NEWS

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.

New online training for excluded employees

DPA has announced the addition of a new basic supervision course called "California Model Employer Initiative Training" to its online training library.

According to DPA:

"This free interactive training will help new supervisors meet 2.5 hours of the required basic supervisory training pursuant to PML 2010-013 and Government Code Section 19995.4. Topics covered include:

• Role of a Supervisor,

• Techniques of Supervision,

• Staffing, and

• Employment Law relating to People with Disabilities.

The training will help you recruit, interview, hire, retain, and accommodate people with disabilities.

As with all training, staff should get their supervisor's and/or training officer's approval before taking this training. At the end of the module, the employee can print a completion certificate for the training office to use in tracking training."

Tax evaders cost state $10+ billion

A new report by the Franchise Tax Board reveals that your ACSS' fight to prevent drastic cuts to your earned benefits may not be necessary after all.

State tax officials estimate that California revenues will fall short by some $10 billion this year, due to abuses of the tax system by businesses and individuals.

In one case, a couple that owned seven sandwich shops avoided paying taxes for four years and hid in excess of $800,000 of income. In 2008, another couple that owned two El Dorado painitng companies failed to report nearly $550,000 in income.

Another $2.3 billion in sales and use taxes will go uncollected this year, partially due to citizens skirting sales tax via Internet purchases.

Republican legislators recently submitted a budget calling for a nearly 5% pay cut to all state employees - in addition to millions of dollars in cuts to early childhood education, mental health services, and more - in lieu of supporting Gov. Brown's modest revenue increase proposal.

Though tax evasion will likely continue to be a problem, your ACSS firmly supports the Governor's temporary revenue increases - a 1/4-cent sales tax increase and a modest tax increase on households earning above $500,000 annually - which will appear on the November General Election ballot.

Don't allow legislators to balance the budget on the backs of state employees yet again! Stand up and vote YES on Gov. Brown's revenue increases this fall.