A game of brinksmanship between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state employee unions has so far produced no clear winner. But there are clear losers: State workers and taxpayers.
State employees have lost income because of the governor’s furlough orders of the last 13 months, including three-day-a-month furloughs for the last eight.
Schwarzenegger so far has lost a key lawsuit challenging furloughs of employees whose positions are financed outside of the general fund. That could ultimately force taxpayers to reimburse these employees hundreds of millions of dollars in back pay.
The governor is appealing the ruling by an Alameda Superior Court judge, as is to be expected. Unfortunately, the continuing legal battle and labor impasse distract everyone from the real culprit in this impasse – the Democratic leadership of the Legislature.
Lawmakers, if they chose, could use their leverage to bring both state employee unions and the governor to the bargaining table. If both sides were motivated, such negotiations could result in payroll reductions that were more targeted and more even-handed than across-the-board furloughs or layoffs.
Sadly, that is unlikely to happen, given the politics at play. Schwarzenegger seems content to allow his appeal to play out, postponing costs to the next governor. The unions seem content to delay any real contract concession talks, hoping they will get a better deal with the next governor.
Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg seems content to stay on the sidelines. Steinberg says the ruling should send the governor a “clear directive” to cut a labor agreement with the unions. It’s a nice sound bite, but a pact will never happen if labor leaders are unmotivated to negotiate.
Lawmakers have ways to apply pressure, if they choose. Under the Ralph Dills Act, it is the Legislature that appropriates funds for employee contracts. As the law says, “If the Legislature does not approve or fully fund any provision” of an employee contract, “either party may reopen negotiations on all or part” of the contract.
Currently, all state worker contracts – except the one with California Highway Patrol officers – have expired. As the Legislative Analyst’s Office has said, “The Legislature could adopt across-the-board salary reductions but provide the administration and bargaining units with some time to develop alternatives.” That would put pressure on the parties to come to real agreement – or the reductions would kick in.
Further, the Dills Act requires that any agreement on concessions would have to come back to the Legislature. Why? Because “If any provision … requires the expenditure of funds, those provisions … shall not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.”
Without action by the Legislature, the state has little leverage at the bargaining table. All parties know it. Steinberg and other Democrats should end the folly and get serious about resolving the furlough battle in a manner that serves the state’s overall interests.