State Workers Protest Wilson Proposal

Singing union ballads and shouting “Recall Pete, Recall Pete,” about 75 state employees rallied at the State Office Building in Van Nuys Thursday to protest a proposal by Gov. Pete Wilson to cut their wages and benefits.

The workers were addressed by several union representatives who urged them to protest a proposed 5% pay cut, arguing that state employees should not be penalized in order to balance the state budget.

Assemblyman Terry Friedman (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the Assembly Labor Committee, told the crowd that California already is saving $1 million a month through 21,000 unfilled job openings and called on Wilson to not “make state workers the scapegoats of tough economic times.”

Spokesmen for the California State Employees Assn., which represents 130,000 state workers, said the union asked Wilson to extend the group’s contract, which expired July 1, for another year and to renegotiate it when the economy improves.

Instead, the governor has proposed pay cuts, along with reductions in medical and dental benefits and a change in overtime rules that will hurt many blue-collar state workers, the spokesmen said.

Union officials said the governor is trying to create a stalemate in the talks so that he can unilaterally impose new contract terms. If Wilson does so, the officials warned, the union is prepared to strike for the first time in its history.

Wilson spokesman James Lee said the governor is cutting salaries and positions under an $800-million deficit-reduction package approved by the Legislature.

The governor has proposed pay cuts as an alternative to layoffs, said Lee, adding that wage cuts for most state workers are better than layoffs for some.