RIFS and Layoffs - And What You Can Do
If you're an Arizona state employee concerned about layoffs or Reduction in Force (RIF) in your department, it's worth understanding how the process works and what rights you have. SEIU Arizona has prepared a Q&A you can download called RIF and Your Rights.
There is additional information and guidelines available in a RIF/LAYOFF Toolkit offered by the State Human Resources Department. Make sure you're as prepared as you can be as we work to get through some tough times for public service professionals.
Domestic Partner Benefits Retained
With all the grim budget news state employees have had to endure this year, it's refreshing to see something good happen for us ...
Benefits for domestic partners and dependent children of state employees will continue at least until October, 2010, thanks to calls and emails from SEIU members - and a smart legal opinion from state Attorney General Terry Goddard.
Governor, Legislature Finally Take Action on Budget
Jan Brewer has signed into a law a bill that sets up a raid on school districts' funds for the next fiscal year.
Some measures in the bill reflect reflect proposals from community organizations, such as payment delays for one day and accepting the stimulus dollars. The most troubling aspect, however, is the decision to force school districts to operate only based on cash reserves for the rest of the year.
State payments to K-12 districts will be delayed under this plan, but districts will be forced to compensate those payments from their own cash reserves.
The Arizona Republic reports that the plan is falling under bipartisan criticism:
Democratic opponents argue that the plan once more balances the state budget on the backs of schools and universities. Assistant Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios, D-Apache Junction, said the state plan to claim the school-district funding amounts to a "backdoor tax increase."
"The local-property taxpayer will make up 100 percent of the cash balance taken by the state," said Rep. Tom Boone, R-Peoria. Boone also is president of the Deer Valley Unified School District, and is one of two House Republicans to vote against the budget fix.
We can still expect more legislative movement on the budget in the weeks ahead, so be sure to keep up the pressure on the Governor and Legislature to do the right thing:
SEIU Joins Coalition to Call for a Better State Budget
Along with a group of over 20 community organizations, SEIU members have engaged in a campaign to pass a budget that adequately funds state services.
The Arizona Budget Coalition has come together to make sure Arizona has the education, health care, and other vital services we need to create economic recovery. The Coalition includes the faith community and advocates for children, victims of domestic violence, the homeless, seniors, education, and much more.
SEIU is calling for a better state budget following cuts that devastated state employees and services. Richard Whatley, an SEIU member and state employee, was there to explain how his work has been impacted by last January's reckless cuts.
"There are more and more people coming to us for assistance to find work, and there are fewer and fewer of us to help them. Budget cuts have devastated our department. We have 3 categories of cases, and now we don’t have the funding to respond to any of them. We don’t even have enough people to make the most out of the stimulus funds," Richard said.
The Arizona Republic reports that although some State Legislators are still proposing service cuts, they taking notice of our campaign to create a better budget:
"I'm willing to look at anything that might move the budget in the right direction," said Russell Pearce, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. But he said he believes the budget needs at least $700 million in cuts to balance, and to put the state in position to weather even tougher budget times in the near future.
A budget approved by the House Appropriations Committee earlier this week contained $650 million in cuts.
John Kavanagh, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, noted that some of the options are ideas raised by Republican leadership, such as selling state assets or borrowing against the revenue stream from the state lottery.
"Some of this stuff I find tasteful and some of this stuff I wouldn't order," Kavanagh said.
In the photo below, Tim Schmaltz of the Protecting Arizona's Family Coalition explains the Coalition's budget options to the media.
Stay tuned for more coverage from the event.
Brewer Offers Few Details on Stimulus Funds
Even though the stimulus funds play an important role in most budget proposals in the Legislature, Gov. Brewer has said little about the funds, and hasn't even submitted an application that would clarify how the money would be spent.
In spite of Brewer's inaction, Legislators have decided to create budget proposals that include use of the stimulus money. So far, they are shooting in the dark, as negotiations with the Governor's office will ultimately decide how this important part of the budget will be determined.
The stimulus funding would provide support to unemployment insurance, health care, and help to create 21st century jobs that would stimulate our struggling economy. A lack of clarity on how to apply this assistance could prove costly for Arizona.
The Associated Press reports that with only 40 days left in the Legislative session, the Governor isn't willing to discuss much about the stimulus package:
The new House Republican proposal formally unveiled this week anticipates spending an additional $570 million of stabilization money on K-12 schools and universities to help close a new, growing shortfall in the same budget.
Is Brewer willing to use that much additional stimulus money or even more to keep the current budget in the black?
"That is part of the negotiations obviously," replied [Brewer spokesperson Paul Senseman].
Senseman said there are other options for keeping the current budget balanced, but he declined to identify them during an interview.
"I'm not prepared to discuss those with you," he told The Associated Press.
Legislature, Governor Move Slowly on New Budget
While Arizona suffers from the worst economic crisis in recent memory, Legislators and the Governor are doing little to fix the state budget.
Since the legislative session began, the body has passed few laws and taken little action, except to throw thousands of people out of work and slash funding for education, health care, and services that would spur economic recovery.
With the end of the session in June almost upon us, the legislature has only moved to pass a new budget in fits and starts. When discussions have occurred, they have not included the minority party. When proposals have been leaked, they have been met with public derision and protests on the Capitol lawn.
The Arizona Capitol Times describes the confusion presiding over the legislature and on the 9th floor:
During the last two weeks of April, the Senate scheduled a budget hearing twice, only to cancel both. On April 28, legislative leaders also canceled a joint Appropriations committee meeting that had been called earlier in the week to flesh out a budget-balancing option to sweep $210 million of cities’ impact fees.
House and Senate leaders were also supposed to hold a joint press briefing early in the last week of April to update the public on the budget work both chambers have accomplished so far. That, too, was shelved.
...
At least a few rank-and-file Republicans have complained privately that legislative leaders have yet to sit down with Gov. Jan Brewer to negotiate a budget, which they said would also take weeks to complete. They argued that unless Brewer weighs in and gives her green light, any budget proposal remains precisely that — just a proposal.
