Assistance sought from California's Office of the Attorney General

Dear Attorney General Jerry Brown,

We the undersigned are requesting that your agency review the actions of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with respect to his recent attempts to coerce state employees during the bargaining process by seeking to impose the payment of minimum wage on those who did not accept his demands.   Although the mechanics of implementation is now being reviewed by the courts, the actions of the Governor warrant investigation by your agency.

The law allowing for payment of minimum wage is not in question, but how the law was used by the Governor to manipulate the collective bargaining process is.  We are asking that you to review his actions to ensure he has not abused his authority as Governor.  

A complaint filed on July 21, 2010, with the Public Employment Relations Board by the California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges, And Hearing Officers in State Employment (CASE) alleges acts of "coercion" on the part of the governor. The document can be found at http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/100721%20CASE%20UPL%20filing%20with%20PER.pdf

We the undersigned share some or all of the observations stated in their complaint document.  We are seeking your assistance because we believe such actions on the part of the Governor falls under your jurisdiction.  We ask that you specifically review the following:

How, when, where, and to whom, was it communicated that state employees could be exempt from the minimum wage law if they had met conditions set forth by the Governor?  We request that you review relevant memos from Department heads, letters from union bargaining teams sent to their members, current tentative agreements obtained by some of the bargaining units and relevant news reports quoting both the Governor and Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) officials on this matter.

At some point, the attempted payment of minimum wage was selectively imposed on those who did not meet the demands of the Governor. We, the undersigned, found ourselves bargaining under duress.

What mechanisms are currently in place for communicating to state employees the constitutional provision that they could be paid minimum wage during budget impasse? This information is not being articulated with other terms of compensation in any contractual documents.  In order to properly advise their bargaining team, state employees need to be properly informed of all conditions for compensation.

As budget impasse is a regularly recurring event, it seems reasonable to expect the articulation of this condition for full compensation, upheld in 2003 (White vs Davis), to be included in with all contract language to ensure employees are properly informed even before excepting employment with the state of California. A survey of Memorandum of Understanding documents on the DPA webpage shows no evidence of such language.  

This calls into the question the validity of the current bargaining session, including tentative agreements. Some chose not to bargain once they realized they were in a hostile, unlawful situation. They are now being penalized by being subjected to furloughs and the possibility of minimum wage payment if the courts allow.

The Governor has said he will veto any bill drafted for purpose of continuous appropriations of funds for payment of state employees during budget impasse. In other words. only those who accept the Governor's proposals shall be exempt from the minimum wage law, even if the legislature approves a lawful remedy to ensure full payment to all state employees during budget impasse.  

We ask you, is the Governor conducting his duties in a lawful manner?  We believe he is not.

In summary, we request that you review all relevant documents and communications regarding this matter to ensure that our Governor is conducting his duties in accordance with the law.  Thank you for taking the time to consider our request.

Sincerely,

Giorgio Cosentino (Employee of the State of California) and the undersigned