match his actions with his rhetoric and sign this bill into law,” said Yee. “Our public universities should not be allowed to hide billions of dollars without any accountability. Most of these auxiliaries are fully staffed by public employees who administer public funds, yet their decisions are made in complete secrecy. Taxpayers and students deserve better.”
Read more about the bill in this December 14 Sacramento Bee article.
In addition to Yee’s measure, Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) has reintroduced a bill that would create new benchmarks to measure the performance of public university systems and the state’s community colleges.
These bills come amid a flurry of recent signals from a variety of legislators, including Senate President pro Tem Darryl Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles), that they think it’s time to bring the CSU and UC systems under much tighter legislative control. Read more about this movement in this December 15 Los Angeles Times article.
Holiday Time Off
By Russell Kilday-Hick, VP for Representation
As we approach our year-end holiday break, it is important to understand how you cover the time off. Here are the holidays we get:
- Saturday, Dec. 25, Christmas - the official holiday is Friday, Dec. 24
- Saturday, Jan. 1, New Years Day - the official holiday is Friday, Dec. 31
In between these two events, campuses are closed for most of our represented employees. Most campuses move holidays to cover these days, and, in the past, all the days were covered during most breaks. More recently, due to an interfering legislature and governor, we normally come up short (they decided that Veteran’s Day could not be moved any more). So, every year, we have at least one day not covered, as with this year, and, some years, there are two days not covered by a moved holiday (depending on how the holidays fall).
Some employees save their personal holiday (PH) for use at this time. (Remember, you only get one day a year, and you must use it by the end of the calendar year or you lose it.) For those who have used their PH, management will tell you that you must use either compensatory time off (CTO) or a vacation day; however, in certain circumstances, other options may apply.
Some employees may not have any CTO saved (exempt employees cannot even create CTO) or vacation and may have already used their PH. Instead of being forced to take a pay dock for the day, we can turn to Article 14.22, which states: “Should an employee not have vacation accrued, sufficient CTO or PH, he/she shall be provided work prior to the closure to prevent any loss of pay or benefits.” This means that you must be given time—even if it is overtime—to make up for that day’s lost wages. If you need this time let your manager know right away.
Pursuant to an authorization from the governor, the chancellor has authorized four hours of informal time off with pay for full-time exempt and non-exempt employees on the last campus working day before the Christmas or New Year’s holiday. This time off cannot be used on a day when the campus is closed. For details, see HR 2010-18.
If you have any questions, contact your chapter steward or labor relations representative.
CalPERS Makes Health Plan Benefit Design Changes
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration last month approved health plan benefit design changes and proposed regulations to conform to national health care reform laws passed earlier this year as part of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
“CalPERS supported national health care reform from the beginning, and these changes will ensure all our health benefits are in compliance with the provisions of the new law,” said CalPERS Board President Rob Feckner.
Beginning in 2011, CalPERS will eliminate lifetime and annual dollar limits for speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy. Those benefits will be converted to 24 visits per year, based on medical necessity. The cost impact of making these changes is less than one-tenth of a percent for each area, in large part due to CalPERS long-standing commitment to prevention and wellness as an integral part of health care. Lifetime limits for hospice care for PERS Choice, PERSCare, and PERS Select plans will be removed.
CalPERS will also eliminate co-payments for certain commercial and Medicare health plan preventive services beginning in 2011. Increases in Medicare Part B payments to providers will pay for Medicare initial and annual preventive services and wellness visits according to federal guidelines.
Read the CalPERS press release on this topic.
More Debts Than Diplomas from For-Profit Colleges
The Education Trust, a Washington think tank, has just published a new report comparing for-profit colleges to banks that initiated the subprime loan disaster, profiting as people lost their homes.
“Subprime Opportunity: The Unfulfilled Promise of For-Profit Colleges and Universities” argues that while for-profit schools thrive, their students are more likely to drop out and be saddled with more debt than at public schools or private nonprofit colleges and universities.
The report looks at a wide range of college data plucked from existing studies. It comes as the U.S. Department of Education is scrutinizing for-profit colleges, which enroll 24 percent of federal Pell Grant recipients. In 2008, for-profits took in $20 billion from students’ federal loans.
The report questions whether those taxpayer dollars are well spent and whether for-profits are taking advantage of low-income people.
At public colleges, 55 percent of full-time freshmen seeking a bachelor’s degree graduate within six years, says the report, citing federal data. But at for-profits, the graduation rate plunges to 22 percent.
Read more in this December 1 San Francisco Chronicle article.
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