William – Page 73 – Really Right

Hopes for President Trump

This week, we will experience the end of an error and a new beginning. Yes after eight years of Barack Obama a new chapter in American history will begin. As with all beginnings there is both uncertainty and high hopes for President Trump. Unlike Obama and his imperial declarations of unilateral executive authority, Trump has the possibility of lasting change by having his wishes turned into law by the Legislative branch of government. Not since Ronald Reagan, has anyone holding the office been so willing to bypass both the media and Congress and take his case for action directly to the American people. Trump will have the power to cause permanent changes in both political parties by being successful.

Unlike the Contract with America and Speaker Newt Gingrich, Trump has longer term goals for the country than merely 100 days. The economic picture has been so obfuscated by Obama and to some extent George W Bush before him, that both danger and opportunity will be encountered. Obama has been cooking the books thru “Quantitative Easing” and manipulation of economic data such as unemployment statistics. The plight of the American worker is the worst it has been since the 1930’s but the difference is less honest politicians and a greater willingness to print money and finance the status quo with debt. Medicare is expected to become insolvent during the Trump years and no one has been willing to fix it. Thankfully Trump has the backbone to at least try for more than a Band-Aid solution. Cutting corporate taxes and repatriation of money that US companies are warehousing overseas will be a great boon to the economy. Trump’s tough stance on trade is needed. Proposals like the Trans Pacific Partnership and its 6,000 pages of nonsense are ridiculously complex and unintelligible even for its advocates to understand.

The legacy of the Supreme Court will be the one that Liberals will hate the most. They can’t get most of their ideas thru the legislatures of the several states or the Federal government so the legislative power of the courts has been their “go-to” play. Trump must not only put folks on the Federal Bench but realign the courts. The dreaded Ninth Circuit Appellate Court must be dismantled so the only the Left Coast states are under their sway. Look for some “out of the box” proposals to be made in this area.

To me, the Courts don’t have to overturn Roe v Wade. If the government would be prohibited from spending any public money on abortion and family planning then groups like Planned Parenthood would be irrelevant. Abortions are at an all-time low. The people that regard abortion as the Sacrament of the religion of Feminism are literally dying-off or at least beyond child bearing years. Yes, Roe needs to be overturned but I think that will be a lagging indicator not the first domino to fall.

Protecting religious liberty will be a mixed bag under Trump but the hostility against Christianity that Obama fostered will mostly be undone. Marriage will be the area to watch. I look for the social engineering of the military including its hostility to Christianity and promotion of LGBT junk to go away…for the most part. I think you will see states like California going to war against Christians while the national government stands with people of faith. The threat of withholding Federal Funds will win the day…for now.

Many of us sense that this is the last chance we will be given before following Europe into the abyss. The America of Norman Rockwell is gone; will it continue on the path into socialism (international or national) or find a way to continue to be Reagan’s “city on the hill” for the rest of the world. If Trump doesn’t undo the damage of the baby boomers and show the next generation a better way than doubling down on the narcissism of their parents then the American Experiment has truly ended as an abysmal failure.

Lastly, I predict that the biggest obstacle that Trump faces will be Republicans undermining him. If they thwart his legislative priorities, look for Trump to run a slate of candidates against these incumbents in two years.

Christmas 2016

This past weekend, we celebrated Christmas. It was the most enjoyable one I can recall in many years.

My weekend started Friday afternoon by getting sent home early from work. This year it was two o’clock. This is the earliest that I can recall being dismissed. Of course the drive home was a cakewalk. I arrived home to be greeted by my wife and son. We had a nice dinner and watched a Christmas movie.

The next day we went and visited some dogs that needed a home. While my son hasn’t gotten his dog yet, he knows that mom and dad are willing to get him one when the time is right. Later we had dinner with grandpa and grandma. My son got to open many gifts from his grandparents. The evening went well and my dad’s prime rib was good. We drove home—well mostly. I had the wife dump me out of the car at California Family Fitness and I walked the rest of the way home—too many calories at grandma’s. After I got home, we went to bed ready for Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day, my son was up at his usual time of 6 AM. He played on his computer until mom had breakfast ready. We ate breakfast and then went to see what was under the Christmas tree. We opened our gifts, loaded up the car and then headed to church.

Our church was closed on Christmas. Yeah, I know that’s kind of weird but it’s the pitfall of not owning your own building. There was nobody around to let us into our usual place so we had to meet elsewhere. After many false starts, a few days before Christmas, our pastor decided that we should crash the service at Christ the King in Roseville. The service there was glorious and we got to see many people that we haven’t seen in many years. The Communion portion of the service was my favorite. They had really great homemade bread and port wine. Since this is a meal with Christ, typically you get a big handful of bread and each family gets their own glass of wine. I even got seconds on the wine. Yummy.

We then went home and got ready for our lone guest for Christmas dinner; my sister-in-law. More prime rib. (I don’t mind, the turkey is being served when the child in the military gets home next weekend.)

Since Christmas was on a Sunday this year, Monday was a holiday. My day started by stepping on the scale and amazingly enough, I had lost my final two pounds for the year! Yes, I stepped off and got back on the scale just to check. It was official; I lost 50 pounds in 2016.

After breakfast, we went to look at pet supplies and accessories in anticipation of getting our son a dog. Then I took the family to lunch. (Mr. X had dibs on lunch but had to take the wife shopping so he took a raincheck.) We then went home for a while.

Mid-afternoon I had the crazy idea to go swimming. The wife and I suited-up and headed for Cal-Fit. However, it turns-out that the pool heater has been dead for a while. I can’t understand how a solar heater is broken when the sun works just fine but the water temp was definitely in the 50’s. The wife headed for the hot tub and I endured the cold water for about 15 minutes of laps and then hit the hot tub as well. After about 35 minutes we were on our way home for a warm shower and dry clothes. I did some laundry and then did some chores around the house.

After dinner and a prolonged computer project—which I may blog about later—I went for a walk to get the rest of my steps for the day. I was glad because I figured it would be the last chance to see all the lights in the neighborhood until next year.

Truly it was a good Christmas. I hope yours was as well.

Thoughts as We Near Christmas

Normally I don’t get so personal on this blog but this time of the year, isn’t that—at least in part—what Christmas is about; preparing for Christ and what He is doing in your life?

This last month or so I have been experiencing many changes in my life.

First two friends have died rather unexpectedly.

At Thanksgiving time, I learned that Bishop Royal Grote had died.

Bp. Grote was based in Texas and for much of the time that I knew him, he was in charge of the Missionary Diocese of the West for the Reformed Episcopal Church. Bishop Grote was a fine man. He smoked cigars on important occasions, enjoyed adult beverages and loved the Lord. He was charitable with other believers and tried to be the best shepherd that he could for his flock. He took his vows of marriage and to serve God very seriously. He jealously guarded The Table from error and those living in it. Only once did I see him discipline a minister in his charge (although I am aware of other occasions). He acted firmly and decisively when needed. Like it or not, Grote was also instrumental in the formation of the ACNA (Anglican Church in North America). Grote hoped this organization would be an umbrella group to unite various splinter groups fleeing the heresy of the Anglican Church.
Link: Wikipedia Royal U Grote Jr.

A week later, another friend—George Fincke—also died.

George was also ordained a Bishop in the REC. George started out as the son of a Presbyterian minister in Cape May, New Jersey. He attended college at Bob Jones University and occasionally made life there a living hell for the Jones’. He attended college there in the 1970’s. While a student, George did a play at Bob Jones that was a parody of the original Star Trek. In the play, Spock was replaced by Bob Jones and the results, while hilarious, were unsatisfactory to Mr. Jones and his family. George also admitted to putting laundry detergent in the water fountain at the college’s main gate and creating a layer of foam three feet high in the fountain. He had a wonderful sense of humor and maintained a friendship with Bob Jones Jr. who was also a student there when he was.

Later George attended the Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Philadelphia and spent the next twelve years in the Presbyterian Church. Finally, he “saw the light” and moved to the Reformed Episcopal Church. I met George when he was recruited by Bishop Grote to be the minister of the parish in Vacaville California. At the time, many people were hoping to recruit Ray Sutton as their pastor but Grote had other plans for Sutton.

George and I became good friends. While in Vacaville, George suffered a stroke. He had to learn to speak again and also to walk. I spent many hours at his home during this time. That was 16 years ago. George had been made a Bishop about two years before the stroke but his life changed when this happened. He was effectively stripped of his duties and became a Bishop without a flock. It was an awkward period. Once he was recovered enough to resume preaching, he was transferred to Fargo North Dakota. Despite many years of labor, the Mission in Fargo faded away and about two years ago, George moved to Prescott Arizona and took a church there. At this point he transferred from the REC to the Anglican Provence of America.
Link: All Saints Prescott, AZ

It was a fresh start for his family and much closer to his grandchildren. Two months before he died, he and his wife had finally purchased a home in Prescott.

I miss his emails and posts on Facebook; mostly his wonderful friendship and sense of humor. He always was laughing and enjoyed life.

I have another friend that is in the last stages of his life and will soon go to his reward. Unlike the other two that I mentioned, he hasn’t made his peace with God. Should you happen to see this post Frank, I’m praying for you to find the peace that only Jesus Christ can give you.

Also in the last month, the wife and I decided to pull our son from the private school that he has been attending for the last 8 ½ years and send him to a different school. The academic rigor is not there this year and the mandatory purchase of an Apple product for the second trimester was the beginning of the last chapter there. We had to buy him this device not for learning but so he could play even more games than he already does at home. Now he can play games at school too. It was time to go.

Back in November, the oldest child moved out. We are enjoying the relative peace and quiet. This move has provided us with the opportunity to do lots of cleaning and organizing. The biggest beneficiaries so far are Goodwill and Ikea.

Adding to this cleaning opportunity is the weight that my wife and I have lost this year. I’m back to where I was in my 20’s and the wife will be there soon if she survives the Holidays. (-:

Our first trip to Goodwill this fall was over one hundred clothing items, many that still had tags on them. This has been followed-up by several more trips.

Lastly, I was given a promotion at work. God is good and we keep pushing that Dave Ramsey snowball down the hill. A debt-free scream is still in our future but we’re getting there.

I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas.

Thanks Mr. X for your contributions this year. I hope to see you at the salsa bar real soon.

SEIU Releases Settlement Framework

…and now for the rest of the story

No pay increase for 2016-17
No withholding of extra money for retiree medical on January 1, 2017

Where is the State offered 12 percent and the Union wanted 22?

9.2 percent net increase over 4 years and $2,500 signing bonus!

This type of pay increase is more inline with reality but these are hardly the numbers used previously by the media or union.

What is the signing bonus? I’ve heard of incentive pay but this, who knows?

Link: SEIU Tentative Agreement Overview

Notes
The OPEB is the extra money withheld for retiree medical.
Fiscal year is July 1 to June 30

SEIU Strike: Who Blinked?

What We Know So Far
The Service Employees Union International Local 1000 found themselves all dressed up this week and loaded for bear, just itching for a confrontation with the Brown Administration on Monday (12/05) when all of the sudden the Governor pulled the trigger on a preemptive legal maneuver and filed an action against SEIU on Thursday (12/01).

The Brown administration will go to court on Friday to block an unprecedented and potentially disruptive one-day strike next week by California’s largest state employee union.

The California Department of Human Resources confirmed on Thursday that it had filed a request with the Sacramento Superior Court for an injunction against SEIU Local 1000 that would prohibit the union from carrying out the strike or, alternatively, prevent certain “essential employees” from participating in the planned work stoppage.

Local 1000, which represents about 95,000 workers in nine of the state’s 21 bargaining units, announced last week that it would strike on Dec. 5 amid ongoing contract negotiations over a multiyear raise, gender pay inequities and how much members will contribute to their health care plans.

State agencies have warned their employees that the action is illegal because of a no-strike clause in the union’s contract and that they could be subject to discipline if they walk out on Monday. But Local 1000 argues that its strike would be justified because the Brown administration has committed unfair labor practices during bargaining.

CalHR’s request built on a complaint filed earlier in the day by the Public Employment Relations Board regarding approximately 5,900 employees at state prisons, veterans homes, hospitals and centers for the developmentally disabled “whose absence from or refusal to work during the strike may pose an imminent and substantial threat to the health and safety of the public.”

Link: Jerry Brown heads to court to stop state worker strike

Then yesterday, in the early afternoon, the strike was cancelled.

A one-day strike by California’s largest state employee union, set for Monday, has been called off.

In a letter to members Friday, sent shortly after a Sacramento judge postponed a hearing requested by state officials seeking an injunction, SEIU Local 1000 announced that it would not proceed with its unprecedented work stoppage.

Link: California state worker union cancels strike set for Monday

Today the union is saying that they have reached a tentative deal with the State.

After nearly eight months of negotiations, I’m proud to announce that our bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with the state early this morning on a contract we can all be proud of.

Link: Tentative Agreement Reached

The state previously offered a nearly 12 percent salary increase over four years, but SEIU officials say the 3 percent annual raises would be offset by a 3.5 percent employee contribution to retirees’ health care.

Link: California state workers cancel upcoming strike

As you might recall, SEIU was promising a 22 percent, across the board pay increase over four years to its members.

Other things to know
The paychecks issued to State employees this week (12/01) are the last ones for calendar 2016. The final cut-off for any type of pay to count for 2016 in upon us. (The State Controller is pushing to have any remaining payroll issues resolved during the first few days next week.) The W-2 calculations are about to begin. Traditionally, payroll for the year is audited for accuracy of calculations and any payroll adjustments are done. These are traditionally posted to accounting on December 18th. This makes any kind of retroactivity of a pay raise impractical very soon. Since the Union contract expired on June 30, 2016, there are five months of possible retroactivity on the table for negotiators to consider.

So Who Blinked?

Our tentative agreement achieves many of the goals we identified as priorities in four areas: improvements in compensation, professional development, working conditions, and health and safety. At the same time, we protected the hard-earned rights we won during previous negotiations.

We will soon share with you the details of our tentative agreement.

Link: Tentative Agreement Reached

I think the Union blinked. Their message says “improvements in compensation” which translated means we didn’t deliver on 22 percent. Let’s face it, this was totally unrealistic to expect. However, due to the minimum wage hikes supported by unions like SEIU, members at the lower end of the payroll ladder got screwed by the Union. The only question is how badly? It would take more than a 22 percent pay increase for low paid workers just to get to a $5 an hour increase to keep up with the forthcoming hourly wage hike mandated by the State.

As for the State, I think they either lowered the 3.5 percent they were threatening to take from employee pay on January first or they split it over multiple years. Also, they probable agreed to 15 percent over four years instead of the 12 that they were offering.

The retroactivity is one factor that interests me. If so, will it be a special pay run—a literal Christmas bonus for State employees—or just tacked on to a future paycheck or water under the proverbial bridge?

Final Word
However this turns out, State employees are getting a better deal than people in the real world.

Remember that the pay raises discussed as part of the current negotiations with the State and SEIU are separate from the step increases in pay received by government employees. In addition, State employees also get a 5 percent pay raise every year when they pass the anniversary date of their last promotion and they also get a 5 percent pay hike every time they are promoted. (Promotions reset the anniversary date of the 5 percent wage increases.) In reality, many State employees are going to do better than the 22 percent promised by the Union, just not the way they promised it would happen.

Thanks to the taxpayers of California for their generosity during this season of Christmas.

Television Is Bleeding Viewers—Part II: Beware Family Programs

There once was a time when television that was on before 9 PM was “family programming”. Those days are long past. If you have DirecTV or Dish you can catch the later programming three hours earlier in many instances—at least if you reside on the Left Coast. But if that was the extent of my gripes then this blog post would be nonsense.

Sadly, many programs that parents once assumed were ok for children to watch unsupervised are now stealth propaganda shows trying to subvert the beliefs and values you are trying to teach your children. While this complaint has probably been around since I was a wee lad, lately Hollywood has gone from subtlety to in your face and shove it down your throat.

The target of my ire over the last few years has been shows based on comic books. Why, because I like science fiction as a genre and comic books in particular. These have long been the things that young boys tend to gravitate towards. Lately, shows based on comics are very popular. In this discussion, I am excluding those shows targeted at adults like The Walking Dead, Luke Cage, Dare Devil, and Deadpool. Instead I’m talking about Warehouse 13, Marvel’s Agents of Shield, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Star Trek and similar shows.

If any of these titles surprise you then you are not up on current events.

All these programs and many more are pushing homosexual characters; often as normal folks that are good role models. What disturbs me is that these shows are trying to desensitize people—especially youth—to this sinful behavior and attack on the Judeo-Christian roots of Western Culture. If you are a Christian, then you need to recognize that this is a direct attack on you, your family, faith, and your God.

I will now state what many have been trying to avoid. Homosexuality is a sin. It’s acceptance by any culture has been a clear indication of that culture’s impending demise. This is a sin that is repeatedly singled-out in the Bible as one whose practitioners will not be allowed into Heaven—unless they repent. Please note that by definition, repentance requires turning away from sin and turning to what God defines as right. In this particular case that would at the very least mean being delivered from this kind of “lust of the flesh”. Ceasing and desisting of the behavior is not enough, going a different direction is. Scripture is clear that repentance and forgiveness are gifts from God, not something that we have the power to do on our own.

Many other once familiar and family friendly programs are reportedly considering moving to gender-bending characters include Fantastic Beasts (set in the Harry Potter universe), Star Wars and Wonder Woman. However, the show I wish to spend the next few paragraphs on is Supergirl.

Last year, Super Girl debuted on CBS. It was a good show and one that my son really liked. Due to the cost per episode, CBS decided not to renew it. However, CW came along and worked out a deal to pick up the program. It was well known that the budget would be reigned-in. One lead character was written-off in order to achieve fiscal viability. I was fine with this and understand that changes would be made but oh my, the changes.

Part of the premise of the show is that Supergirl was “adopted” and raised by the Danvers family and thus Supergirl has a stepsister. This year, the stepsister was given a love interest; specifically a female CSI character.

Below are a few quotes from a website ecstatic about this character development. Just so I can assure you that the context is not distorted, I’ve included long excerpts of the quotes below.

Season 2 will also be introducing the DC Comics-based Science Police, who deal with metahuman threats. The new character Maggie, an “out and proud detective,” will apparently be representing the agency in National City.
Link: Super Girl adds Characters

Dany: There’s often this misunderstanding (trust me, I wrote about The 100 multiple times, so I know all about it) that LGBTQIA TV watchers just want happy stories for LGBTQIA characters. But what we’re really after is authenticity. We want stories that feel familiar. And since it’s not Reagan 2.0 times just yet, that means something other than “two ladies fall in love and then one of them dies lol.” And the stories of Alex Danvers and Maggie Sawyer provide exactly the kind of refreshingly honest storytelling so many of us have been craving.

Late-in-life coming out stories? Yup. They happen. And that need to embrace all the things at once tends to be chaotic and even a little destructive for anyone who happens to get pulled into the intense gravity of someone figuring out they’re gay for the first time. So I absolutely believe that Alex would be magnetized to the first gay woman to truly open her eyes. And I 100% know that Maggie is right to throw up the defenses and not let Alex in so easily. That uneasy, awkward but beautiful kiss felt so real. I have been there. Gosh, have I been there.

Maybe Alex and Maggie will make it work in the long term. It seems so clear to me that Maggie does have feelings for Alex—that’s why she didn’t rush in like a fool. Maggie is mature enough to know that she wants something real with Alex, and that’s just not in the cards right now.

All of which is pretty emblematic of Supergirl so far this season. Winn and James slowly making moves to be heroes, Mon-El not immediately rushing headlong into danger, M’Gann recognizing J’onn’s need for life-giving blood and weighing her options—there’s so much maturity and depth in these characters. No one is perfect, but they’re all able to recognize the world around them and pivot when they need to.

As much as I love Alex and Maggie’s story, I might love Alex and Kara’s even more. At first I didn’t get why Kara was struggling with Alex coming out, but of course it was because she felt guilty for drawing focus with her own, alien secret. Of course Alex would temporarily get bogged down in the regret of not having seen Alex as she was for so long. And of course Kara figured out what she was feeling, sharing that honesty with Alex as they work together to help Alex work through this huge revelation in her life.

Honestly, after one of the worst weeks in recent history, I think Supergirl was genuinely saving lives tonight. Well done.
Link: Alex comes out

Anyway, gay ladies and queer-bait-but-i’ll-take-it ladies are where it’s at this episode! First you’ve got Maggie and Alex, which, to be fair, as a plot are a little shoe-horned in. Maggie’s almost-death doesn’t take up a lot of emotional space in the midst of all the action, but that’s okay. What really matters is that Alex was there for rescues. Also, Alex has a much better coming out to her mother, thank goodness. After Kara kind of pulled an “it’s all about me, this coming out,” Dr. Danvers not only knew exactly what was happening, she also was quick to let Alex know how special she is and the pride she should feel in who she is. All of which led to Alex telling Maggie that, hey, Alex isn’t just gay for Maggie—she’s gay for every lady. Despite the “well, I almost died, sooo…” reason Maggie gives before finally kissing Alex for real, the more obvious reason this coupledom could actually begin in earnest is because Alex is truly finding herself.
Link: Cyborg Superman

When I found out that CW was going forward with this character development, I told my son that it was likely that we would no longer be watching the show. Last year Supergirl was his favorite. The first two episodes this year were really fun to watch but then the homosexual card was played in episode 3 and mom and I agreed that the show was coming off the DVR. The poor little guy was devastated. He began crying. He wasn’t crying because I’m a mean dad but because something he really liked was purposely destroyed and he would have to give it up. (He already had to give up Boy Scouts due to their abandoning their vow to be morally straight.)

I have killed many shows on the DVR so far this year and a few more will be off of it by the end of the month. One show that I once enjoyed was Gotham. It is an adult show and one my son never got to watch. And yes over the years the character Barbara has been revealed to be bisexual but she was also evil and insane so deviant behavior was part of her character. I tried to fast forward (or mute the volume) thru these parts but then this year they broke new ground that was the proverbial bridge too far. The creators of the show defiled the cannon of Batman lore by making Penguin and Riddler lovers. Yuck. Having grown up with Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin, this was anathema to me.

If NBC wants to put this kind of stuff on their gay channel Bravo and I don’t want to watch it then that’s ok but when the big studios try mainstreaming homosexuality then I’m just not gonna watch. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu are getting my business much more than these guys. Like their nightly news programs did a generation ago, I just can’t trust the big networks to do the right thing.

Oh, while I’m talking about subscription services, CBS just lost a potential subscriber when the new Star Trek announced earlier this week that they were including a homosexual character in the new series. Just for theirs and Paramount’s information, I have faithfully watched every Star Trek TV series and own multiple copies of the movies—except the last one where Sulu now has a baby and male love interest.

The point here is that I’m voting with my wallet and my time.

Oh and just to spite all you people that are angry with me, I just bought the new season of Fixer Upper on Amazon.

Television Is Bleeding Viewers—Part I: The NFL

ESPN reportedly lost over one million viewers in a two month span.
Link: ESPN losses 1,176,000 viewers in two months

Like ESPN, the National Football League (NFL) is bleeding viewers. Like me, many have “cut the cable” and these wizards of entertainment can’t understand why. Well, I’m here to explain it to you. I will use simple words and offend people on both Coasts just by telling the truth.

Today, I want to discuss the NFL’s loss of viewers. Does anybody in the front office ever watch their broadcasts live or just using their DVR? The NFL people have given-up on anything except short term profit, and much to their detriment. Here are some reasons why:

Many NFL games are not even available via broadcast television. They are exclusively carried by ESPN and the NFL Network. As such people like me don’t even have the option to watch Monday Night Football (or its sibling on Thursday). I really miss Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, Don Meredith and the rest.

Many commercials during the broadcast are NC-17 and as such my son doesn’t get to watch the games. The NFL has created barriers between youth and professional football. No wonder soccer is more popular than football.

Who at CBS thinks the Zale’s commercial is ok? You know—the one with two women walking down the aisle after being wed; let alone the barrage of Cialis and Viagra commercials. I want to be entertained when I watch a game on television not constantly embarrassed by what is spewing forth from the New York Studios. I’ve gotten to the point that when this stuff comes on, I have to see who else is in my livingroom and hope it’s not the children. (The Mute button on my remote gets utilized excessively during commercial breaks even when I’m by myself.) Those of us in “fly-over country” don’t need to be exposed to this crap and forced to endure small snippets of societal erosion of our values and attacks on our way of life. It makes me so angry.

Then there is the Colin Kaepernick hatred of America movement. The NFL shouldn’t tolerate this behavior for a millisecond. Kaepernick and his socialist brethren should be fined and benched. PERIOD.
If life here is really so bad—because we don’t have any problem paying black men like you millions of dollars to play a stupid game every winter—then spend some of your millions and find another country because we don’t want you here if you insist acting like a petulant child. I live in the heart of 49er Country but it will be a cold day in Hell before I will root for that team as long as this jerk is in uniform. In fact, I’m still trying to get over being angry at the NFL for the way they treated Tim Tebow.

In Part II, I hope to discuss the hijacking of family programming.

State Response to SEIU Strike

Below is the text of a memo sent to State employees. The memo is dated November 30, 2016

NOTICE OF STRIKE BY SEIU BARGAINING UNIT EMPLOYEES

We want to remind employees of their rights and obligations regarding picketing and job actions. You are permitted to participate in informational picketing if you are doing so on your own time (e.g., before or after work, or if you have been approved for leave).

However, as a reminder, job actions such as work stoppages, strikes, or sickouts are expressly prohibited by every labor contract between the State and exclusive bargaining representatives. Although the Memorandum of Understanding’s for several bargaining units are presently expired, their no-strike clauses continue to exist pursuant to the provisions of the Government Code section 3517.8.

The Department will act to maintain service to the public. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) employees who participate in an illegal job action, such as a work stoppage, strike, or sick out, may be subject to disciplinary action. CDCR and CCHCS will review each job action on a case-by-case basis.

For more information, see CalHR’s website for frequently asked questions regarding informational picketing, and job actions, at: Link: CalHR Strike Policy.

Oh, in case you were curious, Monday Dec 5 is my regular day off and I plan to spend it far from people in purple shirts.

SEUI Looking for a Fight

Public employee strikes are illegal. However, the SEIU is looking for cannon fodder to take the State to court. SEIU’s only hope is to turn public opinion to their cause and they are hoping that someone will hold state employees accountable for missing work as a result of the December 5th walkout. When they do, SEIU hopes their members will call their crisis hotline and then their lawyers can jump into action in hopes that some judge will bloody the nose of the state and thus help their cause.

What other conclusion can you draw after reading their newsletter this week? Check it for yourself. SEIU Nov 30 newsletter

Below are a few sections that caught my eye.

Is it legal to go out on strike, even if we have a no-strike clause that is still in effect?

Yes. Unfair labor practice strikes have been legal for decades under state and federal law despite the existence of a no-strike clause. The fact that our Union engaged in the strike in good faith can serve as a defense to any charges of illegality.

The above statement “…can serve as a defense to any charges of illegality” is called admission against interest. SEIU admits the strike is illegal but claims they have a good excuse to have a walkout. Of course this excuse is subject to a determination by a judge that believes in a living Constitution—or at least a malleable interpretation of the law.

Will I be disciplined for participating in the strike?

The State may take retaliatory disciplinary actions against members who go on strike. But these actions are illegal. There are legal appeals and antiretaliation laws to hold the State accountable. Our Union has a Strike Legal Defense Team that will defend you.

What should I do if I am disciplined for participating in the strike?

Please call the MRC’s Strike Hotline at 866.471. SEIU (7348). Our Union has a Strike Legal Defense Team that will defend you.

Because striking is illegal, if the State says strike participants will not be paid, does that qualify as retaliation?
If employee must use a vacation or sick day in order to be paid for striking does that qualify as retaliation?

My conclusion is that it doesn’t matter what happens, SEIU is desperate for any confrontation that they can milk for publicity. At this point any perceived reaction from the State will be called a victory.

Seems like SEIU is the rebellious teenager and the government is the neglectful parent. Talk about irreconcilable differences. Maybe it’s time for binding arbitration to be orchestrated by Dr. Phil.

SEIU: Strike One

Just in time for Black Friday the SEIU Christmas special: Home for the Holidays —one day only special.

On Monday, December 5th, we will hold a one-day strike in protest of the state’s unlawful conduct and egregious unfair labor practices during contract bargaining.
SEIU Announcement

Told Ya.

More details when they become available.