PERS Board Member to Meet with UPEC

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

REDDING - Business Manager Chris Darker announced today that CalPERS Board member JJ Jelincic will travel to Redding and meet with UPEC Leadership and Members on Saturday morning, July 10, 2010. “UPEC actively supported Jelincic in the runoff election in December 2009 where he garnered more votes than in the regular election, we are pleased and honored that JJ will have time to visit with us in July”, said Darker.

JJ Jelincic was elected to the CalPERS Board of Administration in December 2009 as a Member-At-Large representing all CalPERS members. He serves on the Finance Committee, Health Benefits Committee, Investment Committee and the Investment Policy Subcommittee. Jelincic is a 24-year veteran employee of CalPERS with a wide range of investment experience, having worked in the global equity, fixed income and real estate units of the pension fund’s Investment Office. He also helped establish CalPERS futures unit, ran the stock trading desk, and contributed to CalPERS corporate governance initiatives.

Mr. Jelincic is a past president of the California State Employees Association (CSEA) a labor group representing 140,000 active and retired state employees. He was also Chair of the California State Administrative, Financial, and Staff Services Bargaining Unit. He was appointed in 2004 by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California Performance Review (CPR) Commission, which held statewide hearings on proposals to reform state government.  Mr. Jelincic has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Saint Mary’s College, an M.B.A. in finance from Golden Gate University and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

On Workers’ Memorial Day—Remember the Dead, Fight for the Living

LiUNA HQ - On March 16, 2010, Chris Jenkins - a husband, father of two and 25-year member of Laborers’ Local 81 - was killed while working on an interstate highway project in Lake Stanton, Ind. Chris was cold-patching potholes when he was struck by a drunken driver.
Today, on Workers’ Memorial Day, we urge the men and women of LIUNA to remember Chris and others who have become sick or injured or died while working to build America. Death or injury shouldn’t be the price of going to work. On Workers’ Memorial Day we should remember our fallen brothers and sisters and honor the living by fighting for better workplace protections.
While the Obama administration has made significant strides in protecting worker safety, more action is still needed. You can join the fight to improve workplace safety.  The Protecting America’s Workers Act which is before Congress right now would help by extending OSHA coverage to all workers, including public employees in over 20 states who currently have no protections at all, strengthen anti-discrimination and whistleblower protections, increase civil and criminal penalties and enhance worker and union rights

UPEC Political Endorsements

Friday, April 23, 2010

HEADQUARTERS - The UPEC Political Action committee announced it’s endorsements on behalf of the members of the United Public Employees of California.

Glenn County Board of Supervisors District 4 - Mike Murray
City of Milpitas Mayor - Pete McHugh
City of Milpitas CIty Council - Nancy Mendezabal
Shasta County District Attorney - Jerry Benito
Shasta County Assessor-Recorder - Leslie Morgan
Shasta County Clerk - Cathy Darling

updated April 27, 2010

Assembly Approves Legislation to Curb Teen Alcohol Deaths

SACRAMENTO - UPEC Business Manager Chris Darker and a number of supporters for AB 2486 received the good news yesterday on the progress of the Bill. Yesterday,the Assembly approved the Teen Alcohol Safety Act of 2010, a measure authored by Assembly Member Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) designed to save young lives by strengthening the consequences faced by adults who knowingly provide alcohol to underage teens in the home.  AB 2486 passed on a bipartisan vote of 60 to 0.
Supplying alcohol to a minor is a crime under state law, but California remains one of just a few states that prohibit civil recourse for such cases.  AB 2486 seeks to boost parental responsibility and deter adults from providing alcohol to teens by correcting that glaring restriction in the law.  The bill ensures that a civil action can be brought against an adult “social host” who provides alcohol to teens at the front end of such tragedies.
California has seen a spate of tragedies in recent years as teens have been hospitalized or even killed after engaging in binge drinking. The most shocking episodes involved parents or other adults knowingly providing alcohol to teens.
“This Bill will help save lives. No minor nor adult has the right to furnish alcohol to my children or your children and not be held responsible for the consequences of their actions”, said Darker. “Common sense, respect for other parents and their children isn’t enough for some people”. Darker said.  The United Public Employees of California is a founding sponsor and supporter of the Shelby Lyn Allen Alcohol Poisoning Education Foundation and actively supports AB 2486 and another Bill aimed at saving lives. AB 1999 authored by Portantino would amend the Business and Professions Code to provide an exception for a minor who is under the influence of alcohol if they call “911” and actively support authorities in the rescue of another minor in a medical emergency arising out of the consumption of alcohol. The idea is to get minors to summon help for victims of alcohol poisoning who wouldn’t normally call for fear of being in trouble themselves. “These Bills are no substitute for education and parents talking to their children about the dangers of alcohol poisoning”, said Darker.
The tragic death of Shelby Allen, a 17-year-old from Redding, Ca., inspired the legislation.  Shelby died of alcohol poisoning December 20, 2008 at a friend’s house party while the parents were in the home.  When efforts to seek criminal prosecution failed, Shelby’s own parents attempted to pursue answers through the civil courts only to be rebuffed by California’s unusual barrier against such lawsuits.
Under AB 2486, the families of a minor injured or killed by alcohol would still need to prove in court the elements of negligence - that an adult breached their responsibility to uphold the law and knowingly provided alcohol. Because of the measure’s limited scope, its greatest impact would be to act as further deterrence to help keep parents from promoting behavior that runs counter to common sense and criminal law.

On Workers’ Memorial Day, Take a Stand for Workplace Safety

HEADQUARTERS - Each and every day in this country, on average 14 workers die on the job as a result of workplace injuries. In 2008, 5,071 workers lost their lives on the job, and another 50,000 died from work-related diseases.
This past month has been remarkably tragic for workers across the country, with four oil industry accidents over last two weeks, as well as the explosion at the Massey Energy mine in West Virginia, which claimed 29 lives.

April 28th is Workers’ Memorial Day - a day to honor the working men and women who have been injured or killed at work, as well as highlight the need for tough and effective workplace safety laws. Commemorate these fallen workers and take a stand for safe workplaces for all by joining a Workers Memorial Day commemoration in your area:

In San Francisco on Wednesday, April 28th at 7pm at ILWU 34 (2nd St. & Embarcadero)
In Oakland on Wednesday April 28th at noon at Nile Hall (1233 Preservation Park Way)
In San Jose on Wednesday April 28th at 5:30pm at IBEW 332 (2125 Canoas Garden Ave.)

Steward Training Scheduled

REDDING - UPEC Staff have set Saturday, June 26, 2010 for Local Steward Training. The class begins at 8:30 am and goes until 4:30 pm. All training materials, breakfast and lunch are free to members. Any member can attend whether they desire to be a steward or not. Class size is limited to 30. RSVP is required. To reserve your spot or for more information call UPEC at 530-245-1890. The class will be conducted at the UPEC Headquarters 1860 Park Marina Drive Redding.