Governor vetoes collective bargaining for child-care workers

Legislation to grant collective bargaining rights to grandmas, aunts and other subsidized child-care providers was vetoed Thursday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Senate Bill 867 targeted a pivotal service for low-income parents, with about 90,000 providers assisting 700,000 families at a public cost of more than $3 billion.

Schwarzenegger's veto message cited the state's massive budget deficit, which despite recent trims is pegged at $8 billion.

"Given California's significant budget challenge, I cannot consider bills that would add significant fiscal pressures to the state's structural budget deficit," he wrote.

SB 867, similar to legislation vetoed last year, was sponsored by the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

"We believe (the veto) is a slap in the face to working Californians and hard-working child-care providers all over the state," said Joe Wilson, AFSCME's assistant director of organizing.

Sen. Gil Cedillo, a Los Angeles Democrat who proposed SB 867, was traveling Thursday and unavailable. His bill passed the Legislature weeks ago on a party-line vote, with Republicans opposed.

California's subsidized child-care system stemmed, in part, from pressures in the 1990s for the state to help welfare mothers re-enter the work force by paying relatives or others to provide care.

The cost of SB 867 was uncertain, but a legislative analysis said the state and federal tab would rise by about $60 million annually if negotiations led to a 5 percent hike in child-care rates.

Wilson countered that SB 867 was crafted to avoid worsening the state's budget crisis. It specifically excluded reimbursement rates from being negotiated in the first contract, he said.

Supporters of SB 867 said it would bolster a vital program that suffers from extreme turnover – an estimated 30 percent to 40 percent annually – because providers typically work more than 60 hours per week for annual salaries of less than $16,000.

Opponents countered that granting collective bargaining rights would cost taxpayers more for less care. They argued that SB 867 would also allow providers to be charged union fees and would limit opportunities for non-union competition.

"The bottom line is that the state would have spent millions more for fewer services," said state Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks.

About the writer:

• Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538.