CSUEU Message On Budget Cuts

CSUEU Chief of Staff Phillip Coonley sent this out yesterday afternoon:

TO: CSUEU ACTIVISTS AND STAFF:

Governor Announces Statewide Cutbacks

In this November 6 letter, Governor Schwarzenegger announces cutbacks that include once-per-month furloughs for the next 18 months, elimination of two holidays, and changes in overtime. The CSU Chancellor's Office informs CSUEU that these measures do not apply to CSU employees, adding, however, that the unions should recognize that the state has a significant budget problem. CSUEU President Pat Gantt says, The Governor's letter is certainly an opening salvo in what is sure to be a coming onslaught of proposed measures designed to chip away at workers' salaries and benefits as a way of dealing with the state's budget crisis. The Governor's letter opens with the following ominous greeting: During the six weeks since I signed our state budget, the mortgage crisis has deepened, unemployment has increased and the stock market has dropped significantly. As a result, we are facing a projected $11 billion revenue shortfall this fiscal year.

In Solidarity,

Phillip

Phillip Coonley, Chief of Staff
California State University Employees Union (CSUEU)
916-319-4800 TEL
866-763-1452 Toll Free
916-319-4808 FAX

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes: I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.

A news release from the Chancellor's Office states the proposed $66.3 million cut is in addition to a previous one-time $31.3 million reduction:

The Governor's plan proposed further budget cuts of $66.3 million to the California State University for the current 2008-09 budget.

The proposed mid-year cut would come on top of the final 2008-09 budget that was $215 million below CSU's operational needs for the fiscal year, and in addition to a previous one-time $31.3 million reduction.

The California Faculty Association (CFA) has charged that the Chancellor made the previous $31.3 million cut to the CSU budget voluntarily, while misrepresenting it as a requirement imposed by the state.

An article in today's San Francisco Chronicle states:

The latest estimate of the revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, is nearly four times larger than what the state Department of Finance estimated a month ago.

and lists $132 million in funding for the University of California and California State University systems among the proposed cuts.

Links

• Governor Announces Statewide Cutbacks (CSUEU)
• Governor's Proposed Budget Reductions Include Mid-Year Cuts to CSU (CSU Chancellor's Office)
• Governor Announces Plan to Address Budget Emergency, Stimulate Economy (Governor's office press release)
• Governor: Tax hikes, spending cuts to fix budget (San Francisco Chronicle)
• CFA Says Reed Made CSU Budget Cuts Voluntarily (Unit 9 News)
• Schwarzenegger calls for sales tax hike, cuts in services (Los Angeles Times)
• Schwarzenegger calls for immediate tax increases, budget cuts (Sacramento Business Journal)
• State budget advisor examines workers, retirees (Capitol Weekly)