Obama and the SEIU vs California.

[MKSheppard]

Link

LA Times
By Evan Halper
May 8, 2009

Reporting from Sacramento -- The Obama administration is threatening to rescind billions of dollars in federal stimulus money if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers do not restore wage cuts to unionized home healthcare workers approved in February as part of the budget.

Schwarzenegger's office was advised this week by federal health officials that the wage reduction, which will save California $74 million, violates provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Failure to revoke the scheduled wage cut before it takes effect July 1 could cost California $6.8 billion in stimulus money, according to state officials.

Los Angeles water projects to get... Local governments' stimulus money may...The news comes as state lawmakers are already facing a severe cash crisis, with the state at risk of running out of money in July.

The wages at issue involve workers who care for some 440,000 low-income disabled and elderly Californians. The workers, who collectively contribute millions of dollars in dues each month to the influential Service Employees International Union and the United Domestic Workers, will see the state's contribution to their wages cut from a maximum of $12.10 per hour to a maximum of $10.10.

The SEIU said in a statement that it had asked the Obama administration for the ruling.

The cut was highly contentious during last winter's budget talks. Republican lawmakers insisted that the rapidly growing, multibillion-dollar state program, In Home Supportive Services, be scaled back significantly.

Democrats fought major reductions in the program, which they say is a cost-effective alternative to nursing-home care, but ultimately compromised.

Reversing the wage cut would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, meaning Republican support would be needed.

Schwarzenegger on Wednesday sent U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius a letter urging the federal government to reconsider.

"Neither the Legislature nor I make decisions to reduce wages or benefits lightly, but only as a last resort in response to an unprecedented fiscal crisis," Schwarzenegger wrote.

[Count Chocula]

And the camel's nose is under the tent. Guess what, Arnold: if you take Washington's money, you accept Washington's conditions. Which may change at any time or not be consonant with what your legislature wants. Welcome to Chicago ward politics.

[CaptainChewbacca]

That's how it always starts. First they want to do you a favor... then they owe you.

Or maybe that's the mob, I forget.

[Edi]

This is more symptomatic of the various ways California is fucked up rather than anything else. The whole budgetary process and ideological bullshit about tax cuts and such is what drives the crisis. The part about home assistance for the elderly being cheaper than nursing homes is factual. The cost savings are rather impressive, or at least they have been when such things have been done here. Cutting something like that will just mean increased costs somewhere else.

That's quite aside from the issue of needing to play by federal rules if you accept federal money.

[The Yosemite Bear]

And It's really the fault of the whole "Bread and Circuses" mentality of the Californication voters. Welcome, we're crazy and stupid out here.