Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday vetoed a major labor-backed bill that would have allowed child care workers, including family members, to unionize. The measure was pushed by Democratic leaders in the Legislature and introduced in the final days of the session.
[h=3]Brown explains veto[/h] In vetoing the child care worker bill, AB101, Brown wrote to lawmakers that maintaining quality and affordable child care, along with ensuring fair working conditions are important goals.
"Balancing these objectives, however, as this bill attempts to do, is not easy or free from dispute," the governor wrote in his veto message. "Today, California, like the nation itself is facing huge budget challenges. Given that reality, I am reluctant to embark on a program of this magnitude and potential cost."
Assembly Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, who introduced the bill, said in a statement, "I'm disappointed that AB101 was vetoed. This bill would have given child care workers a voice in their workplace, and I will continue to fight to give them a seat at the table."
[h=3]SEIU 'devastated'[/h] The Service Employees International Union, a major backer of the measure, responded by releasing a statement from child care provider Tonia McMillian of Bellflower in Los Angeles County, that said, "We are profoundly devastated by today's news" and went on to add, "Child care providers - nearly 80,000 throughout California - desperately needed this legislation so that we could improve our lives and the lives of the families we serve."
Similar bills were passed by the Legislature but vetoed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2004. Critics had panned the measure by invoking images of grandparents and teenage babysitters forming unions.
The bill would have allowed the workers to organize into a union and collectively bargain with the state for licensing regulations, benefits, reimbursement rates and payment processes for subsidy programs and access to nutritional programs, among other things.
Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale (Butte County), was one of the most outspoken critics of the measure as it made its way through the Legislature, where it passed on party-line votes. He commended Brown for the veto as he said a unionized workforce could drive up child care costs.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/05/BAUQ1LDCGN.DTL
[h=3]Brown explains veto[/h] In vetoing the child care worker bill, AB101, Brown wrote to lawmakers that maintaining quality and affordable child care, along with ensuring fair working conditions are important goals.
"Balancing these objectives, however, as this bill attempts to do, is not easy or free from dispute," the governor wrote in his veto message. "Today, California, like the nation itself is facing huge budget challenges. Given that reality, I am reluctant to embark on a program of this magnitude and potential cost."
Assembly Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, who introduced the bill, said in a statement, "I'm disappointed that AB101 was vetoed. This bill would have given child care workers a voice in their workplace, and I will continue to fight to give them a seat at the table."
[h=3]SEIU 'devastated'[/h] The Service Employees International Union, a major backer of the measure, responded by releasing a statement from child care provider Tonia McMillian of Bellflower in Los Angeles County, that said, "We are profoundly devastated by today's news" and went on to add, "Child care providers - nearly 80,000 throughout California - desperately needed this legislation so that we could improve our lives and the lives of the families we serve."
Similar bills were passed by the Legislature but vetoed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2004. Critics had panned the measure by invoking images of grandparents and teenage babysitters forming unions.
The bill would have allowed the workers to organize into a union and collectively bargain with the state for licensing regulations, benefits, reimbursement rates and payment processes for subsidy programs and access to nutritional programs, among other things.
Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale (Butte County), was one of the most outspoken critics of the measure as it made its way through the Legislature, where it passed on party-line votes. He commended Brown for the veto as he said a unionized workforce could drive up child care costs.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/05/BAUQ1LDCGN.DTL
