A new study by the California state Senate says that furloughs are "costing the state money and further hurting the economy" and Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg called for immediate passage of the SEIU Local 1000 contract contract bill, AB 88. In a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steinberg wrote the current furlough policy has become a 'penny saved, a dollar lost' approach that can be corrected immediately. "A 5 percent pay cut is a sacrifice for a state employee; a 15 percent cut is punishment."

It's just only about federally-paid workers--the Schwarzenegger administration lost a court battle last week over furloughs for workers at the state's workers' compensation agency, which may include back pay with interest for furlough days the roughly 6,000 workers have already had.

Yesterday, a Superior Court judge issued a tentative ruling that State Compensation Insurance Fund employees are exempt from Governor Schwarzenegger's furloughs. The lawsuit affects over 6,000 clerical and professional SEIU Local 1000 workers who work for the fund, which provides worker's compensation insurance to employers. (Click here to read the tentative ruling)

This ruling comes after Local 1000 filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court accusing the governor of violating the state's Emergency Services Act by illegally using that law as a basis for implementing furloughs. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein also asked the governor to stop furloughing 1,415 employees who review Social Security disability applications because they are paid through federal money - not from the General Fund.

That same day, the state's Department of Finance admitted at a state Senate hearing that furloughs at the Franchise Tax Board and Board of Equalization will cost the state $350 million in uncollected taxes. At the hearing, FTB tax technician Renee Lee testified that she is now losing her Sacramento home of 18 years because of the 14 percent pay cut from furloughs--after 30 years of civil service. In a comment that widely picked up by media outlets, Lee said at the hearing, "I was living the American dream. I'm living a nightmare now."

If the decision becomes final and is upheld, the workers will be exempt from the Governor's furloughs and will receive back pay with interest for furlough days they have already had. Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker called the ruling "another crack in the governor's illegal furlough scheme." The union has filed a total of five lawsuits challenging the Governor's state employee furloughs three times a month. Read more at SF Gate.

A U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction last month ordering the state of California to halt pay cuts of nearly 20 percent -- from $12.10 an hour down to $9.50 -- for the state's 400,000 home care workers. The injunction, issued by federal judge Claudia Wilken, has the effect of stopping pay cuts in all California counties that were planning on passing the state cut through to their home care workers, beginning on July 1, 2009.

Sounds like a pretty cut-and-dry ruling...until you remember that you're dealing with Governor Schwarzenegger, who apparently stands above the law [unless he's the one making it]. The Governor and CA state officials are refusing to abide by Judge Wilken's preliminary injunction preventing the slashing of salaries for in-home caregivers. SEIU is fighting back by filing a motion in U.S. District Court, asking the court to hold the State in contempt for illegally cutting the wages of IHSS workers in defiance of the earlier court order.

Since Judge Wilken's ruling, numerous counties have submitted requests to reinstate IHSS worker pay--but State officials are claiming that they need 60 days to process the requests. "Instead of honoring the court's decision and keeping our pay as it is, the State is dragging its feet, making up excuses, and placing this lifeline service in jeopardy," said Mary Harms, a Contra Costa County home care worker.

The Governor vowed again last week, in a brief question and answer period from reporters, that he would not sign any budget deal that included any tax increases, saying "I made this very real clear that I will never sign a budget with tax increases or extra fees or other kind of trickery that is proposed. I will not a budget that is a partial budget - we want to address the entire $26 billion - we want to do it making the necessary cuts and also getting rid of the waste and abuse that is going on within those programs." Most people--myself included--would not qualify providing social services for people who need it, like the elderly or persons with disabilities--as a "waste" of the state's budget.

Speaker of the House Karen Bass said last week of Schwarzenegger: "I do believe he is completely overstating it and making IHSS as though it is some huge part of the budget, when it is actually 1.5 % of the state budget...the IHSS program saves money in the long run because it prevents people from being in nursing homes. What shouldn't we be wasting any of, in Speaker Bass's opinion? Time. "I just believe that we really don't have any time to waste - and what is most important that we close the deficit. The issue of reforms are critical - but we can begin the reform process the day after the budget revision is signed." Please call the Governor now and tell him: "Home care not only saves money, it saves lives. We need a common sense budget that protects home care."

HUGE news for home care workers and those they care for. In response to SEIU lawsuit, 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.

The injunction has the effect of stopping pay cuts in all California counties that were planning on passing the state cut through to their home care workers.

The injunction, issued by federal judge Claudia Wilken, was in response to a lawsuit filed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has 250,000 home care members in California. The lawsuit alleges the wage cut violates the federal Medicaid Law, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Rehabilitation Act.

"This ruling is bringing hope to hundreds of thousands of home care consumers and workers all across the state," said Mary Harms, a home care worker in Contra Costa County. "We had no choice but to ask the court to help us after the governor and legislature let everyone down and put so many people in danger."

The enjoined state budget cuts would have slashed homecare workers' wages to as low as $9.50 an hour. The wage cuts would have forced thousands of homecare providers to leave their employment to seek living-wage jobs, forcing frail seniors and people with disabilities to enter nursing homes or other residential institutions.

On Tuesday, lawmakers on the California Legislature's joint budget committee refused to cut state worker pay and spared that state's In-Home Support Services the major cut that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed as part of his plan to solve the state's $24.3 billion deficit.

Under the governor's budget proposal, IHSS would stand to lose roughly $765 million, resulting in a near-elimination of services for nearly 400,000 people---or 90 percent of the elderly or disabled persons currently receiving care. Making such drastic cuts to California's IHSS program to make up for budgetary shortfalls would also result in more people having to resort to institutional care (nursing homes or other residential institutions)-- which is estimated to be four times more expensive to the State.

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, who chairs the budget conference committee, reiterated the counter-productiveness of such large cuts to balance the deficit. Such large cuts would have been tantamount to cost shifting, Evans told the San Francisco Chronicle, as people would receive more expensive services at already-strained hospitals and nursing homes. "The imagination runs wild on what would actually happen to these people," said Evans. In contrast, the Conference Committee rejected the Governor's near-elimination of IHSS and passed cuts totaling $117 million, which would eliminate services for slightly less than 10% of those currently enrolled.

California Home Care Workers Rally at the State Capitol to Save the Services they Provide to California's Most Vulnerable: SEIU has played a big role in the movement to fight these cuts, mobilizing support for a fair state budget and balance budget approach that protects middle-class families, seniors, kids, and people with disabilities. Last week, SEIU released a TV ad arguing for a balanced approach and earlier this week, hundreds of home care workers rallied on the grounds of the California State Capital. "Stop home care cuts" was the message home care workers made loud and clear on the grounds of the California State Capital, as care providers from across the state displayed a 625 square-foot sign made up of more than 75,000 postcards calling for an end to the governor's drastic cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program. In addition to the TV ad campaign, SEIU is encouraging Californians to weigh in for common sense budget at www.commonsense4ca.org.

The bottom line: Laying off state workers from their jobs and cutting their pay on top of the 9.2 percent cut those workers have taken through unpaid furloughs days is not the answer to solving this budget crisis. Neither is shredding California's social safety net and decimating state programs like the welfare-to-work program and health insurance for children. To produce revenue for the state, the legislative budget panel instead approved on Tuesday plans to hike up taxes on oil and tobacco, which would produce an estimated $830 million and $1 billion, respectively, in the coming fiscal year. Repealing a corporate tax break approved only a few months ago would produce another $80 million.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) said yesterday at their press conference that they "expect that [their] Republican colleagues will be responsible" in helping them pass a "compromise" budget. Lawmakers are meeting with Schwarzenegger again today, and the two Democratic leaders are holding out the possibility that common ground can be reached to put a Legislature-approved plan on how to close the state's deficit by the middle of next week. Highlights of the Legislature's approach to solving the budget crisis at California Progress Report here.

For more than 18 months, SEIU Local 1000 has been suggesting alternatives to Schwarzenegger's draconian cuts--promoting budget-balancing proposals worth billions of dollars, including the elimination of costly private vendor contracts. Instead, Gov. Schwarzenegger has fought to reduce the budget deficit by laying off 5,000 state workers from agencies supported by the General Fund, along with a 5 percent across-the-board pay cut for state workers. "Why in a time of crisis, [...] wouldn't the governor and the Legislature cut wasteful spending first, especially when state workers can do the work for one-third or even one half less?" questioned Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker.

Finally...Schwarzenegger Agrees with SEIU: Use of Government Vendors needs Revamping
Yesterday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling for all unfulfilled 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. Schwarzenegger's recognition of the vendor waste is just the tip of the iceberg. SEIU Local 1000 believes the California government is hiding $34.7 billion in some 13,600 vendor contracts.

Read the study prepared by SEIU Local 1000, which represents 95,000 state government workers, showing California's "hidden branch of government."

Governor Schwarzenegger says he thinks every day about the people who will be affected by his proposed cuts to health care will affect. "I know the consequences of those cuts are not just dollars," said the Governor to lawmakers yesterday. "I see the faces behind those dollars."

Fresno area home care provider Carlos Martinez and his wife Mikesha Martinez show the real face of those who would be impacted the most by these cuts.

Hundreds of home care workers from across the country continue knocking on doors this week, talking to Fresno home care workers about the importance of standing with their union in combating these dangerous cuts--which would cause nearly 400,000 elderly or disabled Californians to lose the services they need to live at home and still remain cared for.

In this new YouTube video, SEIU UHW member and upcoming leader Frank Valdez canvasses for the first time with mentor May Santiago in Fresno. "It's very important to take care of these folks at home, and that's why I'm here," says Frank, on why he's fighting alongside his fellow union members in support of Fresno home care workers.

Read more about SEIU's fight to block Governor Schwarzenegger's assault on home care and SEIU UHW's efforts to protect Fresno home care workers.

Governor Schwarzenegger gave a speech to the joint session of California legislatures this morning on the state's budget, pressing lawmakers to resolve the state's financial crisis and enact $24 billion in spending cuts. The Governor acknowledged how devastating these cuts will be to millions of Californians, saying "People come up to me all the time, pleading 'governor, please don't cut my program,'" he said. "They tell me how the cuts will affect them and their loved ones. I see the pain in their eyes and hear the fear in their voice. It's an awful feeling. But we have no choice."

To solve the state's fiscal problems, the Schwarzenegger administration wants to slash the wages of people who do some of the most difficult work and help our most vulnerable citizens stay out of institutions. SEIU International Executive VP Eliseo Medina issued a statement in response to the Governor's speech today, explaining why we think his "no choice" budget cuts that punish California's neediest residents are unacceptable:

"Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts to home care would add up to 340,000 people to the ranks of the unemployed, moving California's unemployment rate to 12.8 percent--nearly tied with Michigan for the highest in the nation. This is exactly the opposite of what California needs.

"These irresponsible cuts will cost the state over a billion dollars a year in lost federal funds, and untold billions over the long term, as they push California's most vulnerable residents into expensive facilities.

"Worse still is the human toll. Approximately 395,000 elderly or disabled Californians would lose the services they need to live at home.

"We need shared responsibility to dig us out of this hole. Instead, this Governor has chosen a skewed approach--giving away $2.5 billion a year to large corporations and at the same time eliminating desperately needed care for the most vulnerable Californians.

"SEIU intends to fight the Governor's callous and immoral budget proposals and advance real solutions that enhance state and federal revenue and reduce the amount that must be cut from home care and other vital services Californians need."

During his speech to the joint session of California legislatures this morning, Gov. Schwarzenegger also expressed how he thinks the state should view their monstrous financial crisis: as an opportunity to "make big and lasting change." Schwarzenegger urged lawmakers and other constitutional officers "not [to] think just in the short-term," saying "Let's think about the long term..."

Finally, Gov. Schwarzenegger says something we can agree with! "Governor Schwarzenegger offered the public a bad budget deal, and the public said no," said SEIU's Medina. "Now the Governor wants to punish the people of California with senseless cuts that will cost the state billions down the road. It's this kind of failed leadership that has gotten us into this mess; more of the same short-sighted vision will not get us out."

Please send a message to the Governor telling him his short-sighted policies will send California deeper into fiscal abyss--and then ask your friends and co-workers to do the same.

See the full list of proposed cuts by the Governor here. More background on SEIU's fight to stop California home care cuts can be found here, here and here.

They came from across Fresno County, California, the U.S., and Canada with one mission: to protect Fresno County home care.

More than 900 SEIU members and activists gathered on Sunday, May 31st at the Fresno County Fairgrounds to kick off a massive "Get Out the Vote" effort to help home care workers protect their jobs, pay, and union. Rally participants pledged to help keep hope alive for 10,000 SEIU UHW Fresno County home care members, as they fight proposed wage-and-benefit cuts of $1 per hour beginning July 1 and vote in an election to determine their union representation on June 15.

One particularly remarkable Fresno county home care consumer and union activist appeared at yesterday's kick-off: ninety year-old Jessie Lopez De La Cruz, who was UFW's very first female organizer, hired by the notable Cesar Chavez himself in 1964. It was due to the tenacity of supporters like Lopez de la Cruz that the farm workers' cause and crusade for social justice received national attention and helped influenced labor laws.

Ms. Lopez De La Cruz had a special message when introducing SEIU Executive VP (and SEIU UHW trustee) Eliseo Medina at yesterday's event, as both worked alongside Cesar Chavez with the UFW: "The last time I was in these fairgrounds was 1973, when Cesar Chavez and hundreds and hundreds of farm workers were arrested in protests, and they put us in jail. I know the important work you do, and I support SEIU UHW!" Ms. Lopez De La Cruz urged everyone to stand strong for the SEIU UHW members who provide her care.

Cutting Home Care Workers' Wages: the Many Aftershocks
Of the roughly two million home care workers nationwide, more than 20 percent earn incomes below the poverty level. The 10,000 or so workers who provide in-home care for the elderly and those with disabilities in Fresno County might soon increase this overall number, as they end up below the poverty line in the aftermath of Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed July 1 wage cuts. At any rate, slashing the state's already-low direct care wages at any level will likely force thousands of home care providers to leave their jobs in and cause workers to be more reliant on the state's support services.

"The economy is already devastating California's families, so this isn't a time to be cutting necessary support systems or reducing those already-small wages," said Bernadette Lynch, president of California Association of Public Authorities for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and executive director for Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority. "The current pay for home care workers doesn't even amount to a living wage at this point, except in one or two counties. Reducing it will end up causing a dearth of providers, which will hurt consumers. It's devastating." Taking money away from California's program to make up for budgetary shortfalls will also result in more people having to resort to institutional care (nursing homes or other residental institutions)-- which is estimated to be four times more expensive to the State.

SEIU Files a Class-Action Lawsuit
Last week, SEIU filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, seeking a preliminary junction to stop the State of California and Fresno County from slashing the wages of home care workers to near-poverty levels and from to reducing the hours of care seniors and people with disabilities receive from going into effect. The suit, brought on behalf of individual consumers and SEIU, charges that the planned cuts put seniors and people with disabilities at risk and violate the American with Disabilities Act and Federal Medicaid Law.

Between now and July 1st - the date the home care cuts are supposed to take effect - home care workers, their families and supporters have much to fight for. Stop the home care cuts in California.

Today, SEIU home healthcare members closed their 48-hour vigil with a press conference on the steps of the California statehouse to protest drastic budget cuts which would drive home care workers into poverty and force seniors and people with disabilities into more restrictive and costly institutional settings, as reported in the Los Angeles Times and La Opinion. "They're talking about limiting the services to the most frail, elderly, handicapped individuals in our state and in our county," SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina told CBS 47.

Read about the ad campaign against the budget cuts to stop the cuts to home care workers' wages and the number of hours of in-home care. And then do something about it: send a message to the Governor telling him you strongly disagree with his misguided priorities.

Photo slideshow from yesterday's candlelight vigil and rally here:

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 send a message to the Governor telling him you strongly disagree with his misguided priorities: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/homecare

We're not going to let this happen without a fight.

Starting today, we're running TV ads in California featuring President Obama's day in the shoes of SEIU home care worker Pauline Beck. We also have a new print ad running in today's LA Times, featuring a letter from Pauline to President Obama asking for his help:

[...] I understand that these are challenging times, but these cuts hurt California. They put vulnerable residents at risk of losing their independence and force hard working people like me into poverty.

I know you are a good man and I am proud of the job you are doing. I hope you and the Governor can work together to help Mr. John, me and the 750,000 of Californians just like us. It would make such a difference in our lives.

Watch the ad and send a message to Governor Schwarzenegger.

We need to rally the state to stop these cuts: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/homecare

Make no mistake about it, SEIU will aggressively organize against this unjust and poorly thought-out policy decision.

More than 5,000 home care providers, care recipients, disability and senior advocates joined SEIU members and other concerned Californians on Friday, May 22nd in a rally in front of the California State building in downtown Los Angeles to speak out against the Governor's proposed cuts to the state's home care program, as laid out in his revised May budget.

Closing down streets, rally participants sent a clear message to Governor Schwarzenegger and Sacramento legislators that proposed cuts to the state's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, which delivers care to more than 400,000 seniors and people with disabilities, will not be tolerated.

Check out some of the amazing photos from this rally:

Friday's rally is the first of many events to take place over the next several weeks to raise awareness of these dangerous cuts to California's home care program and their impact on the state's vulnerable residents and those who care for them. Learn more about the cuts laid out in Gov. Schwarzenegger's revised May budget and find out about upcoming actions.

SEIU members, seniors home care givers and community supporters from across the state will hold vigils tonight on the grounds of the State Capitol to protest Schwarzenegger's proposed cutbacks that would reduce vital services to seniors and people with disabilities. The vigil will include candlelight prayer circles Tuesday night, a rally and testimony by home care recipients and workers Wednesday afternoon, and a mass Wednesday night.

The cutbacks to services and jobs would reduce services to seniors and people with disabilities by as much as 27 percent, potentially forcing thousands from California's most vulnerable populations into costly nursing homes. It would slash wages for home care workers by up to 33% -- from $12.10 an hour down to $8, which is below the poverty level for a family of two. Find information about the vigil and additional events here.

SEIU also has a ad buy today on California's home care cuts which will air on select cable stations in LA, Fresno and Sacramento this week to coincide with the President's visit to the state. Print ads will run in targeted markets during the same period. Watch the ad here:

Gov. 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. If you're not in California but still want to join the fight to stop cuts to home care, please write a message for Governor Schwarzenegger telling him you strongly disagree with his misguided priorities--we'll make sure that he receives it.

Caring for others. It's probably the most important thing your mother ever taught you. But it's a lesson Gov. Schwarzenegger seems to have forgotten, because on May 14th the governor released a preview of his revised budget, which seeks to implement deeper cuts to the in-home care program by slicing the state's contribution toward home care worker wages by a staggering 20 to 30 percent.

If implemented, these budget cuts would drastically affect the state's hundred of thousands In-Home Supportive Service (IHSS) workers and the 440,000 seniors and people with disabilities who rely on IHSS for daily care. The cuts would:

• Lower the State's maximum participation in IHSS wages from $11.50/hr to just $8.00 (minimum wage).
• Eliminate certain hours of care that will place home care recipients at risk.
• Limit IHSS Share-Of-Cost buyout to only the most impaired seniors and people with disabilities.

Home care workers are often the primary--and frequently sole--caregivers for their clients, sometimes being the only thing keeping a family member at home instead of in an institution. These cuts are a true assault on our seniors, people with disabilities and those who care for them. SEIU's Andy Stern on the cuts: "The Schwarzenegger administration suggests solving the state's fiscal problems should entail cutting the wages of people who do some of the most difficult work and help our most vulnerable citizens stay out of institutions. That is a disgrace and a sign of misguided priorities."

Join SEIU Executive VP Eliseo Medina and thousands of Californians at a rally tomorrow, May 22 at noon (PST) in Los Angeles to send a loud and clear message to Sacramento to stop the cuts to home care. (More rally info here).

Take action now to stop cuts to home care in California: Gov. 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 him a message telling him you strongly disagree with his misguided priorities.