Digital News Report- Governor Schwarzenegger has ordered a hiring freeze for state employment along with payroll cuts of up to 10 percent. The state of California is predicted to be out of money by February and have a $41.8 billion budget shortfall through June 2010. He has ordered all state employees to take two days off a month without pay starting February 1st.
“It is imperative that state government look inside itself and be part of the solution,” the governor wrote in a letter to state employees. “We simply have no other choice.”
Jim Herron Zamora, a spokesman for the Service Employees International Union, Local 1000, the largest state employee union, said, “we definitely think we have grounds for filing an unfair labor charge. Our contract doesn’t allow him to do this.”
Schwarzenegger has also stated that he plans on vetoing an $18 billion Democratic plan to fix the budget. He said, “we need a bold and creative action from the legislature now. So I will be vetoing those tax and special interest proposals they are going to send down to me and ask them to continue to work us to get this done before Christmas. We’ve got to resolve this before Christmas.”
Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico and two other Democratic lawmakers issued a statement that said Schwarzenegger’s order ”adds insult to injury for the state’s economy.” It went on to say, ”the governor has shown he can’t negotiate with Republicans, he doesn’t negotiate with Democrats, and now he’s refusing to negotiate with employees.”
Too bad the state can’t print money like the Federal Government. Our bond ratings are lower and the state is paying more in interest. But at least the bankers got bailed out, right?