Posted on 12/20/2007 12:11:51 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO -- As Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez sought the endorsement of two major labor unions for his plan to overhaul healthcare in the state, he added several provisions to the legislation sweetening the deal for union members, ...
The changes came soon after the unions donated more than $1 million combined to an initiative sponsored by Nuñez that would extend numerous lawmakers' terms, including his own.
In the final version, unveiled only days before Monday's vote, the unions received three years of increases in state funding of health insurance for tens of thousands of workers who provide in-home care for the elderly, blind and disabled.
The legislation as approved gives unions unilateral authority to create and operate trust funds to provide employee healthcare, taking the power to negotiate away from the county agencies that employ the workers. ...
"We weren't aware of it until Monday afternoon," said Paul McIntosh, executive director of the California State Assn. of Counties. "It appears that we don't have an opportunity to express our concerns. ...
He said the benefit increase for home care workers -- which would reach 75 cents an hour in the third year -- could be significant because the workers are on duty tens of millions of hours a year.
--snip--
Nuñez's spokesman, Steve Maviglio, said the speaker made multiple changes to the bill in the final days for many groups.
--snip--
"There was a flurry of activity," he said. "That's part of compromise -- give and take -- and that's exactly what happened. Nobody walked away from the table 100% happy."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the other main architect of the $14-billion deal to extend healthcare to most Californians starting in 2010, went along with the changes that Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) made on the unions' behalf.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
No offense intended to in-home care workers and for all their hard work and dedication, btw... you're not the problem, just the latest to benefit deservedly or not from a runaway money train headed for the curve too fast.
As to Fabian, he is what he is .. just what the state doesn’t need to return to office.
With politicians like Fabio, who needs to even replace them?
The unions which run the CA Dem party don’t see the need for any changes other than more unionization in Silicon Valley and WalMarts.
Unions spend a lot of miney getting thier guy in office and don’t want to have them gotten out of office. Then they’d have to spend a lot more to get one of their lackeys back in power.
Unions are little more then mobsters.
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