Protesters march against contract proposals

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- More than 50 people, some of them carrying a 12-foot

puppet of Gov. Gray Davis, rallied outside of Fairview Developmental

Center on Thursday to protest the lack of money allocated for state

employees in the budget.

Marching to such tunes as “Get Up Stand Up,” by Bob Marley and the

Wailers, members of the American Federal State County and Municipal

Employees Local 2620 picketed to gain support for a better contract that

is being negotiated in Sacramento.

“We haven’t had a decent contract in more than seven years, and now

they’re trying to tell us there isn’t enough money in the budget,” union

member Tom Winnett said.

Informational protests, such as this one, were scheduled all over the

state, marchers said.

State employees are protesting the pay increases they’ve been given.

Last year, they received a 4% increase compared with the average in

California of 5.2%, they said.

A representative from the governor’s office could not be reached for

comment.

Marchers included pharmacists, therapists, social workers and

psychologists at Fairview Developmental Center. The state hospital

employs more than 2,000 workers, making it the city’s largest employer,

officials said.

“We’re all required to have at least bachelor’s degrees, if not

master’s, but we are paid much less than others in the same field,” union

member Richard Glatman said.

Glatman, 51, is a qualified mental retardation professional and,

although he is highly educated, said he has trouble supporting his family

on his salary.

Fellow marcher Marla Morgan echoed his concern.

“I’m lucky my husband has a good-paying computer job or I’d be in real

trouble,” she said.

Workers such as Willett, Glatman and Morgan work with about 820

severely disabled patients, they said.

“If it weren’t for the bond I have made with my families, I would’ve

been out of here a long time ago,” Morgan said.

Regrettably, she may start looking for other work if a suitable

compromise isn’t reached in contract negotiations, she said.

Protesters were not on strike, they said. Each of them worked Thursday

but organized a job action for their lunch hour. Other labor unions also

sacrificed their midday break to show support for their colleagues.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .