The California prison guards union is in the news again, this time threatening to recall the Governator. That might be a worthy cause but their stated reasons for this are typically parochial:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D932POD00.htm -------------------------------------snip The union also criticized Schwarzenegger for not exempting its members from an executive order intended to reduce pay for tens of thousands of state employees to deal with the state's budget crisis. Mike Jimenez, president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said the governor should have allowed overtime pay for prison guards during the budget crisis. Many guards increase their salaries significantly with overtime. This is the same union that has in the past aligned itself with the for-profit prison companies in lobbying for senseless laws like the California 3-Strikes Law ("The Prison Guards Employment Assurance Act") because it is in the selfish short-term interests of its members. Even those with radical ideas who are naturally inclined to support working-class organizations find this union's politics quite repulsive. http://www.law.stanford.edu/program/centers/scjc/workingpapers/BCarassco-wp4_06.pdf http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/htCaliforniaPrisonUnion.htm -------------------------------------snip The California Prison system is the third largest penal system in the country, costing $5.7 billion dollars a year and housing over 161,000 inmates. Since 1980 the number of California prisons has tripled and the number of inmates has jumped significantly. In the past few years controversies involving prison expansion, sky-rocketing costs, and claims of mismanagement and inmate abuse have put the California prison system under heightened public scrutiny. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) is the California prison guards' union. In recent years the CCPOA has become a major player in California politics. Its political influence has grown to the point that it is widely considered to be one of the most powerful political forces in Sacramento. Its lobbying efforts and campaign contributions have greatly facilitated the passage of legislation favorable to union members. The CCPOA takes the position that correctional personnel perform a vital public service that puts them under great danger and stress, and therefore makes no apologies for its aggressive promotion of member interests and its high-profile role in California correctional policy. CCPOA's critics argue that the union has become too powerful in California politics, that it has used its power to unfair advantage, and that it has been an impediment to constructive debate and openness about the state of California prisons. -raghu. -- Do unto others BEFORE they do unto you!
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