NEWS

Proposed contribution rate hikes

As Gov. Brown prepares to sign into law a historic attack on public employee pensions, CalPERS has released a list of proposed changes to employee contribution rates.

The largest scheduled increases will bring certain employees' contributions to 13% within two years.

AB 340, the bill that Gov. Brown is expected to sign before the end of this month, eliminates rare abuses of the pension system, but also places strict caps on your hard earned benefits and increases the retirement age.

For more information, see CalPERS' breakdown of the bill's effects.

ACSS member Okumura re-elected

ACSS member David Okumura was re-elected CSEA Secretary/Treasurer at the organization's 66th General Council this weekend in Los Angeles.

In his speech prior to the election, Okumura pledged to increase fiscal responsibility and increase ACSS autonomy from CSEA.

Okumura was originally elected to the position at the 64th General Council in San Jose.

Has Gov. Brown broken the camel's back?

After announcing a series of aggressive cuts to state employee pensions, many are wondering if Gov. Brown's continued assault on our modest benefits will really help fix California's economic woes.

Perhaps a more important question is: Are the long-term risks of yet another attack on long-suffering state employees' modest and hard-earned benefits worth the (questionable) short-term gain?

Read more about Gov. Brown's attack on your modest pension after the jump.

Will Steinberg halt legislative raises?

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has said that he will halt a controversial program that allowed him to approve raises for legislative employees while cutting your pay by 5%.

After ACSS members called on Steinberg to overturn the raises - more than 10% of which went to employees making $100,000 or more per year - he responded with an email that claims one of his main priorities is to "take merit raises off the table for upper chamber employees."

Considering Steinberg had to approve the raises in the first place, we're wondering whose table he is referring to...

In addition, Steinberg noted that he is "currently proposing a one-year salary freeze for staff."

So while it appears that Sen. Steinberg will answer to public pressure regarding the raises and stop funneling cash to legislative employees, he appears unprepared to address the lack of similar merit programs for state supervisors and managers, many of whom have not had a raise in over a decade.

What do you think? Will Steinberg keep his word and stop rewarding legislative employees under the table? Respond in the comments section.

CalHR acknowledges excluded pay problem

At a meeting of the Excluded Employee Council, CalHR staff recognized that salary compaction and pay inequity are among the top problems plaguing state supervisors and managers.

Excluded Employee Labor Relations Officer Stephen Booth said that CalHR is "painfully aware that there are compaction issues" with the state's most skilled and dedicated employees.

Though public perception may differ, Booth confirmed that "not a week goes by" without CalHR receiving complaints from supervisors and managers who make less than those they supervise.

"Not one of us thinks supervisors should make less than the employees they oversee," said Booth.

CalHR Director Julie Chapman said that the last official survey of excluded employee salaries was likely four to five years ago.

Your ACSS is working with CalHR to arrive at a sustainable, long-term solution to the problem of salary compaction and inversion.

Prop 32 will flood the Capitol with corporate $$$

What's your stance on Proposition 32?

There is one simple reason that your ACSS is urging you to VOTE NO ON 32: It's a sham.

The conservative groups backing Prop 32 want voters to believe that a yes vote will stop the flow of "special interest" money in politics.

In fact, Prop 32 will give big corporations and the hyper-wealthy free reign to funnel as much money as they like into state politics while it silences your voice in the Capitol.

Want to know more? Read this excellent article by San Francisco State Univerty Professor John Logan, "California's Prop. 32 would be Citizens United on steroids".

In the article, Logan states:

"Proposition 32 claims to be an even-handed effort at campaign finance reform - but nothing could be further from the truth. Prop. 32 would cripple the ability of unions to participate in politics, but have little or no impact on unlimited spending by corporate executives and other wealthy individuals."

Don't wait until it's too late! Start talking with friends, neighbors, family, and co-workers now.

Need training? CalHR steps up online courses

Have you checked out CalHR's new Training page yet?

The "Managers and Supervisors" section includes a wide variety of online trainings and webinars to help you manage your workforce, build technology skills, and more.

Statewide Learning and Performance Officer Jodi Traversaro assured ACSS that content is being developed and added regularly in CalHR's ongoing commitment to meeting excluded employee needs.

Find upcoming training opportunities on the CalHR Training Calendar.

Meet Sacramento-area Chapter President Amber Siepmann

Over the next year, ACSS will be sitting down with the presidents of our 11 statewide chapters for some informal interviews. Look for new interviews to be added monthly.

Amber Siepmann is the president of Chapter 503, ACSS' largest chapter with over two thousand members throughout the greater Sacramento area. ACSS Membership Coordinator Diane Wolff sat down with Amber to talk about her vision for the chapter and moving to the public sector from the private.

Read all about Amber after the jump.

Make Steinberg keep his word

Senate President Pro Tem Steinberg recently went on record saying that drastically slashing public pensions - by raising the retirement age, throwing part of earned retirement savings into risky 401(k) investment, and more - is an absolute priority, regardless of how difficult it will be on public employees:

"Will it cause some discomfort and unhappiness? Yes. Do you sometimes disagree with your allies and friends to do what you think is the right thing? Yes."

We couldn't agree with Sen. Steinberg's sentiment more: Doing the right thing sometimes causes discomfort and unhappiness.

That is why ACSS is calling on Sen. Steinberg to stop underhanded dealing to his allies and friends in the Legislature and start the difficult cuts he touts publicly by rescinding the raises he approved for employees in the Legislature after slashing your salary by 5%.

60% of respondents to our poll on the legislative raises - up to 10% for employees making in excess of $100,000 annually - demanded that the raises should be taken away.

If Sen. Steinberg truly believes in doing the right thing, no matter how difficult, he must reverse these raises now, before he continues trying to drum up support for Gov. Brown's tax hikes.

How do you feel about Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's continued attack on public employees' modest benefits while he snuck raises to his own employees under the radar?

Take a moment to let him know via email or calls to his office:

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg
(916) 651-4006 or senator.steinberg@senate.ca.gov

Steinberg - Pension reform goes "beyond" Brown's plan

A newsletter released to Senator Darrell Steinberg's constituents claims that his pension slashing plan goes "above and [Gov. Brown's] proposal to include more than a dozen additional reforms."

According to the newsletter, that plan will include (among other things) a "hybrid system"; tossing a portion of employees' modest retirement benefits into a risky 401(k).

Many are speculating that Sen. Steinberg and Governor Brown are attempting to curry favor with the public for the tax raises that will appear on the November ballot by showing that they are taking a strong stand for pension reform.

Does Sen. Steinberg's politically motivated and personal attack on your hard-earned, modest benefits make you less inclined or more inclined to support the Governor's tax increases that will appear on the General Election ballot this November?

Weigh in on this hot button issue in the comments section.

The full text of the newsletter appears after the jump.