Monday, October 27, 2003

California Spending Plan 2003-04 a new report by the Legislative Analyst's Office   The Legislature was faced with addressing an enormous two-year General Fund budget shortfall in developing the state's spending plan for 2003-04. This LAO report discusses the factors underlying this shortfall, describes the key actions taken to address it, and provides detail on the adopted budget package. (74pp.)   Available in the following formats:   HTML: http://www.lao.ca.gov/2003/spend_plan_03/1003_spend_plan_toc.html Adobe Acrobat: http://www.lao.ca.gov/2003/spend_plan_03/spending_plan_03-04.pdf 4:12:49 PM    comment []

HEERA Pocket Guide For Higher Education Employers, Employees, and Unions The California Public Employee Relations Program, at the University of California at Berkeley, announces publication of the first edition of the Pocket Guide to the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act, prepared by CPER Director Carol Vendrillo, Ritu Ahuja, and Carolyn Leary. The Guide is a handy resource to the act passed more than two decades ago that has governed collective bargaining at the University of California and the California State University systems. Included is the full text of the act, an easy-to-read explanation of how the law works, its history, and how it fits in with other labor relations laws. The Guide explains the enforcement procedures of the Public Employment Relations Board; analyzes all important PERB decisions and court cases (by topic) that interpret and apply the law; and contains a useful index, glossary of terms, and table of cases. Portable, readable, and affordable, Pocket Guide to the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act is valuable as both a current source of information and a training tool — for administrators, human resource and labor relations personnel, faculty, and union representatives and their members. Copies are $15 each, and a substantial discount is available for bulk orders. Order through the University of California Press Journals, 2000 Center St., Ste. 303, Berkeley, CA 94704-1223; email jorders@ucpress.ucop.edu; or visit the CPER website at http://cper.berkeley.edu. For rush orders, call 510/643-7154. Visa and Mastercharge are accepted. The California Public Employee Relations Program, established in 1969, is a community service of the Institute of Industrial Relations, at U.C. Berkeley. Its purpose is to provide non-adversarial, accurate information on a regular basis to all persons involved in employment relations at all levels of government in California. CPER is the only source of comprehensive data in the field. In addition to its Pocket Guide Series, CPER publishes the bimonthly journal, CPER. For a complete list of publications, call (510) 643-7092 or visit http://cper.berkeley.edu. 2:34:44 PM    comment []

Summary for week of October 20, 2003 In News learn about how 300 undocumented workers were arrested at Wal-Marts and how testimony during a Congressional hearing on the 'offshoring' of high-skill jobs urged corporate tax breaks. There is also an update about EU officials who visited UC Berkeley to discuss progress on the REACH initiative, which culminates more than five years of debate among EU countries. Under REACH, chemical manufacturers and importers would be required to gather and report the quantity, uses and potential health effects of approximately 30,000 chemicals. There is also an item about mechanics for the nation's third-largest public transportation system going on strike in Los Angeles for the second time in three years and how new work safety rules and beefed-up enforcement have failed to reduce the death toll in China's mines and factories so far this year.  In Resources there is news of an Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety and Health developed by the Center to Protect Workers' Rights. 10:09:12 AM    comment []

Copyright 2003 Lincoln Cushing