Posts tagged budget issues
Commentary: Two huge California unions clash over money, political clout this election season
June 12, 2026 // This year’s race for governor is one arena for that rivalry. Service Employees International Union, the parent of SEIU-UHW, is backing former Attorney General Xavier Becerra, the leading Democrat. The CTA has supported billionaire Tom Steyer, who has repeatedly pledged to pursue one of the teachers’ holy grails, removing Prop. 13’s property tax limits on commercial property, which would generate more money for schools. The two unions also are at odds over details in the state budget, such as financing preschool programs. The state Senate’s version of the budget would shift preschool support into the Prop. 98 segment of the budget, thus freeing up money that could go to health care. CTA sees that as a raid on school funds.
USC faculty groups vote to unionize and university vows to challenge it
June 7, 2026 // Not all eligible USC faculty have been supportive. The effort drew opposition from full-time non-tenure faculty at the Gould School of Law, who said in spring that they were “unanimously opposed to the effort to include us.” The group cited American Bar Assn. accreditation standards that it said already provided workers with protections “reasonably similar to tenure” and encouraged law faculty to remain out of university unions. Some professors in pharmacy, engineering and education schools also publicly opposed unionizing.
Over 80 University of Maryland workers laid off amid budget concerns
June 6, 2026 // The school was one of two in Prince George's County that warned of job cuts after reporting financial struggles following Maryland's approved education budget for FY 2027, which began on June 1 and included an additional roughly $370 million in funding for schools statewide. For UMD specifically, leaders projected a revenue decrease of $15 million, with energy costs increasing by $18 million tallied onto more than $104 million in cumulative reductions to its state-funded base budget, according to a statement.