What the Recall Wrought
From William Lucy, Secretary-Treasurer
Last fall, working families pulled out all the stops to prevent then-California Gov. Gray Davis (D) from being recalled.
AFSCME alone made 643,000 calls to California union members. We sent 127,639 pieces of mail to our members and retirees, and distributed nearly 140,000 flyers in English and Spanish, and some 5,000 AFSCME volunteers worked from the beginning of the campaign through Election Day.
Along with millions of people everywhere, we recognized the recall for exactly what it was: a GOP power grab that would cause great harm to working and low-income Californians.
This January, Arnold Schwarzenegger proved we were right. He proposed a 2004-05 budget that cuts all kinds of programs that are critical to working families and the poor, yet includes no sacrifices for California's wealthy citizens and corporations.
BUDGET HARMS AFSCME. Schwarzenegger is also using his budget to take direct aim at union members. It contains a cut of $2 million in state funding for the University of California's (UC) Institute for Labor and Employment — effectively eliminating the university's only program designed specifically to address the research and education concerns of California's immense workforce, as well as increase the school's minority admissions.
Although UC is scheduled to receive $2.9 billion from the state in the upcoming fiscal year, targeting these two programs for elimination speaks volumes about the governor's opposition to workers' rights and civil rights. It isn't about the money: The programs' combined budgets are a drop in the bucket compared to that of the university.
The budget also harms AFSCME as a union. Here's a sampling of how:
Increases Contracting Out — The governor has proposed a California Performance Review — something he says would "transform state government and energize the bureaucracy." This "review" includes a constitutional amendment that would allow contracting out. Its passage could lead to the elimination of more than 5,000 jobs held by AFSCME members.
Hurts Local Governments — The plan shifts to the state at least $1.3 billion in property tax revenue. AFSCME members including court, food service and probation employees, maintenance workers, counselors and park employees will be the first to suffer.
Harms UC Workers — The budget calls for a cut of almost $400 million in funding to the University of California — a move that amounts to a direct hit at 17,000 AFSCME members. They will feel the pinch through fewer benefits and less health coverage, and become responsible for insurance co-payments.
Attacks Home Care Workers — Schwarzenegger's budget calls for the elimination of up to 25 percent of all paid services under the state's In Home Supportive Services program, putting the jobs of 60,000 United Domestic Workers of America-NUHHCE members at risk.
Finally, the proposal would set the wages of home care workers back to a minimum of $6.75. This includes those working under a union contract and currently earning $8.50 per hour. The budget adds insult to injury by eliminating home care workers' health insurance.
... and Child Care Workers and Their Kids — His proposals would undercut issues important to United Child Care Union's organizing campaign, such as real reform of the reimbursement-rate system. In addition, fewer families would be eligible for subsidized child care; those who are eligible would pay more.
If you've wondered why our union fought so hard to keep the recall from going through, or if you hoped that Schwarzenegger might turn out to be a friend to California's public workers, this budget is your dispiriting answer.
It's also the best example of why we need to stay on guard to prevent the GOP from launching similar efforts across the country.
