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March 19: State Psychiatric Technicians Call for 'A Day's Pay for a Day's Work'

WHY: Members of the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians will hit the streets March 19, continuing a series of protests against state budget cuts that are not only hurting employees in round-the-clock state facilities, but also the vital services they provide to Californians in their care.

Unpaid furloughs implemented by Governor Schwarzenegger affect overtime and complicate level-of-care staffing provided by Psychiatric Technicians and other state workers in 24-hour facilities. State employees in state hospitals, prisons and developmental centers do not get "Furlough Fridays" off as state employees do elsewhere, and are required to bank their unpaid time. If they are allowed to take the time, their shifts must be covered by other employees, increasing expensive overtime.

However, level-of-care employees frequently are denied furlough usage due to staffing needs and overtime costs. According to a report by the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes, level-of-care staff in state hospitals and developmental centers had accumulated 269,149 unpaid furlough hours just by the end of August 2009.

The California Association of Psychiatric Technicians - the union of state-employed Psychiatric Technicians and allied professional workers - filed a lawsuit on the unpaid furloughs. The suit says the governor's furloughs violate federal and state laws requiring "a day's pay for a day's work." The lawsuit is scheduled to be heard March 19 - the same day as the MSH rally - at 10 a.m. in Sacramento Superior Court. A copy of the suit is available at www.psychtechs.net.

CAPT members at Metropolitan State Hospital include Psychiatric Technicians, Psychiatric Technician Assistants and Senior Psychiatric Technicians. These licensed and certificated nursing staff provide a broad range of medical and rehabilitative services to individuals at the facility with severe mental illnesses.

As part of this year's budget proposal, Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed ending the furlough program, instead implementing a 5-percent across-the-board pay cut as well as further staffing reductions. Metropolitan State Hospital CAPT members believe both the governor's current and proposed cuts harm not only themselves, but the vital services they provide to Californians with severe mental illnesses.

"We're doing our best for our patients, but it gets harder and harder with these ongoing cuts," said Eddie Collaso, a longtime MSH Psychiatric Technician and president of CAPT's Metropolitan Chapter. "I would like to see Governor Schwarzenegger try and care for these individuals with what he's given us."

The California Association of Psychiatric Technicians is the elected union representative for 7,000 state-employed Psychiatric Technicians and related workers who provide compassionate, professional mental health and developmental services for the Californians in our care. CAPT also is the professional organization for all of California's 14,000 licensed Psychiatric Technicians.

California Association of Psychiatric Technicians
Eddie Collaso, CAPT Metropolitan Chapter President, 626-672-5753
Brady Oppenheim, CAPT Consultant, 800-677-2278