Local 39 News - June 2009

Continuing Budget Problems

By JERRY KALMAR, Business Manager/IUOE Vice President

"Throw the bums out" is a knee jerk reaction I sometimes have to the politicians who have gotten California into this budget mess. I hear the same from many Members as well. That, however, is not a realistic solution.

Regardless of how we got here, there is no disputing that we are in one heck of a budget mess. California's problems are far reaching and affect all workers public and private, Union and non-Union. The recent election results should send a strong message to every politician that all Californians are fed up and want real solutions. Band-aid solutions will no longer work and we are tired of party line politics.

It was just a few short years ago that Arnold Swarzenneger, riding around on his Harley and in his Hummer and eventually his campaign bus, was parading his huge persona promising he would "blow up the boxes" in Sacramento. He would fix, in short order, all that ailed us from the politics as usual stance of the existing administration. The fact of the matter is that he failed ... miserably and completely. The governor has changed direction several times in an attempt to get agreement on any of his ideas to no avail. He clearly did not understand what he was up against.

Nothing has changed since Swarzenneger took office. Budget levels have increased dramatically. Borrowing money to balance the budget and robbing Peter to pay Paul is still the norm. Funding has been diverted from schools, cities and counties to be used by the State for other purposes. Increases to fees, tuitions, and other miscellaneous costs have taken the place of tax increases even though they amount to the same thing. And of course once again, employee pay and benefits have been blamed as a culprit of the budget problem.

I am as sick of the rhetoric as you are. The State budget is no different than our personal budgets. Only so much money comes in and therefore only so much can go out. We all must limit ourselves to what we can afford. The State of California doesn't seem to think it has to play by those rules. California spends money based upon unrealistic income projections. It would be akin to you or me claiming that we make twice as much as we really do, to buy a house that we could not afford. Sooner or later it catches up with you. It has now caught up with the State.

The doom and gloom pitch from the governor and lawmakers is likely to increase tenfold in the coming weeks. We expect to see many fights about what should be cut; schools, prisons, parks, child services, elderly and disabled services, veteran services, etc. We expect threats of layoffs, furloughs, wage and benefit reductions and much more. Everyone will be affected in some way.

One of Local 39's core principles has always been to take the position with employers that layoffs are more appropriate than reducing pay and benefits of all workers. It has proven successful time after time. Employers put pressure on their employees to compromise in order to save fellow workers jobs. However, if you notice, the employers will never guarantee that if you agree to wage and benefit cuts, that layoffs will be averted. In fact in most cases layoffs occur even after concessions have been agreed to. So why agree to reductions? Why should everyone have to pay for the employers problems except the employer? Remember, if we agree to wage and benefit reductions to avoid layoffs, the employer gets the same amount of work done but for less money. In essence, the employer tries to put the burden of the layoff decision on you instead of taking the responsibility themselves. The employers are the only ones who benefit from concessions and they never seem to make things right during good times.

The lawmakers were right about one thing though, we need to increase revenue and reduce spending. The plan they put on the May ballot however was not palatable to most people. Tough times and hard decisions are ahead. We must be careful not to overreact to each and every idea presented. All approaches must be evaluated and solutions must be directed at the greater good of the whole.

The next couple of years will require a great deal of patience, something that is in short supply. Unless and until we climb out of this hole we are in, we will continue to see attacks on your jobs, wages and benefits. I understand that there may be many different opinions on how budgetary problems should be addressed and whether layoffs or concessions are better, but I assure you that Local 39 will look out for the best interests of our Members and I ask that you work with your representatives when these issues arise.