Yesterday I wrote (LINK) that Andy Furillo, a Bee reporter, substituted his editorial view for 'news' in an article (LINK) that suggested that the California Correctional Peace Officers Association had made a contribution to the campaign against Prop 11 in return for Pro Tem Perata's support for prison guard pay raise bill.

Furillo took exception. He said that a more attentive reading of his story would have - in his words - "made it pretty clear that no pay raise bill had been introduced" (see first sentence, 10th graph of his article). Furillo is quite right. But so was I.

Before you get to "graph 10", Furillo writes that "Jeannine English of the AARP along with Governor Schwarzenegger and groups such as Common Cause called the CCPOA contribution shameful. "For CCPOA to be trying to buy off Senator Perata so they will get a huge pay increase is appalling", English said…

This week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that will bring the pay of nurses at the Veterans Home of California at Yountville to the same level as their counterparts at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

"We're very excited that it's happening, and we're very excited that it passed," said Jody Price, public information officer for the Vets Home. "They're deserving of it …and I'm excited that it's happening for them."
The bill is co-authored by state Senator Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa.

A member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Wiggins requested the California State Auditor conduct a top-to-bottom review of the Vets Home after she received numerous complains about hospital care last year…

California's prison guards union, which has been without a labor contract for 21 months, is going to court to force the state back to the bargaining table. The unusual legal maneuvering is an end-run around the Public Employment Relations Board, which earlier rejected an attempt by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association to get the state to resume negotiations. But the 30,500-member CCPOA said PERB's denial paved the way for the prison officers to seek other legal remedies, including a Superior Court suit. The geographic region of the suit has not yet been determined.

The state Department of Personnel Administration, which represents the governor in negotiating collective bargaining agreements with state employee unions, made its final offer to the union in September 2007 and does not plan to resume talks…

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to release tens of thousands of prisoners before they've served their full sentences to save money. The Legislature isn't inclined to hand him the cell keys. The governor advocates turning felons loose on the street without parole supervision. The Legislature is thinking they should be kept on a leash.

Schwarzenegger has proposed giving prison guards a 5% pay hike. Not now, say legislators — not while he's freezing benefits for welfare moms and for the impoverished aged, blind and disabled. Not when he's cutting back on doctor fees for treating the poor and whacking schools. There are major policy disputes between the Schwarzenegger administration, the prison guards union and lawmakers of both parties…

Lynelle Jolley, DPA spokeswoman, said the state needs to get an officers' contract signed. "We've tried bargaining, we've tried mediation - we'd try therapy if we thought the LAO would think it would help," Jolley said. Beyond that, Jolley said the DPA had no comment other than that "We stand by our offer (of a 5-percent raise)…"

The Legislative Analyst's Office has recommended that the Legislature reject Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to give the prison officers' union a 5 percent pay raise this year at a cost of $260 million. In a report released today, Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill said that the 30,000 employees represented by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association already make enough money, with a base pay for the top-step officer reaching to approximately $73,000 a year…

After talks failed to produce a replacement for a prison guard contract that expired in July 2006, the administration imposed its "last, best and final" offer under a rarely used law. The tactic allowed the administration to change disputed work rules that were a sticking point in contract talks. The administration said the work rules obstructed prison management, but the union said they protected guards. Now the administration needs legislation for a 5 percent pay raise package in its final offer, estimated to cost $260 million. The analyst recommended that the Legislature reject the administration's pay raise plan…