CSU, Arnold, Albertsons and more
There are way too many things I want to write about today, so I am just going to condense them into one mostly linky post.
- An independent fact finding report by the contract mediator proved what the CSU faculty has been saying for years. They are being paid much less than professors at pier institutions. The report called for a 24.87% increase over four years, plus 10% in service step increase. The administration has agreed to use the report as a framework to negotiating a fair contract. The two sides have agreed to an extra ten day period to work out a deal without any strike activities.
This is a positive step and hopefully a fair contract will be reached. These faculty members have been working without a contract for almost two years now. Frank Russo has more here.
- Skelton is a must read today. He takes Arnold to the woodshed for his comments about the presidential candidates. Arnold wants them to get specific about policy, particularly health care. Ironic, considering he was evasive and vague when running his own campaign last fall. And of course, it is not like he has actually found a legislator to introduce his health care proposal. It's still in the idea phase, not an actual piece of legislation.
- Albertsons grocery workers voted to authorize leadership to call a strike if and when necessary.
- There is a growing movement a sick-pay law at the national level.
- This is just heartbreaking. Extreme poverty in California.
- Sen. Cogdill is pushing a program that would give people cash money to buy a cleaner vehicle in exchange for getting rid of their high-polluting one.
The United States is virtually the only industrialized nation that does not mandate sick pay for private-sector employees. Nearly half of full-time workers — an estimated 57 million — don't have the benefit.