CCPUnited California Makes a Splash in Sacramento: Lobby Day 2009

State Senator Denise Ducheny's Chief of Staff accepts petitions from CCPUnited members Nancy Wyatt and Soccoro Avita.SACRAMENTO, CA—Family child care providers, parents, and their supporters delivered nearly 2,000 signatures from registered voters who have pledged to vote down Propositions 1A and 1D to legislative staff working for California State Senators Denise Ducheny and Christine Kehoe at the state capitol May 4.

The action was covered by a cross section of news media that came out to cover lobbying activities planned by Child Care Providers United (CCPUnited) of California within the context of the May 19 special election and Propositions 1A and 1D.

Child Care Providers United of California at the state capitol.

Sacramento & Bay Area media interview CCPUnited organizer Joe Wilson.

Click here to see and hear the news stories about CCPUnited.

Then click here to read about what happened from our perspective.

KUVS Univision 19 interviews CCPUnited member Merit Balleza.

Child Care Providers United of California at the state capitol.

Update on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 3:40PM by Admin

From KGO-TV | San Francisco, CA

Prop 1A may be a hard sell for voters

Monday, May 04, 2009 | 8:46 PM

  By Mark Matthews

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Proposition 1A is the centerpiece on the May 19 special election ballot. It would establish a state spending cap, create a so-called "rainy day fund" and extend temporary increases in the sales tax, personal income taxes and the vehicle license fee. Without it there will be an immediate $6 billion hole in the state budget.

At the capitol Monday, members of two child care unions delivered petitions opposing Prop 1A because if the measure passes, it would limit government spending.

"We can reinstitute the tax rate on upper income tax brackets," child care union member Joe Wilson said.

Wilson says if the state is short of money, raise taxes on the wealthy.

Taxpayer groups are equally opposed to 1A because it extends taxes.

Non-profit, non-partisan organization CitizenVoice.org is putting mini-debates on the web to educate voters about the special election.

"Most people know very well there is a dearth of objective credible honest non-partisan information out there," founder Gary Dietrich said.

Dietrich runs Citizen Voice and is also a political analyst for KGO radio. He admits getting people up for the special election carries with it some frustrations.

"Well, you know what, a lot of people don't understand why we're even voting now," Dietrich said.

Dietrich figures maybe 15 to 20 percent of eligible voters will actually vote on May 19.

Proponents of the propositions have the governor and his bully pulpit on their side and the "Yes on 1A" campaign has outspent the "no" forces many times over.

But ABC7 political analyst Bruce Cain says this time, big money will not mean as much.

"Because you know that this is going to be a very small fraction of the California electorate that shows up for a special election,' Cain said.

Cain says Prop 1A is the result of a compromise hammered out by state legislators; neither side is happy or getting what they wanted.

"And what made sense in terms of legislative compromise after everybody in the legislature was very tired and finally had to come to some sort of agreement just isn't selling when it gets out to the voters," Cain said.

The latest polls show, little more than two weeks out from the election, Prop 1A is trailing in the votes it needs to pass.

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Child Care Providers to Rally at State Capitol Against Propositions 1A & 1D

2101 Webster Street #1850 • Oakland, CA 94612 • 866-336-9333 • www.ccpunited.org 3055 Wilshire Boulevard #1050 • Los Angeles, CA 90010 • 866-574-8907 • www.ccpunited.org
	PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Friday, May 1, 2009			Contact: Joe Wilson, 510-663-3939 o 916-325-7858 c

Child Care Providers to Rally at State Capitol
Against Propositions 1A & 1D
New Poll Finds Registered Voters Support Public Services

SACRAMENTO, CA—Family child care providers, parents, and their supporters will deliver nearly 2,000 signatures from registered voters who have pledged to vote down Propositions 1A and 1D at a noon rally at the state capitol on May 4.

Invited state legislators include Assemblymembers Tom Ammiano and Tom Torklakson and Senator Denise Ducheny.

“Propositions 1A and 1D will have long-term consequences for California's working families,” said Margie Stokes of San Francisco, a member of Child Care Providers United (CCPUnited) of California, which organized the rally. “These measures make temporary budget cuts permanent and shift voter-approved revenues away from much-needed local programs for families with young children.”

The action by CCPUnited follows a new field poll, which has found that a majority of registered voters support state funding for public education, health care, and subsidized child care.

This news comes about three weeks ahead of California’s May 19 special election, in which voters will be asked to decide on six ballot measures dealing with the state’s budget deficit.

Of the six measures on the May 19 ballot, Proposition 1A is the most controversial, for it would create a permanent revenue shortage by locking in state spending at unrealistic levels and empower the governor to make unilateral budget decisions.

“This is scary stuff,” said Joe Wilson of the American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), another event organizer. “Too much power in one person's hands is anti-democratic.”

Proposition 1D would divert another $1 billion from early childhood development programs to balance the state budget.

“Once these funds are taken, our kids won't get them back,” said CCPUnited member Nancy Wyatt of Los Angeles. “This kind of ballot-box bait and switch shortchanges our children and prolongs the economic woes working class communities already face. Enough is enough.”

With offices in California and Pennsylvania, CCPUnited is a union formed by child care providers for child care providers that advocates for early education and quality care for all families who work for a living.

###

Lobby Day 2009 in Sacramento

This year, activities surrounding Child Care Providers United (CCPUnited) of California's annual lobby day will commence on Sunday, May 3, and last throughout Monday, May 4.

On that day, legislative visits will take place between 10:00 to 16:00 at the state capitol.

In addition to conducting legislative visits, CCPUnited has arranged for providers to meet with staff from the California Department of Education (CDE), which is responsible for setting the state's regional market rates (RMRs) for child care providers with families whose children are eligible for subsidized child care through the state.

Providers will have an opportunity to raise their concerns and engage in dialogue with public officials on the issues that matter most to them.

Last year, about 400 providers from around the state journeyed to Sacramento to make their voices heard.

Thanks in part to these efforts, we were able to turn aside several harmful budget cuts that Arnold Schwarzenegger had penciled in for last year's state budget.  You can read more about that below.

Nationally, more than 250,000 family child care providers have joined the labor movement, and with the election of Barack Obama as President, child care and early education are increasingly seen as critical to economic recovery, school readiness, and success for America's youngest children.

CCPUnited's annual Lobby Day for family child care features skills training, leadership development, and face-to-face meetings with lawmakers.

Experienced providers mentor newer ones, and everyone has an opportunity to meet with at least two legislators or their staff.

Sign up for CCPUnited's 2009 lobby day today!

Contact your area organizer or peer advocate.

You can also get in touch with us using the following information:

Child Care Providers United of Northern California 2101 Webster Street #1850 Oakland, CA 94612 1-866-336-9333 510-663-3933 fax ca@ccpunited.org

Child Care Providers United of Southern California 3055 Wilshire Boulevard #1050 Los Angeles, CA 90010 1-866-574-8907 213-381-7348 fax ca@ccpunited.org

Hundreds Rally at Capitol to Support Family Child Care & Fight Budget Cuts

 

SACRAMENTO, CA—More than 400 family child care providers, parents, children, and community leaders rallied at the state capitol in Sacramento on May 28, 2008, to support child care for working families and to persuade state lawmakers to reject drastic budget cuts proposed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Almost two months later on July 22, more than 50 child care providers conducted follow up visits with key legislators to urge state officials to enact a fair budget for all working families in California. Both events were organized by Child Care Providers United (CCPUnited) of California.

Participants in this summer’s Lobby Day events journeyed to Sacramento from more than 20 California cities and counties. Many of the attendees made the long trip by bus, some traveling for eight to ten hours throughout the night, to call on legislators to oppose budget cuts that would hurt families and especially California’s youngest children.

Bishop Eugene Jones from Change of Heart Ministries in San Bernardino County speaks at the capitol.“The children you see here today are here because of the work that parents and providers do,” said Bishop Eugene Jones, pastor of Change of Heart Ministries in San Bernardino County, who spoke on the capitol steps on May 28. “Our communities are under siege, because children have no opportunities. We call on the governor to have a change of heart—today.”

Providers, parents, children, and supporters assembled that day from Sacramento to San Diego, from Fresno to San Joaquin, from San Francisco to Coachella, and from Kings County to Porterville.

“We are the many faces of California,” said Rasiene Reece-Carter, a provider leader from Lancaster in Los Angeles County. “We work and struggle every day to make sure our children get the best, because they deserve the best.”

Assemblyman DeLeon (D) stands with children of providers and their families.Assemblymember Kevin de Leon (D-LA) agreed. De Leon is a strong supporter of family child care providers and the author of last year’s assembly bill (AB) 1164 (A Voice for Family Child Care). He acknowledged the tremendous strides made by providers and urged them to keep fighting and speaking out despite Schwarzenegger’s veto of AB 1164 last year.

“We need to hear from you, because you know what your needs are,” de Leon said. “The governor may have vetoed our bill, but he cannot veto us.”

Providers are making their voices heard with concrete results. Continued statewide activism by parents, child care providers, advocates, and the California Corps, convinced Schwarzenegger to withdraw his planned cuts to the successful Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards (CARES) program, which offers stipends to thousands of California teachers and quality child care providers.

Additionally, an influential assembly budget committee rejected many of the governor’s proposed child care cuts after listening to recommendations by a coalition of providers, parents, advocates, and community leaders including impassioned testimony from CCPUnited member Xochitl Segura from Oxnard.

Child Care Providers United of California member Xochitl Teran“I’m making a difference in the lives of many families,” said Segura. “Without providers like me, parents won’t have choices.”

Fittingly, it was 11-year-old Adrian Angeles, a fifth-grader from Tulare County, who spoke the most powerful words of the day when he said to a California legislator, “I missed school today, because I think this is too important. You should, too.”