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| Concession to prison officers blasted |
| By Mercury News |
| Published: 07/19/2004 |
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In exchange for delayed raises worth $108 million to the cash-strapped state, prison officers received a virtual guarantee of no layoffs for two years and greater ability for supervisors to choose when and where they work. The non-salary changes to the contract of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association amount to only a few million dollars in the state's $103 billion budget. But at least one lawmaker contends that the revisions help officers -- already under scrutiny for wielding too much sway in the state's corrections system -- consolidate their power within prison walls. "This was supposed to be the time to renegotiate for give-backs and the reverse has happened," said Sen. Jackie Speier, a leading critic of the officers' contract. "I'm very disappointed. It makes me feel like we're never going to get this right. And it makes me feel like the CCPOA has extraordinary power over everybody." Faced with an estimated $12 billion shortfall, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger originally aimed to extract $300 million from prison officers, who were granted a lucrative contract under the Gray Davis administration. Schwarzenegger's negotiators settled for less than one-third of that over two years. The contract runs through 2006. The Legislature could vote on the contract changes later this month. Speier, D-San Mateo, wants to see if there's a way to change some provisions. Margita Thompson, Schwarzenegger's press secretary, called the officers' concessions "unprecedented," given that the union was not obligated to renegotiate its contract. She disagreed with the contention that the perks bolster the prison officers' power. "In order to get them to the table, we needed to be able to work with them to find areas of common ground,'' Thompson said. ``On balance, what we were able to get from negotiations was to the benefit of the state to the tune of over $100 million." |
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