State Workers: What Do You Think of SEIU Furlough Deal?

Many state workers will be receiving an extra unpaid day off each month thanks to an agreement between Gov. Jerry Brown and the Service Employees International Union Local 1000 (SEIU Local 1000).

"Because Local 1000 chose to negotiate with the governor rather than let our members be subject to imposed furloughs, we were able to achieve important solutions that went beyond a pay reduction in exchange for time off," Local 1000's website quoted President Yvonne R. Walker as saying.

Sixty-six percent of union members who voted supported the move, which will reduce pay about 5 percent until July of 2013, eliminate SEIU student assistants and more. It will also create an outsourcing task force "to identify and reduce or eliminate wasteful private vendor contracts," according to the SEIU website.

The Sacramento Bee reports that the deal is part of Brown's cost-cutting proposal to save the state $839 million.

"Many state workers were angry when Brown figured those savings into his May budget revision, since they are under two- or three-year contracts that already included a year of furloughs and remain in effect through June of next year," the Bee's Jon Ortiz wrote.

The union said on its website that the deal was better than anything it could have expected if it hadn't been involved in the process.

"If we had simply refused to bargain with Gov. Brown, we would have been stuck with whatever terms he imposed with the Legislature," the site quoted Margarita Maldonado, vice president for bargaining, as saying. "By stepping up and engaging in the process, we were able to obtain an agreement that is more fair, more flexible and makes progress on outsourcing."

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Elk Grove is home to many state workers. Local SEIU members, what do you think of this deal? Let us know in the comments section below.