The focus on Wisconsin has prompted or accelerated a number of legislative actions directed at higher education around the country. The editorial pages and blogs are also ripe with oped pieces. A concern is the recent action taken by the Ohio State legislature (cf., summary and details in “Inside Higher Ed” and the Chronicle of Higher Education):
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/03/0/ohio_bill_would_kill_faculty_unions_in_unexpected_way
http://chronicle.com/article/Ohio-Senate-Votes-to-Deny/126565/
Closer to home is the response to an Op Ed piece by David Crane, whose confirmation as a UC regent is pending. As background, Crane was a partner in Babcock & Brown until 2003, a global investment and advisory firm that went into liquidation in 2008.
The following three links provide some useful background. CUCFA is opposing the confirmation of Crane. Robert Meister, Professor of Social and Political Thought at UCSC and President of the Council of UC Faculty Associations has said: “Crane would be yet another multi-millionaire Regent who made his fortune in investment banking — an industry that directly benefits when public employees are forced out of their existing plans and into the hands of Wall Street. The Crane appointment raises the stakes on this issue. Confirming him would bring the politics of Madison Wisconsin to California. However much he backpedals today, yesterday’s op-ed [attacking collective bargaining for public employees] was a red flag to the legislature that this Schwarzenegger appointment must be stopped. I applaud Senator Yee for getting the message and taking action.”
David Crane’s Op-Ed in the San Francisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/27/IN5N1HUAMS.DTL
From the SF Bay Guardian – “Beware the billionaires behind pension reform” at: http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2011/03/01/beware-billionaires-behind-pension-reform
Senator Leland Yee’s (D-San Francisco)’s opposition to Crane is described in: http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2011/03/02/yee-plans-block-crane%E2%80%99s-uc-regents-confirmation