Bid Launched to End Collective Bargaining for California Public Employees As California State Retirees Make Their Footprint Known

July 2011

A group attempting to eliminate rights for public sector employees in the state of California has filed a proposed ballot initiative that would ban recognition of all public sector labor unions and prevent the government from bargaining with them.

Meanwhile, the California State Employees Association Retirees has plans to distribute 100,000 finger sized stickers that say "Paid by State Retiree" to its members. The retirees in Sacramento County alone generated approximately $2.5 billion in economic activity in 2010, according to a CALPERs-commissioned study released this week.

Quoted in a Sacramento Bee blog, Roger Marxen, president of CSEA Retirees, said in a statement, "These stickers are a friendly reminder that state retirees are your tax-paying neighbors who are not to blame for the state's budget woes. In fact, state retirees help strengthen our economy."