SACRAMENTO, CA - Gov. Brown's pension package that's finally in bill form is getting a huge thumbs down from some public employee unions which had hoped to negotiate something less severe.
It asks current employees to contribute more and calls for a hybrid retirement plan for new hires, essentially including a 401k.
"The things that he's proposing are bad for the taxpayers, bad for government, the employees who are affected," said Bruce Blanning, spokesman for Professinal Engineers in Caifornia Government. "It just takes money that's right now securely invested and turns it over to the Wall Street profiteers."
Unions won't publically bad-mouth a governor they helped get elected. But privately, several are thinking about not supporting Brown's tax iniatiative because of the drastic pension changes. They'll be meeting to discuss the possibility over the next few days and weeks.
"That's kind of like ... I'm going to take my ball and go home if you don't let me win," responded Mike Genest, former California Director of Finance.
Genest, who served under former Gov. Schwarzenegger, says Brown's package is a good start to fixing the state budget regardless of whether public employeees like it or not.
"If it were enacted exactly like he's proposing, it would be a monumental change, and it would, in the long term, make pensions much more sustainable," Genest said.
Brown has already lined up a broad coalition of support for his tax initiative with donations from the health care and oil industries and even Indian tribes.
Political watcher Tony Quinn says the pension changes are a strategic move to win voters over on a small, temporary sales tax increase and income tax hike on high-wage earners.
Quinn said, "I think he's trying to reach a bargain with voters by saying, 'Look, I'm asking you to raise taxes on yourself, raise your sales taxes. In exchange, I will do some cutting of these public employee pensions."
Nannette Miranda
ABC7
ABC7