California government unions move to squeeze out private contractors
By Jon Ortiz, Sacramento Bee
With California facing yet another budget crisis that threatens state jobs and pay, employee unions are moving on several fronts to push use of civil service workers instead of private contractors for state government work.
Unions had a say in Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2012-13 budget revision last month, which proposes axing outside contracting for a range of work, from computer consulting to custodial services.
State employee unions also threw their weight behind recent legislation that, among other things, would have given civil service employees first crack at all state government jobs. The measure failed but is likely to resurface.
Last month, the state attorneys’ union successfully contested a multimillion-dollar contract with a private law firm for legal services.
“We’ve got a bunch more (cases) in the pipeline,” said Patrick Whalen, general counsel for California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment, or CASE. “When it’s crunch time, you look for every penny you can.”
The union efforts have intensified the debate over privatizing government functions, especially with California confronting a budget deficit of at least $15.7 billion through June 2013. Brown has suggested closing some of that gap by eliminating thousands of state jobs next year and putting roughly 214,000 employees on a four-day workweek schedule that would cut their pay by 5 percent.
In that same vein, Brown and labor leaders say curbing what the state spends on contractors would save money.
we’re bankrupt and we don’t have room for competition?
We need fewer government employees and more subcontracting services to private industry.
The Facebook scams impact on the California budget shortfall.
This article talks about how J Brown revised the budget projections just last month from 4 months earlier and the calculations indicated a near doubling of the the shortfall –
What no one has pointed out is that JBs budget had taken into account a projected $2.1 Billion dollars from Facebook related capital gains tax over the 18 months… His estimates were based on Facebook valuations starting at 35 a share and rising to 45 a share 18 months from now…
It is hard to understand how reporters miss this stuff but since this article touched on the budget I thought I would be the first to project that JBs budget will cause a $1.1 billion dollar hole in it just from the facebook scam.
As for the unions, well the Tea party is going to help with that over the next few years, there is no reason for civil service workers to have a union.
I think it is amazing that only three people responded to this article. Perhaps the biggest problem faced in this state modern times and hardly anyone even cares enough to chime in on the issue?
I guess it says a lot about why California is failing. No one cares.
I was thinking of moving to Tahoe and after driving around and seeing all the empty buildings and hearing about how hard it is to do business here I am not sure now if that is such a good idea.
Then on top of it when I talk to some of the young people in the community I get the deer in the headlights look. It seems many in the area are just oblivious to the problems.
It figures that those who work for the state and are union are the ones whoare trying to break the state financially. They are already overpaid and and not willing to take any pay cuts like so many of us in the private sector have over the last 5 years. Think about that these entitled workers have not had their workforce trimmed and have not had the pay touched. If you have been in the private sector could you say that. NO WAY!!! The Unions and the workers and the politicians are the reason we are broke as a state and the average Joe has not say in what happens.
Get rid of the “prevailing wage” baloney and the state, cities and counties will save millions, probably billions. Paying workers 2, 3, 4 times as much as they would make with a private contractor is ridiculous.
America’s Culture of Decline… It took decades to get to this point and it is heartening to see that some people here are fed up with the cancer eating away at the country.
The education system, the lack of results from an ever increasing government employee base, the outrageous ignorance of the over educated, under productive class.
Over the years, how many corrupt people in this town and county should have been fired or even gone to jail… instead they just get hidden and sheltered by a contemptible system of cronies.
The government is the problem and the day of reckoning is coming! Finally.
California and Governor Brown needs to learn a lesson from Wisconsin. We need a Governor like Scott Walker who will eliminate government excess and stop the corrupt unions and their collective bargaining in their tracks. We need fiscal RESPONSIBILITY. This only continues down the same path of insanity that created the problem in the first place, and will not lead to a different (favorable) outcome.
PUBTV,Inequality of wealth and opportunity are hurting the overall economy, by limiting competition, promoting cronyism and keeping those at the bottom from reaching their potential, income inequality is ultimately detrimental to those at the top, too. “My point is we’ve created an economy that is not in accord with the principles of the free market.”
The Unions have a gravy train that they don’t want to see end! They could care less about the taxpayer and don’t give a damn CA is broke! They’re looking out for # 1, Period!!