At its January board meeting, the ACSS board of directors unanimously agreed to pursue possible legal action related to the furlough of its members. We've developed a survey to help our chief counsel gather information for this potential lawsuit. You may have received this survey in your email; if not, please click on the survey link and answer a few questions here. The survey is short and your answers will be kept confidential. Please note: As referred to in the survey, "self-directed" furlough means you could choose the days you took your furlough time off rather than having those days determined for you (such as the first three Fridays the governor has now ordered).

Sending emails to your legislators or the governor, or national representatives, is easy with our "Contact Your Legislators" button, at left. When you press the button, you get a form asking for your address or Zip code. Once you've filled in the information, the email links to your representatives automatically appear. Write your reps today to tell them how you feel about the burdens the governor has placed on you and all excluded employees!

During 2010, ACSS members will be reimbursed for mileage used on behalf of the organization at 50 cents a mile. ACSS follows the federal guidelines for mileage reimbursement. To access our ACSS information blog items, click on "Info for Members" under "Blog Topics" to the left of the home page. Our information items are collected there for easy review.

The just-published Winter 2010 Today's Supervisor has been posted on this Web site under the "Newsroom" tab. Did you know your license plates were made at Folsom Prison? On the cover, you'll see a rare glimpse of the inside of the busy, colorful prison license plate factory, overseen by board member Carlos Chavez. You can read about this and other prison industries inside.

The ACSS board of directors, at its quarterly meeting Jan. 16, unanimously adopted a strategic plan that will guide the organization, the chapters and the members into a more dynamic future. We will report on this plan in various formats in the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out our PowerPoint outline.

In her column this week (at left), ACSS President Arlene Espinoza exposes the dishonesty in the governor's Jan. 8 letter to state employees and calls for ACSS members to write the governor and tell him how you feel about the unfair burden he has placed on his state's management team. Send copies to your legislators and please copy ACSS as well. We would like to share some of your remarks.

The Sacramento Bee has published a database of whom in state government interest groups lobbied and how much they spent doing it for the first nine months of 2009. Their total outlay? $206 million.

DPA is announcing a special dental open-enrollment period from Jan. 4 through Feb. 4 to allow state workers to add same-sex spouses to their dental plans. The couples must have a valid marriage license. If the same-sex spouse is not enrolled by Feb. 4, coverage will not be offered again until the next open-enrollment period. Read the DPA memo here (pdf). Read our earlier blog post on the eligibility of same-sex couples for state benefits here.

Members of same-sex couples who married in states where same-sex marriage is legal and who are dependents of a CalPERS member will be eligible for state health, vision and dental coverage beginning Jan. 1. Read full story here. Read the text of SB54, authorizing the coverage, here.

With many families hurting financially this year, the state controller's office has launched a new Web site, "Your Finances, Your Future," to help Californians make better decisions about managing their money. The site promises to help you improve your personal financial skills, save more, plan better for big purchases and avoid too much credit card debt, among other topics. State Controller John Chiang notes that his own immigrant family endured financial challenges during his childhood.

J.J. Jelincic has defeated Cathy Hackett in the runoff election for a CalPERS board seat, according to several sources. The count: 109,088 votes to 104,656. Jelincic has worked for CalPERS for 23 years and is a past president of CSEA.

The State Worker column reports on three employees at the Victim Compensation & Government Claims Board who started an "Employees Helping Employees" program to accept donated gift cards to give to other staff members in need. The State Worker blog reports on the results of a swap meet for state workers held Nov. 14.

An ACSS member has asked us if ACSS is pursuing grievances related to the loss of Columbus Day and Lincoln’s birthday as holidays, as SEIU Local 1000 is doing. ACSS President Arlene Espinoza responded directly to this member. Click on the headline above to read her full response:

Be prepared for (yet another) temporary reduction in your income beginning Nov. 1. Under a new state law, AB 17, your state tax withholding will increase by 10 percent starting with wages earned this month. For example, if your employer has been deducting $500 in state taxes, that amount will increase to $550. The law was passed to improve the state's cash flow in the short term. Note: Your taxes do not increase; if you're entitled, you will receive the additional withholding back as part of your income tax refund next year. Employers are required to deduct taxes at the rate specified on the new state tax tables.

Director-at-Large Frank Ruffino sends this photo of ACSS executive officers speaking with Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown at the Democratic Grassroots Convention in San Diego in September. Members with Brown are Carlos Chavez, Elnora Fretwell, Olin King and Ruffino. As keynote speaker, Brown said the time for one-time fixes has passed. The e-board members also met several legislative candidates.