Posted on 07/27/2004 9:59:43 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - State senators assailed a revised state prison guard contract as fatally flawed and said it would set a precedent preventing lawmakers from refusing to fund the pact in the future. Sen. Dede Alpert, D-San Diego, chairwoman of the special committee overseeing the contract, said Monday she couldn't support a fatally flawed deal that would steal power from lawmakers. She said lawmakers had already made terrible mistakes tying guard raises to pay hikes at the California Highway Patrol.
"The Legislature bears much of the responsibility and has to accept that responsibility," she said in concluding the meeting. "But to make one more mistake and allow for a continuous appropriation would be a terrible mistake."
The renegotiated contract was part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's attempt to get unions to give back lucrative raises as one of his budget cost-saving goals. Those concessions fell short of the goal by hundreds of millions of dollars, and the deal with guards has drawn fire.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Thelton E. Henderson, overseeing a case involving inmate abuse by guards, threatened to take over the troubled prison system, saying the proposed contract would give guards too much power and undercut reform efforts.
In return for delaying part of a 10.9 percent raise that was due at the beginning of this month - a move expected to save $108 million over two years - the California Correctional Peace Officers Association would get a series of concessions that would guarantee the pay hike and offer job security.
Among those provisions was one guaranteeing a so-called continuous appropriation, which means lawmakers would be bound to honor the deal through 2006. While lawmakers have never used their authority to renege on multiyear union pacts, many said they didn't want to surrender the option.
During a three-and-a-half hour informational hearing, the state negotiator who oversaw the contract revision and guard union officials defended it and said it had been mischaracterized.
Dave Gilb, chief labor negotiator for the Department of Personnel Administration said he would "separate fact and faction, lots of fiction."
Gilb said the union had no obligation to renegotiate a six-year, 37 percent raise approved by former Gov. Gray Davis.
He said the deal did not cede power to the unions, did not improve health benefits for guards and did not increase guards' pay above what was already negotiated.
"It has been reported and it is fiction that this agreement is more costly," Gilb said. "This is real money the state gets to keep."
Senators questioned numerous provisions of the deal. One would protect guards at three California Youth Authority facilities scheduled to close, allowing them to transfer to the Department of Corrections and forgo psychological screening tests required of new employees.
The union said the move would save money and that the tests were deemed unnecessary for guards that already passed the tests. However, lawmakers pointed out the language exempted guards who were hired before the tests were mandated.
One of the most contentious issues was a provision granting guards videotapes of alleged incidents in the prisons, such as beatings. The state and union said it would guarantee access provided under the state's Public Records Act, but the attorney general's office and the lawmakers said it wasn't spelled out properly.
Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Daly City, called it a deeply flawed provision that went to the heart of problems in the state's prisons, long criticized for inmate abuse and a code of silence by guards.
"Investigations have been flawed and intimidation has taken place and retaliation has taken place," Speier said. "I don't think there would ever be another complaint filed by another inmate."
Union President Mike Jimenez said Speier was biased against the union.
"I do object that just because an inmate complains ... that a group of correctional officers is going to take action. It doesn't work that way," he said.
After arguing over the issue, the state and union agreed to put the intent of the measure in writing with specific reference to the Public Records Act.
The deal has been mailed out to the 31,000 union members and their votes must be postmarked by early next month.
It was not clear when the Legislature would vote on the issue.
The way you can tell the trough money is getting low is that the pigs start fighting among themselves.
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