California's minimum wage is higher........$ 8.00 hr..........

He is blowing smoke! The State Employees Union would never let that happen.

Ya your right Awsmom the state employees work under a colective bargining agreement.........

You guy do realize that he can write the executive order which can trump the unions under a state of emergency? Of course if he did that you would see a hugh export of talent and tax dollars from the state that he would be placing the entire state in an even bigger hole. In some respect I hope he does do it just so we can kick his but out of office and start to show the dipstick in the government, state on up to the federal who really has the power.

I say, Go for it. Then we call for a general strike of EVERYBODY, that's union, non-union, everybody stays home, one day, he'll back off. This is just a way to kick American workers in the arse again!

What a pea brain comment from a little man.

Hey wasn't Arnold supposed to fix California's problems ????............So all you people that voted for Arnold also vote for Bush..................lol what loosers.

Federal...... minimum wage is $6.55 not  $8.00.   I accessed the executive order draft released today by the Sacramento Bee.  Looks like every t is crossed and every i has a dot... the only thing missing is his signature.

The State would pay only the federal minimum wage which is $1.34 per hour lower than California's minimum wage of $8.00 an hour.  

Arnold Schwarzenegger cites the Supreme Court Ruling in his executive order draft..... I've read all 75 pages of it and pretty much gives him the authority to make the pay cuts on almost all State employees.  This ruling was when Gray Davis was in office.

It's a deferred paycut as I understand it; once the budget is approved, the workers will receive their back pay.

If he signed this order, when would it go into effect?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-b...

"While the governor is poised to order the cuts on Monday, state Controller John Chiang, who is responsible for disbursing state workers' paychecks, said Thursday that he will refuse to go along with the governor, setting up a political standoff and a possible legal fight.

"The authority to issue people's paychecks is mine. I have both constitutional and statutory authority," said Chiang, a Democrat. "Frankly, (the governor) is just trying to make me do something that's improper and illegal."

But the Republican administration maintained that Schwarzenegger has the legal right to invoke such a controversial plan, under which the pay of about 200,000 state workers would be reduced to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour. Once a new budget is passed, the workers' pay would be restored along with back wages.

"We are on firm legal standing," said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor. "But if (the controller) wants to challenge the state Constitution and a state Supreme Court decision, he has the right to do that."

And those living paycheck to paycheck will teeter and fall...I wonder how may single parents making $10.00 an hr will crash?

I think Arnold should have to live on min. wage for 6 mths and see what ir feels like!

Who isn't living paycheck, to paycheck ? Good for them & their planning, & discipline.

Awsmom, I was thinking the same thing.  This sounds like robbery to me.  These people are working at their rate of pay....how can you just take that away, and be ok with it.  Sounds like very poor judgement to me.  Arnold has tons of money.....maybe he should be required to donate a large portion.