In 1977, California’s then-governor Jerry Brown gave California’s government workers the ability to hold California taxpayers hostage by giving them the “right” to collective bargaining.
via the SEIU:
That landmark legislation – signed into law in 1977 by then-governor Jerry Brown – granted state employees the right to belong to organizations that would serve as their exclusive representative in contractual negotiations over wages, hours and other conditions in the workplace.
Nearly four decades later, an older governor Brown is finding himself between a union rock and a taxpayer hard place.
With unions threatening to strand 400,000 commuters by striking the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) for the second time this summer, Brown is stating that he seek a 60-day cooling off period.
Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday he will ask for a court-ordered cooling-off period if Bay Area Rapid Transit and its worker unions do not resolve their contract dispute by Sunday.
If BART and its unions can’t come to an agreement over the next two days, Brown said he will ask San Francisco Superior Court to enforce a 60-day cooling-off period. BART workers would not be able to strike within those 60 days.
“I urge all parties to think of the public and resolve this matter without delay, but if there’s no resolution by Sunday, I will seek a 60-day cooling-off period,” Brown said in a statement.
