Anger and disbelief at Governor’s proposed cuts

After anger and disbelief, Californians fight back

Schwarzenegger and the budget crisis: easy to be hardAugust 1st, 2009, LA Times Editorial

See how much your local government will lose under the state budget
Sacramento Bee, July 31



Budget Is an Avoidable Tragedy Narrow corporate interests are the only winners

July 21 - The California State Council of the Service Employees International Union released the following statement from State Council President and Local 521 President Kristy Sermersheim: "This budget is no cause for celebration. In fact, it's a tragedy that could have been avoided."
Read more



State Budget Deal: DEEP, PAINFUL CUTS; MANY OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS

Legislators reached a budget deal on Monday, July 20, with deep, painful cuts for working families.

For example, the Healthy Families program will lose a total $144 million, nearly HALF of the program. This will result in real pain and health difficulties for many families.

CalWORKS cuts will total over $500 million.

More updates to follow.

Read more:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jJ7uUDlO1sEo7K7bEfHpj4G7wuLQD99II1RO0

http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/51278262.html

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/politics&id=6925710  



Governor's Plan to Contract Out Human Services Eligibility:

Costly * Likely to fail * Harmful to Client
Facts to keep in mind:
- Current Approach to Eligibility Determination Successfully Uses Automation to Determine Eligibility and Increase Client Access
- Contracting Out Initiatives have Failed Miserably in Other States
- Significant Short-Term Costs with No Long-Term Savings

 Read the facts

Union Members Protest Governor’s Proposed Cuts
 

Mock 'Arnie' says, 'The public doesn't care about figures' July 15 - A coalition of local workers, seniors, educators, people with disabilities, health care advocates and others protested Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed all-cuts budget in front of his Fresno office. Local 521 members from the Fresno County area joined the rally and mock press conference. Read more

Sign the Budget Arnold!  

June 30 - About 50 residents and members of SEIU Local 521, United Healthcare Workers and child care Local 2004 chanted and held signs saying "Arnold Sign the Budget" in front of the Governor's Fresno office. Read more

Victory for Home Care Workers!
- SEIU Stops Wage Cuts to San Mateo County Homecare Workers
June 30 - Just in the nick of time, SEIU blocked wage cuts to San Mateo County homecare workers.
Read More »
- Judge Orders State to Halt Wage Cut For California Home Care Workers
A U.S. District Court judge issued an injunction Thursday afternoon ordering the state of California to halt a proposed $2 cut in wages for the state's 400,000 home care workers.
Read More »



New Television Ad Says Governor Must Stop Protecting Big Oil, Tobacco



SEIU launched a statewide television ad calling on Governor Schwarzenegger to stop protecting Big Oil and Tobacco interests after slashing critical services for our seniors, kids, and college students in the name of "shared sacrifice."
Read More »



SEIU Pushes for a Common Sense Budget

SEIU launched a new television ad pushing Sacramento to use balance, co-operation, and common sense to fix our budget problem. The Governor's cuts-only approach would lead to 2 million Californians losing healthcare, including nearly a million children; hundreds of thousands of college students denied an education and k-12 students stuck in overcrowded, underfunded schools; and hundreds of thousands of seniors and people with disabilities losing the care they need to live at home.

Watch the ad below:



"This is not my California," said Assembly Budget Chair Noreen Evans. 

Members Fighting Back		Media Coverage
Tulare County Coalition Fights for a Better Budget June 27 - Taking a stand against the governor's proposed budget cuts that call for sacrifices only from the weakest, Tulare County residents, workers and activists staged a mock funeral on Saturday to mourn the state's health safety net on the brink of death. Read more SEIU Study Reveals $34.7 billion in "The Hidden Branch of Government": California Vendor Contracts Canceled SEIU Local 1000 recently criticized California government for hiding $34.7 billion in some 13, 600 vendor contracts. Today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling for all unfilled state department vendor contracts to be canceled through the end of the fiscal year, retroactive to March 1, and to cut outside contracts by 15 percent. Read the study prepared by the local showing California's "hidden branch of government." County Court Workers Say NO to Closing Court Days May 28 - SEIU county court workers from throughout the state marched in front of the State Building in San Francisco Thursday to protest plans to shut down courts one day each month. View photos and video   "It's not about money, it's about dignity" For four years, Imelda Oseguera cared for her mother-in-law, Maria: brushing her teeth, round-the-clock care for numerous ailments. Caring for her mother-in-law, who died Sunday at 89, was an "honor and a pleasure," she said. Beginning in July, Oseguera and the approximately 2,400 in-home health care workers like her in San Mateo County, face a $2 per hour wage cut. "It's not about money, it's about dignity," she said. SEIU members and homecare workers held a 48-hour vigil at the State Capitol from Tuesday, May 26th until Thursday, May 28th. View the vigil photos and video TAKE ACTION: Send a message to Gov. Schwarzenegger now! Two years ago, President Barack Obama walked a day in the shoes of SEIU home care worker Pauline Beck. Today, Pauline and home care workers across California face pay cuts of up to 33% -- from $12.10 an hour down to $8. Governor Schwarzenegger's belief that solving the state's fiscal problems on the backs of those who take care of the most fragile among us is an absolute disgrace. Please write a message for Governor Schwarzenegger telling him you strongly disagree with his misguided priorities.		SEIU pushes for oil, tobacco, liquor taxes The state’s biggest labor union is launching a $1-million TV advertising campaign promoting new taxes on the oil, tobacco and liquor industries in hopes of dissuading lawmakers from adopting the deep social services cuts proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "The governor's proposed cuts-only budget will destroy the California we know," said Eliseo Medina, SEIU executive vice president. LA Times, June 10 Would turn California into an unrecognizable place "The cuts Mr. Schwarzenegger has proposed ... would turn California into a place that in some ways would be unrecognizable in modern America: poor children would have no health insurance, prisoners would be released by the thousands and state parks would be closed. Nearly all of the billions of dollars in cuts... affect programs for poor Californians."  NY Times, May 31  These are no longer cuts, these are amputations Schools would be hit by $680 million in new cuts to classrooms and by $315 million in cuts for transportation. The state's social safety net would lose $1 billion more in funding for the poor, disabled and aged. Cities and counties would lose an additional $242 million in transportation funding. "These are no longer cuts," said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, a nonprofit advocacy group. "These are amputations, and the question is, which limb are we cutting off today?" Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) : "Some of these cuts could result in people losing their lives." Los Angeles Times, May 30 "A lot of little kids begging on the streets" That's Assemblymember Jim Beall's description of the result of the Governor's proposal to eliminate CalWORKS. For more reactions and to read about a young woman named Michelle and her 2-month old baby saved from an abusive relationship by CalWORKS, read the article: SJ Mercury News, May 28 Homecare Cuts are a true "Crime" Story from Fresno: SEIU sued Fresno County over proposed cuts to home care workers' wages on May 26. Take a look at the Bee's link because it's a legal story, it's apparently filed under "crime." How appropriate, when you consider the cruelty and shortsightedness of these cuts. The Bee tells the story of plaintiff Mikesha Martinez, whose brain was injured in a diabetic coma, and her husband Carlos: "… the quality of the care for my wife will go down," said Carlos, about his wife, who receives the maximum amount of home care allowed. Read more: Fresno Bee, May 27     Cutting funds should not be the alternative "We're all trying to adjust to the recession, but cutting funds should not be the alternative at the expense of senior citizens' lives and other disadvantaged people," said Ellen Rollins, a homecare worker from Santa Clara County. Los Ageles Times, May 27 "This used to be the Golden State. Now it's a Sorry State." Several Democratic legislators have been speaking out with great clarity and force against the destructive, all-cuts approach to the budget. Assembly Budget Chair Noreen Evans: "We're looking at a California where we neglect our elderly, our disabled, our women and our children. This used to be the golden state. Now it's a sorry state. And this is not my California." Senator Loni Hancock yesterday released a statement articulating the crossroads we stand it and asking, "What kind of place do we want to live in?" Read the Senator's statement.