Layoffs set for 22,000 California state workers

DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
July 30, 2008 6:54 PM
SACRAMENTO (AP) - The California Department of Motor Vehicles, infamous for long lines, has cut its wait time in half to get a driver's license.
A big part of the reason is its hiring of part-time employees. Of 9,017 DMV employees statewide, 1,345 - or 15 percent - could be gone by Friday after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs an executive order to deal with the state's fiscal crisis.
The department also has 751 contractors who could be terminated. And that won't be good news for customers, said Amber Carlson, who would lose her $14.75-an-hour part-time job answering phones and processing paperwork at the DMV's Sacramento headquarters.
''People aren't going to get their licenses back as quick. There's going to be more people on hold trying to get their questions answered,'' said Carlson, 25. ''He (Schwarzenegger) is trying to push people, and he's pushing the wrong people.''
Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the executive order Thursday, the first day of the August pay period.
About 22,000 temporary, part-time and contract state workers face layoffs. That could mean fewer food safety inspections and cutbacks in the programs that stock fish in the state's rivers and lakes, among many consequences.
The governor also is expected to order that many of the 200,000 regular state employees under his control be paid the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour until a state budget is passed. Lawmakers have failed to agree on a spending plan for the fiscal year that began July 1, arguing over whether they should enact tax increases or steep cuts to close a $15.2 billion deficit.
The workers receiving the federal minimum wage will be reimbursed for their full salaries once a budget deal is reached. The others will simply be out of work.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said law enforcement, emergency, disaster and other critical workers would be exempt from the executive order.
The federal court-appointed receiver who runs the state prison health care system on Wednesday exempted all his state employees from the cutbacks.
Schwarzenegger's executive order is designed in part as a way to pressure lawmakers to strike a budget deal quickly, but it also is expected to prompt immediate challenges.
Controller John Chiang, a Democrat, said he will defy Schwarzenegger and keep sending permanent employees their full checks, rather than paying them minimum wage. State employee unions promise to seek injunctions blocking the entire executive order.
Both concede the governor likely has the power to lay off the seasonal and part-time workers.
Schwarzenegger said he has little choice because the state could run out of cash without a budget. The administration projects that firing the employees, ending contracts and suspending overtime would save the state about $100 million a month.
''Being governor, I have to make sure that we pay our bills and that we have the money,'' Schwarzenegger said at a news conference on Tuesday.
While many state workers can get low-interest loans until they receive back wages, Kim Croff, 44, of Carmichael, is one of those set to lose her DMV job with little savings as a cushion.
''I'm very worried. Unemployment is up, jobs are very scarce. There's no one really hiring. The economy is really bad,'' Croff said as she and Carlson protested the pending cuts during their lunch hour Wednesday. ''It takes a toll on you, just worrying about it.''
Croff schedules driving test and vehicle registration appointments for $14.25 an hour. While she works 40 hours a week, she's not considered a permanent, full-time employee and will lose her job.
Her Sacramento call center, one of five statewide, is staffed by about 85 people, about 30 of whom are part-time employees.
Jim Zamora, spokesman for Service Employees International Union, said seasonal fruit and vegetable inspectors also might be laid off - ''the people who protect you from salmonella.''
''By getting rid of them at this time of year, you're potentially creating problems for the state,'' said Zamora, who represents the largest state employees' union.
The governor's office said it's not clear whether food inspectors would be subject to the executive order.
Agencies are informing the administration how many of their employees are considered crucial to public safety.
State Sen. Dean Florez asked the Legislature's legal office for an opinion about whether the governor can fire the 22,000 workers. Last week, the nonpartisan Legislative Counsel's Office advised that Schwarzenegger cannot force the state controller to pay only minimum wage. The administration disagrees, citing a previous court order.
Caught in the middle are workers such as 23-year-old Brian Rodman of Sacramento and Andrew Walker, 19, of Elverta.
They were up to their chest waders in swirling young fish Wednesday as they helped with cleaning and feeding at the Nimbus Salmon and Steelhead Hatchery along the American River east of Sacramento. Both work part time while taking college classes in hopes of joining the state Department of Fish and Game full time.
''If we leave, everything slows down. It's not as productive,'' said Walker.
During busy times, the hatchery employs six seasonal workers to help its eight full-timers, manager Paula Hoover said. Statewide, 57 seasonal workers help 120 permanent hatchery employees.
Brad Willis, who works at the Mojave River State Fish Hatchery in Victorville, said he and other full-time employees probably would be able to keep the fish alive but not deliver them to the state's lakes and streams.
''A lot of recreational fishermen depend on that, as do the local businesses and communities that depend on the fishermen,'' Willis said. ''The governor is trying to pressure the Legislature. Of course we need a budget, but we don't need the additional pressure of telling people they're not going to get their money.''