ACSS sent a floor alert ahead of the Assembly session today urging Assembly members to vote "yes" on SBX8 29. If approved, this bill would exempt state workers in jobs funded no more than 5 percent from the state general fund. The bill was introduced by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and easily passed by the Senate. Read the alert here.

One sign unions are losing ground: The number of union members in the public sector exceeded their private-sector counterparts for the first time last year. Another: Unions usually gain strength during economic slumps. Not this time. Third: The state's unions are losing in the public opinion poll.

State Worker writer Jon Ortiz reports this morning that the effort to gather signatures to place a pension-cutting initiative on the ballot is stymied by the refusal of Gov. Schwarzenegger and GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman to support it. "The governor felt he'd be a hindrance to us. Meg is not supporting us. That's pretty much it," initiative leader Marcia Fritz is quoted as saying.

A bit of optimistic news: The two proposals to reduce the pensions of public employees appear to be faltering at the signature-gathering stage. To qualify the initiatives for the ballot, the propoonents, led by Marcia Fritz of Citrus Heights, need 700,000 signatures by June 14 – and about $2 million.

FromThe Sacramento Bee: The state Senate yesterday approved SBX 8 29, a bill to exempt from furloughs thousands of state workers in departments that are funded largely by dedicated fees or the federal government. The measure would end furloughs for workers in departments that get at least 95 percent of their budget money from sources other than the general fund and would also exempt from furloughs the Board of Equalization and the Franchise Tax Board. Read the bill here.

The governor and several state employee unions have restarted contrct talks aimed at a long-shot breakthrough. Optimism is low, but both sides have an incentive to bargain, writes Sacramento Bee reporter Jon Oritz. Because supervisors and managers are excluded from bargaining, ACSS cannot negotiate with the governor.

The Franchise Tax Board's loss from the furloughs is seven times greater than its savings, according to a report issued today by the nonpartisan California Senate Office of Oversigh and Outcomes, and the Board of Equalization and constitutional offices achieved equivalent savings through budget cuts, not furloughs.

With a 4-0 vote, the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of Sen. Able Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) for lieutenant governor. Gov. Schwarzenegger nominated Maldonado to fill the position after former Lt. Gov. John Garamendi won a seat in Congress. ACSS Labor Relations Rep Tom Considine, who lives in Maldonado's district, spoke in support of the nomination. Maldonado meets frequently with state workers in his district and is interviewed on two ACSS videos praising state workers. Maldonado now must be approved by the entire Senate. The term ends this year. To continue to hold his office, he will have to run for the position in November.

The Senate Rules Committee begins hearings today on whether to confirm Republican Sen. Abel Maldonado as lieutenant governor. Maldonado, of Santa Maria, represents a district with a Democratic plurality. He broke ranks with his Republican colleagues to approve the 2009-2010 budget, and he has been supportive of state workers. ACSS President Arlene Espinoza wrote a letter to the Rules Committee members endorsing Maldonado's nomination, and Labor Rep Tom Considine, a constituent and friend of Maldonado, will testify.

Calling the state's collective bargaining process "dysfunctional," an editorial in The Sacramento Bee this morning urges the Legislature to cut state employees' pay by the 5 percent the governor is proposing. The editorial says the cuts are "a reasonable sacrifice." It also supports requiring state workers to contribute an additional 5 percent to their retirement system, calling the move "worth risking a court challenge." The editorial is in response to a Legislative Analyst's report backing the pay reductions.

The governor won one Friday: The San Francisco appeals court ruled that state Controller John Chiang cannot restore correctional officers to full pay for the time they work -- despite the fact an Alameda judge ruled in December that the "self-directed" furloughs at prisons violate labor law. The debate will continue: The CCPOA has until Thursday to file more arguments.

For a brief round-up of some pertinent state worker issues, see this morning's State Worker blog: A food-for-thought letter on the mathematics of the governor's proposed pay cut; the controversy over Controller John Chiang's vow to pay correctional officers; Assembly committee approval to allow BOE workers to move; the $500,000-plus payments, so far, to one law firm to fight the furlough lawsuits.

ACSS will respond strongly to the governor's Jan. 8 letter to state employees in which he outlines his new program to cut state workers' compensation. The furloughs will go away, as planned, but in its place state workers will lose 5 percent of their salary to a pay cut and another 5 percent to retirement contributions. Layoffs also are possible. For a statement from ACSS President Arlene Espinoza, go here.

ACSS President Arlene Espinoza was one of 13 signers on a letter to (then)-Asembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg supporting AB 1125. The bill, by Ed Hernandez, calls for the state to pay state workers their full salaries if there is no budget in place by the June 15 deadline. Without this bill, the governor could reduce state workers' pay to federal minimum wage until the budget passes. Read the bill here.

In the wake of its latest trouble – scary elevators – the head of BOE has persuaded legislators to co-author a bill authorizing his agency to leave its building for a safer one. The BOE building has been plagued with leaks, floods, mold and falling windows. A Sacramento Bee story is here. The proposed bill, AB151, is here.