Hank, it's up to the representatives at the bargaining table to negotiate contracts and then be accountable to the people who elected or appointed them. Sending raises to a vote is not bargaining. You can't bargain with an entire population, that is why we elect representatives. But, I know you understand that.

Negotiating a contract is a complicated process of determing interests then playing games for too long a time. Too much time is wasted protecting positions in the event of later litigation. Two contracts ago I met with the CEO and got him to agree to negotiate off the record so each side could get their direct interests out on the table without fear of losing protection later. He went for it. Up to that point we had been at the table for three months. We settled the contract several meetings later. We followed the same procedure for the next contract and finished in three days. Had we not been able to reach agreement we could have gone on the record and played the games.

You have to be active in the Legislature to protect the interests of your membership. That is way the Legislature works, like it or not. Lots of interests are represented there, some of them counter to your own, so you have to be there or get rolled over. Our group actually supported members across both aisles. We also understood reality and sought incremental changes over many years. We had respect among the Legislators who didn't agree with us because of our approach. We knew that you had to maintain friendships no matter what. Got to think long term.

Your right, California is out of control and the retirement medical benefits alone are going to cost many billions. Even as a labor representative, I can see that. My retirement system is fully funded, doesn't have nearly the benefits, but I feel much more secure in a fully funded system than one that is woefully underfunded.