Next CA Senate leader supports equal pay for equal work--for LEGISLATORS

As part of their deal with Arnold on the budget, California legislators may be cutting their salaries, but only of those starting a new term this year, not those in the middle of a term, so three-fourths would get the cut and one-fourth wouldn't.

Wow, an arbitrary difference in pay scales not based on qualifications or work done, but strictly as a cost saving measure--who would allow something like that?

Not the California legislature, at least not when THEIR six figure incomes are at stake.

Will legislators now finally be as outraged about part time community college faculty being paid as little as 25% as much as their full time counterparts with the same qualifications to teach the exact same classes?

Part time faculty make up three-fourths of those who teach community college, but our hours are capped in any one district so we have to patch several jobs together to make a living, and unlike state legislators, it doesn't add up to six figures or often even include health insurance.

For 40 years, the California legislature has allowed this discrimination to persist, and hasn't changed the law that allows it, but only passed toothless resolutions that changed little to nothing.

Now that California legislators have had a taste of pay discrimination, will they take more forceful action to end it against community college educators?

The legislator quoted in the piece as opposing unequal pay, Sen. Darrell Steinberg, is scheduled to be a leader in the Senate.

Write him a letter, thanking him for supporting the concept of equal pay for equal work, tell him you look forward to his quick, real action on this for part time faculty who have been discriminated against for 40 years with the legislature's approval, and not just resolutions of intentions to do nothing.

Email contact page for CA state Darrell Steinberg

Since legislators filter out emails that aren't from their constituents, you may want to snail mail, fax, or call him:

Phone: (916) 651-4006
Fax: (916) 323-2263

Capitol Office State Capitol, Room 4035 Sacramento, CA 95814

District Office 1020 N Street, #576 Sacramento, CA 95814

North Highlands District Office 5722 Watt Avenue North Highlands, CA 95660

You should also write your own state legislators and let them know you share their pain. You can find out who represents you and how to contact them HERE.

This is also worth a letter to the paper legislators read and that ran the story, the Sacramento Bee.

Sacramento Bee Letter Submissions

KEY EXCERPTS:

This story is taken from Sacbee / News / AP State News.
Most California legislators could be hit with pay cut
By STEVE LAWRENCE - Associated Press Writer
Published 12:09 pm PDT Sunday, June 8, 2008

Some California legislators might claim to be victims of pay discrimination if the commission that sets state elected officials' salaries decides this week to impose its first pay cut.

But Jim Evans, a spokesman for Sen. Darrell Steinberg, the Sacramento Democrat who is scheduled to become the Senate's top leader later this year, said a proposal to cut some legislators' salaries but not others "would seem to violate an equal-pay-for-equal-work standard and would be seen as inherently unfair."

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