SACRAMENTO, CA – Bill A. Lloyd, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California released the following statement today upon news by the Employment Development Department (EDD) that California’s unemployment rate remained at 12.4%:

“With more news indicating that we have still not turned the corner on this deep recession, the government’s top job must be to stimulate the economy and help rebuild California.  That’s why Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposals to push hundreds of thousands more people out of their jobs and onto unemployment lines by eliminating cost saving programs such as home care and other vital human services are so troubling.  

“With our state’s unemployment rate at a staggering 12.4%, California should be investing in our recovery, saving vital services and jobs, and strengthening our schools, colleges and healthcare.  Cutting vital services and jobs will make the recession worse; the governor’s proposals to eliminate In-Home Supportive Services and CalWORKs would drive the unemployment rate well over 14% rather than saving in the ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ we need.

“New taxes and other revenues have to be part of the solution, but working and middle class Californians are already paying more. It’s time for the corporations who have been getting sweetheart deals in every budget to pay their share, too.”


SEIU California is a coalition of over 700,000 janitors, social workers, security officers, home care workers, school and university employees, healthcare workers, and city, county and state employees represented by SEIU local unions throughout California. We come together to build a better California by fighting to pass policies and elect candidates that benefit working families and advance the issues we care about: affordable healthcare, good wages, retirement security for all, a healthy environment, good schools and universities, and stronger communities. We believe that by working together we can build a California where working families can thrive again.