Fresno Bee Logo

Editorial: Lawmaker’s favor for labor hamstrings UC | The Fresno Bee

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • Advertise
    • Place Classified Ad
    • Display Advertising
    • Stay Connected
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • E-mail
    • RSS Feeds
    • Archives
    • Activate Digital Subscription
    • Manage Account
    • Newsletters

    • News
    • Local
    • Crime
    • Weather
    • Education
    • Marijuana
    • California
    • Nation/World
    • Databases
    • Special Reports
    • Obituaries
    • Sports
    • High Schools
    • Outdoors
    • Grizzlies
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • College
    • Columnists
    • David White
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The California Influencer Series
    • Political Notebook
    • Fresno State Bulldogs
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Entertainment
    • Calendar
    • Movies
    • Movie Times
    • Music
    • TV
    • Theater & Arts
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Dine Out
    • Peoples Choice
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Beehive
    • Rory Appleton
    • Joshua Tehee
    • Living
    • Food & Drink
    • Calendar
    • Religion
    • Horoscopes
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Beehive
    • Bethany Clough
    • Carmen George
    • Fresno Famous
    • Ask Amy
    • Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Technology
    • Mortgage Rates
    • Blogs
    • BoNhia Lee
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Valley Voices
    • Other Opinions
    • Submit a Letter
    • Columnists
    • Armen Bacon
    • Victor Davis Hanson
    • David "Mas" Masumoto
    • Marek Warszawski
    • Today's Obituaries
    • Place an Obituary
  • CV Magazine
  • Peoples Choice Awards
  • Best of Clovis
    • Today's Hot Deal
    • Today's Circulars
    • Classifieds
    • Auctions/Estate Sales
    • Garage Sales
    • Real Estate
    • New Homes Map
    • Jobs
    • Automotive
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Legal Notices
    • Service Directory
    • Classified
    • Open House Weekend
    • Real Estate Marketplace

    • Jobs
    • Fresno Bee Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
    • Search Real Estate
    • New Homes Map
  • Mobile & Apps

Editorials

Editorial: Lawmaker’s favor for labor hamstrings UC

BY THE BEE EDITORIAL BOARD

    ORDER REPRINT →

August 26, 2015 10:55 AM

Last month, after a battle royal for more state funding, the University of California announced an unexpected gift for workers – a $15 minimum wage.

UC President Janet Napolitano had testified for months that the university’s budget was stretched to bursting. Now, suddenly, the university had $14 million to spend on raises.

If the money seemed to come out of left field, its origins were standard – political pressure. Organized labor long had complained that the university, among other state institutions, uses too many outsourced low-wage workers.

So Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens – a friend of labor and critic of Napolitano – carried a bill for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the university’s largest union, to effectively push the UC to officially hire large numbers of so-called “contract” employees.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Fresno Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Senate Bill 376 would ban the university from outsourcing full-time jobs to companies that don’t match UC pay and benefits for comparable employment. The union estimates the proposal would increase UC’s labor costs by about $9.1 million, and improve health care and other benefits for about 650 full-time custodians, groundskeepers, caterers and other workers.

UC officials say the impact is far broader and the price tag on SB 376 is more like $36 million – no small expense for a university that turns away thousands of qualified students. Hence the effort to head it off with the minimum wage.

Napolitano’s gambit should have been enough for the moment. We’re all for improving the lot of low-wage workers. Some contract employers exploit people to the point that they end up on Medi-Cal and food stamps, so that taxpayers keep money in one pocket but spend it out of another. The state ought not be in the business of prolonging poverty.

But Californians also want UC to hold down tuition and increase in-state enrollment, and there is only so much money to go around. Given the many marching orders state lawmakers have given Napolitano, the UC minimum wage seems like a good first step and a win-win. Fifteen bucks an hour may not be enough, but it isn’t nothing. And no one seems to have good numbers on the impact.

So why is SB 376 still hanging on? The unions already have a partial victory. The bill is pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is chaired by Lara, a Gov. Jerry Brown ally who has been just a little too gleeful in his impulse to continue punishing Napolitano. State lawmakers may be offended by her persistence and tactics. And we’re not impressed by her inability to pare UC’s rising number of $200,000-plus administrative employees.

But continuing the rancor of the budget season is pointless, and this bill singles out and hamstrings the University of California. If lawmakers want to address the issue of contract employment, they should do so comprehensively.

  Comments  

Videos

WWII vet recalls sinking of the USS Lexington

Around Donald Trump in the first 100 days

View More Video

Trending Stories

These four chain stores are bankrupt. So what’s next for these Fresno and Clovis retailers?

February 20, 2019 09:30 AM

‘The four lettered word that begins with S and ends with NOW’ could be hitting Valley

February 20, 2019 02:48 PM

Male nurse rubbed his genitals against female patient. Saint Agnes settles lawsuit

February 20, 2019 06:00 AM

Why is the American flag hanging upside down on a downtown Fresno building?

February 19, 2019 05:19 PM

Gavin Newsom’s housing lawsuit put 47 California cities on notice. Is yours on the list?

February 19, 2019 12:00 AM

Read Next

Nasreen Johnson is the best choice for north Fresno on county Board of Supervisors

Editorials

Nasreen Johnson is the best choice for north Fresno on county Board of Supervisors

By The Fresno Bee Editorial Board

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 15, 2019 02:45 PM

The editorial board of The Fresno Bee is endorsing Nasreen Johnson in the special election on March 5, 2019, for Fresno County, California, Board of Supervisors, filling the seat left by Andreas Borgeas.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Fresno Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE EDITORIALS

Editorials

#BulldogBornBulldogBred is a popular hashtag. Here is what to add to that: BulldogBacker

February 12, 2019 10:35 AM
Three words change the fate of high-speed rail, and with it, the Valley’s future

Editorials

Three words change the fate of high-speed rail, and with it, the Valley’s future

February 12, 2019 02:44 PM
Bee Editor Joe Kieta answers reader questions about online commenting, staff hiring

Editorials

Bee Editor Joe Kieta answers reader questions about online commenting, staff hiring

February 08, 2019 01:28 PM
New jobs or good planning? Fresno can have both in proposed industrial park

Editorials

New jobs or good planning? Fresno can have both in proposed industrial park

February 06, 2019 09:59 AM
Monarchs are disappearing, yet California has not listed them as endangered. Why not?

Opinion

Monarchs are disappearing, yet California has not listed them as endangered. Why not?

February 01, 2019 03:57 PM

Editorials

To solve California’s housing crisis, the state and cities must aim for the same goal

February 01, 2019 09:46 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

The Fresno Bee App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Rewards
  • Pay Your Bill
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Advertising with the Bee
  • Place Classified Ads
  • Local Deals
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story