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In 1968, Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act establishing collective bargaining for California’s municipal, county, and local special district employees. Services for municipal, county and special district residents and taxpayers have been in decline ever since. In 1976, Governor Jerry Brown signed the Educational Employment Relations Act establishing collective bargaining in California’s public schools and community colleges, and in 1978 Brown signed the State Employer-Employee Relations Act establishing collective bargaining for state government employees. Services for students and state residents and costs for taxpayers have suffered ever since.

A grave threat to democracy in California is sitting on Governor Newsom’s desk. If signed by him, Assembly Bill 1 would allow legislative staff to form a government employee union. That means that the state employees who write and edit thousands of pieces of legislation every year and provide advice to elected legislators about those bills would become a special interest with business before the state.

Govern For California issues statement on proposed CCPOA Contract (Bargaining Unit 6)

As of June 30, 2018, California’s prisons (CDCR) incarcerated 130,317 inmates supervised by 56,538 correctional employees paid $4,985,455,000 in salaries.

The OC Register cited Govern For California in a recent editorial about cynical games being played by the Legislature and Governor in awarding excessive compensation to state prison guards.

In 2015 the City of Glendale took advantage of Obamacare to dramatically reduce its spending on health insurance for retired employees and free up funds for spending on active employees and public services.

A new California law that took effect this year may be the most important political reform the state has enacted in a half century. No wonder special interests and the politicians they help elect are trying to kill it.

Dear Legislators,

This week the Biden Administration announced that personal income rose 0.4% in April, consumers increased spending sharply, U.S. economic activity is at its highest pace in more than a year, and the unemployment rate is at an envious 3.4 percent.

Yesterday the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released its Multiyear Budget Outlook through fiscal year 2026-27, forecasting $52 billion of deficits over that period.

Dear State Legislators,

Last year we wrote to you about the alarming $500 million per year salary increase you granted to state prison guards under a contract extension executed in June 2021 and the state’s failure to comply with Subsection (c) of Gov. Code Section 19826, which requires a study of salaries of employees in comparable occupations before awarding a new contract. Because you did not commission such a study, we did, and the results were shocking. In our note, we implored you to hold the line in the next contract, which will come into effect upon the expiration of the current contract on July 2 — just six weeks from now.