In Budget Showdown, Schwarzenegger Threatens Minimum Wage for State Employees

My husband is a correctional officer at San Quentin. He risks his life every day for the pay he receives. We were already cut by having 3 furloughs a month and he still had to work. We are a family of 4 and just bought our first house. We will not be able to afford our payment and then what happens? Is the Governor Stupid? Yes! Why are the state employees suffering for something we have no control over. If the minimum wage thing passes we will have people having to possibly go on welfare (state would have to pay for that. You are going to have more issues then the ones you have now. Why did we just build a hospital at San Quentin? Why did we just hire 69 new guards at San Quentin if you can't afford to pay the ones who have been there 10+ years. Governor you are going to drive people out of this state and then what?

Tammy Hamer of CA 2:34PM July 16, 2010

Wow .. To the people who are putting down state employees.. My husband is a nurse at the prision . He took a paycut from a private sector to be able to get onto state to have a more secure job for his family . We have a family of five and we just bought our first house . This min. wage drop would put us in a very bad situation . We would not be able to pay our morgatge , not be able to pay much else at all. Plus we have a 1000 dollar deductable for doctor . So that would also mean no going to doctor . My husband works 10 hour long ,hard shifts and made more when contracted.

so .. to the people who r complaing that state workers should suck it up . Lets cut your wages ,when you have 3 kids at home ,house payment and then u can tell me to suck it up !!!!

lisa of CA 10:31AM July 08, 2010

I don't know what government you work for (Edwin of CA with regards to "The Inside Skinny from a Government Worker.") You sound like a "government" worker but not one who works for the State of California. Let me tell you about the state workers I work with. I work for the only maximum security mental health hospital in the state. The majority of us work 5 8-hour shifts a week. Very few get Saturdays and Sundays off, and when we show up to work, we never know if we might be mandated to work an extra 8 before we can go home. If one of our patients blackens our eye or spits in our face, it is merely a misdemeanor, and we are not allowed to fight back. Many of our patients have been convicted of horrific crimes including murder, rape, lewd and lascivious acts on children, etc., and we show up daily to assist them with the demons in their minds that they struggle with.

Just several days ago, one patient put several heavy books in a pillow case and went after an employee, perhaps thinking she was some evil from the past, hit her across the face and as she crumpled to the floor, continued to pummel her until others could come to her assistance. She is one of many who take great pride in her work and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yes, she and the rest of us have a decent pension, it's called safety pay for the hazards we endure in our profession.

We are strictly nurses, seeking to help others. A friend of mine, also a nurse, worked at our hospital for almost 2 years before she was assaulted and, due to the emotional trauma, had to leave the facility. She currently works part time at a local community hospital, of the "private sector" and makes almost as much as she did when working for the state.

It's unfortunate that people like you have to spout information that is incorrect. I am sure you are not one of the 200,000 who will bring home a check based on the federal minimum wage, as you sit in your easy chair eating peeled seedless grapes.

Shame on you!

Kelly of CA 12:31AM July 02, 2010

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