Posted on 06/02/2006 11:13:53 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger filled a dormant state commission with four Democrats on Friday before asking them to approve a $1-an-hour minimum wage increase without the annual cost-of-living adjustments pushed by Democratic lawmakers.
Two of the four were originally appointed to the Industrial Welfare Commission by former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and served until their terms expired last year.
The two others were new appointments by the Republican governor, one of them representing the state manufacturer's association. A fifth commissioner's term expires in January.
Schwarzenegger, who vetoed two previous minimum wage increases, is asking the commission to increase the minimum wage earned by 1.4 million workers from $6.75 to $7.75 an hour. His proposal would circumvent separate bills passed this week by the Democrat-controlled Legislature requiring cost of living increases each Jan. 1.
The California Labor Federation filed a competing petition asking the commission to tie the wage to the Consumer Price Index as the Assembly and Senate bills would.
The hearing Friday was only for taking testimony and no vote was planned, Chairman Daniel Curtin said.
The administration discovered on Thursday that the terms expired for four of the five commissioners, leaving only Harold A. Rose of Santa Rosa, a retired state firefighter who held a state firefighters union leadership position from 1991-94.
The two former commissioners chosen by Schwarzenegger are:
_Timothy Cremins, 45, of Sacramento. He has been a director with the California-Nevada Conference of Operating Engineers since 1995.
_Leslee Guardino, 38, of Los Gatos. She heads the government affairs practice for Canyon Snow Consulting.
The two new commission members are:
_Curtin, 58, of Sacramento. He has been the director of the California Conference of Carpenters since 1987.
_Willie Washington, 59, of Sacramento. He is a consultant on workplace issues for the California Manufacturers and Technology Association.
The posts pay $100 per meeting and require Senate confirmation.
The commission is meeting for the first time since lawmakers cut off its budget in 2004.
Schwarzenegger on Thursday said he cannot accept indexing future wage increases to inflation.
"I cannot support something that has failed with our government," Schwarzenegger said. "Those automatic spending formulas have been terrible for our state, and why would we take something that almost bankrupt the state and say, now we're going to punish the private sector and we're going to have them do it too? It's a failed system, it doesn't work."
Labor leaders and legislative Democrats said automatic increases tied to inflation would end the political nature of the debate over the minimum wage.
The Fairness Initiative on Low-Wage Work, which supports minimum wage increases, said California joins a dozen other states attempting to raise their minimum wage legislatively, while four others will put the issue before voters in November. Twenty other states increased their minimum wages in recent years, bypassing the federal government that has not increased the national minimum in nine years.
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On the Net:
Read about the commission at http://www.dir.ca.gov/iwc/
The RINOs are promoting the hell out of this fare-haired Hispanic put-up doll.
I guess he does what he's told.
;-)
With all of the false advertising, it is no wonder that we have such screwed up elections.
How is the average citizen supposed to sift through the misinformation?
I would be hard pressed to name more than one, or maybe two, political (or taxpayer) organizations
that consistently recommend doing the right thing.
All they would have to do is send the illegals back home and the minimum wage would be raised a lot through natural labor supply/labor demand means rather than through parasitic marxist means.
These panderers can't even make the case that they used to make for these unnatural measures, that the poor are being unfairly treated by business, because these are the same people who enable the modern day slave trade of outlaw employers and are currently trying to grant those criminal corporations amnesty for their crimes.
He was touting Abel Maldonado for Controller."
I find this absolutely shocking. Unless this is a phony (unlikely, I know), Newt's credibility just sunk to a record low.
That was my impression, as well.
Abel has been on the wrong side of issues for a long time. Gingrich's support is just wrong.
California; Assembly Rejects GOP Budget Plan;
Blueprint that sought to close shortfall without raising taxes is voted down along party lines.
Five Republicans and one Democrat abstain.;
Peter Nicholas and Evan Halper. Los Angeles Times. Jul 7, 2003. pg. B.1
(snip)SACRAMENTO -- During a rare Sunday night legislative session, Democrats voted down a Republican budget plan that sought to close California's multibillion-dollar budget shortfall without raising taxes.
The 45-27 vote against the GOP plan followed party lines. In an unusual breach of GOP solidarity, a total of five Republicans abstained. One Democrat also abstained, and two members were not present.
Assemblyman Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) said he opposed his party's plan because the education cuts were too harsh. "When I applied for this job, I didn't tell the folks of my district I was going to cut education," he said. "There are pieces in [the plan] I just can't support."
Though the Republicans had detailed some proposed spending cuts, the measure introduced Sunday offered the most complete blueprint yet for how the GOP would achieve enough savings to wipe out a $38 billion shortfall.
Copyright The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Jan 28, 2002MALDEF Applauds Removal of Obstacles to Higher Education for Immigrant Students
The Mexican American Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) applauded California Gov. Gray Davis and California assembly members Marco Firebaugh and Abel Maldonado for their leadership in adopting legislation that will allow high-achieving undocumented immigrant students to continue their education in the state's colleges and universities.
In the making for several years, this bill, said MALDEF, is one more step toward the full integration of immigrants into California's social, as well as economic, fabric. "More than any other single issue, the opportunity for these deserving students to attend college has been a bedrock civil rights issue for the Latino community," stated Mafia Blanco, MALDEF's national senior counsel.
Signed by Gov. Davis on Oct. 11, 2001, AB 540 will allow students, including undocumented immigrant students, to be exempt from paying out-of-state tuition at the state's public colleges and universities if they meet the following requirements: high school attendance in California for three or more years; graduation from a California high school; registration as an entering student, or current enrollment, at an accredited college or university on or after the fall 2001-02 academic year; filing an affidavit stating the student has filed, or will file, an application to legalize her or his immigration status as soon as she or he is eligible to do so.
Copyright (c) 2001 Los Angeles TimesAs lawmakers engage in the contentious process of hammering out California's next budget, there is a healthy amount of fat to be trimmed from their plans.
Pork fat, that is.
Drizzled throughout the pages of a phone-book-sized document that lawmakers are using to craft the budget are dozens of so-called "members' requests."
(snip)
One submission left little question as to which lawmaker was behind it: $500,000 for the final phase of the Abel Maldonado Youth Center in Santa Maria. The item was among those being sought by Assemblyman Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria).
Fox Urges State to Ease Tuition Residency Rules; Diplomacy: In address to Legislature, Mexican leader speaks bluntly ...
JAMES F. SMITH, MIGUEL BUSTILLO. Los Angeles Times Mar 22, 2001. pg. A.1Mexican President Vicente Fox on Wednesday challenged Californians to extend affordable college education opportunities to Mexicans who have established homes in the state, in recognition of the migrants' contribution to its prosperity.
With the same frankness that last year helped him end seven decades of one-party rule in Mexico, Fox addressed a joint session of the Legislature with a confident appeal to build on the improved relations between Mexico and California.
"We should conceive of the border more as a joining line than as a dividing line," Fox declared to warm applause. "Let us make the proximity of our peoples into a source of solutions instead of a generator of controversies."
(snip)
Hertzberg said he was encouraged by Fox's offer of assistance on energy and that he wants to talk to Mexican leaders about connecting California's electrical grid to Mexico's in the San Diego area if the state completes its planned purchase of power lines from utilities.
Assemblyman Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria), the son of Mexican immigrants who, like Fox, is a farmer, said he hopes the California visit will lead to new economic partnerships between the state and Mexico.
"The Mexican people elected a reformer, and I am happy to see him in California," Maldonado said. "Neighbors help each other, and I hope to hear him say he can help build power plants in Mexico. It can create new jobs for Mexico and new power for California."
Good advice I say.
After a 10-year struggle, California has an enforceable ban on assault weapons. The Legislature Monday gave final passage to SB 23, by Sen. Don Perata (D-Alameda), and Gov. Gray Davis says he will sign the bill into law, along with a previously passed measure to limit gun sales to one per month for each customer. These bills are major victories against gun violence.
(snip)
Most Democrats supported the bill while most Republicans opposed it, invoking the flimsy line of the National Rifle Assn. about abridging citizens' 2nd Amendment rights. In debate, that argument was demolished by the comment of a Republican who later voted for the bill, Assemblyman Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria. "They are weapons of war," he said. "They shouldn't be on the streets."
I'll be leaving the box next to Poizner blank in the primary. I don't trust him.
McClintock, Strickland, Parrish and Poochigian have my enthusiastic support.
Thanks for the wake-up ping Dan...
Daniel Curtin, 58, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Industrial Welfare Commission. He is currently the director of the California Conference of Carpenters where he has served since 1987. Curtin has previously served with the Committee on Political Education for the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO and Frontlash, a youth voter registration and education project for the AFL-CIO. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Curtin is a Democrat.
Timothy Cremins, 45, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Industrial Welfare Commission. He served as a member of the commission from 2001 to 2005. Cremins has served as director of education and research for the California-Nevada Conference of Operating Engineers since 1995. He was previously with the State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, Sacramento from 1983 to 1995. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Cremins is a Democrat.
Leslee Guardino, 38, of Los Gatos, has been appointed to the Industrial Welfare Commission. She served as a member of the commission from 2001 to 2005. Guardino is currently a principal in Canyon Snow Consulting, leading the firm's government affairs practice. She previously served as director of worldwide government and community relations for Solectron, executive director of the American Electronics Association and vice president of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Guardino is a Democrat.
Willie Washington, 59, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Industrial Welfare Commission. He currently serves as a consultant on workplace issues for the California Manufacturers and Technology Association. Washington previously served as the director of human resources, safety and health, and workers' compensation for the California Manufacturers and Technology Association from 1987 to 2005. Prior to that, he was a regional manager of human resources for Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel and served for 22 years as a member of the United States Air Force. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Washington is a Democrat.
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