NEWS

Reduced workweek will cost citizens now and later

Though Gov. Brown has pitched his reduced workweek as a means to save around $830 million, it is now clear that those savings will not be as great as expected.

If the state implements Brown's plan, which the Legislative Analyst's Office has called "problematic", not only will public services suffer a drop in quality and excluded employees face greater workload issues, but hidden costs will in fact reduce the savings Brown hopes to achieve.

Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer confirmed in an interview with the Sacramento Bee that taxpayers will have to foot the bill for Gov. Brown's cuts in the near future.

The Bee's Jon Ortiz breaks down the savings drain:

"Let's say for the sake of easy math that state worker Hy Pothetical earns $1,000 per month in pensionable income. Like most employees, Hy contributes 8 percent to his pension, or $80 per month.

Then Brown's four-day, 9.5-hour workweek kicks in. Now Hy earns $950 per month and pays $76 in pension contributions, 8 percent of his new lower wage.

Since the retirement benefit will be calculated as though Hy still earned $1,000, the state - i.e., taxpayers - picks up the $4 difference."

Report: 40-hour workweek doesn't work

A 2010 report analyzing Utah's 4-day workweek that was implemented in 2008 shows that Gov. Brown's plan may not only jeopardize the level of services Californians will receive should his more drastic plan go into effect, but may in fact lead to greater costs due to productivity losses.

In 2008 then Utah Governor Jon Huntsman instituted a 4-day, 40-hour workweek in order to cut costs. A report by Utah's Legislative Auditor General states that savings from the plan - less severe than Gov. Brown's proposed 4-day, 38-hour workweek - were significantly less than expected.

Furthermore, the report states that "evidence suggests that a single work schedule may not be appropriate for all units of state government."

Your ACSS maintains that a reduced workweek will unfairly impact supervisors, managers, and confidential employees more so than rank and file employees.

As we prepare to bring your case to the Governor, we need to hear from you. Last week we asked how the 38-hour workweek would impact you. Now we need to hear how it will impact the services you provide to California taxpayers.

Tell us how the services you provide will suffer. As much as possible, give us numbers and facts.

Don't just tell us "It will be hard to meet quotas", tell us "My DMV office will process X fewer applications per week", or "My office will be able to hold x less hearings per week and utility costs will rise by x%" or "We will be able to process X fewer tax returns per month" or "It will take x weeks longer for California taxpayers to receive their returns", etc. etc.

Email us with the specific ways services you provide will suffer at budgetcuts@acss.org now!

Want ACSS at your event?

Thanks to all the supervisors, managers, and confidential employees who stopped by the ACSSbooth at the 2012 California State Employee Association Member Benefits Fair!

ACSSMembership Coordinator Diane Wolff and Sacramento area Labor Relation Representative Jim Franco talked with around 500 excluded employees, answering questions and handing out free goodies.

Missed us at the Benefits Fair? Check out other upcoming events at www.acss.org/EVENTS

Have an upcoming event that you would like ACSS to attend? Email Membership Coordinator Diane Wolff at dwolff@calcsea.org today and let us know!

Budget Cut FAQs

ACSS has been flooded with questions after the announcement of Governor Brown's revised budget and the millions of dollars in cuts therein.

Here are some of the most common questions we've received, and the best answers we have at this time.

Have a question not listed here? Send it to budgetcuts@acss.org

The 5% cut plan - namely the four-day, 38-hour workweek - seems to be tailored to rank and file employees. How will supervisors be affected?
Your ACSS is preparing to meet with Gov. Brown to discuss how his plan will affect all excluded employees. We'll have more details for you soon.

I work at a facility that never closes, how can I be expected to close it one day a week?
The budget stipulates that for those employees in 24/7 facilities, "commensurate reductions in work hours and pay" will be applied in lieu of closures.

Read more FAQs after the jump.

ACSS Board Member talks cuts on CBS

How will the revised budget - and the four-day, 38-hour workweek - impact you as an excluded employee?

ACSS Board Member Danilo Sanchez spoke with CBS Bay Area about the unique challenges that supervisors, managers, and confidential employees will face in light of the layoffs and reduced workweek proposed in the Governor's newly released budget.

Watch the interview here (Mr. Sanchez's portion begins at around 1:05)

Tell us how the 38-hour week will impact you

Governor Jerry Brown announced today that his revised budget will target state workers with a 5% compensation cut that will be implemented in a 4-day, 38-hour workweek.

The deficit has been estimated at about $16 billion, as opposed to the $9 billion that was originally anticipated.

The reduced workweek will affect "the majority of state employees", and results in a nearly $840 million cut across the board.

As ACSS prepares to meet with Governor Brown to address the concerns of excluded employees in light of these cuts, we need to hear from you.

Read more about how you can fight these budget cuts after the jump.

Brown's Budget Revise Will Target State Workers

Excluded employee group life premiums reduced

The Department of Personnel Administration released a memo this week announcing a reduction in premiums for excluded employees enrolled in the Basic Group Term Life Insurance Program.

Effective July 1, 2012, the premiums will change as outlined here:

If you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact DPA Benefits Program Analyst Patty Rosales-Abila at (916) 324-5553 or Patty.RosalesAbila@calhr.ca.gov

Senate OKs analysis for supervisor raises

A bill supported by your ACSS that would require the state to report the potential costs of raises for excluded employees when analyzing union contracts was passed by the Senate 36-0 and is now headed to the Assembly.

While DPA is required by law to provide a fiscal analysis of union contracts, it is not required to do the same for the supervisors, managers, and confidential employees that are excluded from collective bargaining.

Your ACSS is committed to resolving pay disparity. While SB 1113 will not directly impact the imbalance in salaries between excluded employees and the rank-and-file employees they supervise, requiring a financial breakdown of the potential costs for excluded employee raises is the first step to rectifying the state's mistreatment of its most skilled employees.

Though earlier versions of SB 1113 required the state to directly "address salary compaction and parity concerns for excluded employees," that language has since been stricken from the bill.

Furlough back pay details

The fight for furlough back pay is nearing a close for supervisors and managers in five departments that do not receive appropriations from the state's General Fund: the California Lottery, First 5 California Commission, Prison Industry Authority, Earthquake Authority, and Housing Finance Agency.

Your ACSS labor relations team reached out to the impacted departments and received replies from the First 5 California Commission and CALPIA.

In addition, the State Controller's Office released a letter further outlining the settlement.

See First 5 and CALPIA's statements after the jump.