SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCBS) -- Monday is the first payday for state workers since Governor Schwarzenegger tried to cut their wages because of the budget crisis. The workers will get their full paychecks, thanks to a little-known state official the workers are calling a hero.
Governor Schwarzenegger ordered State Controller John Chiang to pay them only $6.55 an hour, the federal minimum wage, until California has a budget. But Chiang refuses to do it, so state information systems worker Marty Frum, for one, gets his regular salary today.
"I think John Chiang is a hero!" said Frum.
Chiang disagrees, saying, " You know, you just try to do good work that's in the best interest of all Californians," said Chiang. "The governor's issuance of the executive order, and him filing the lawsuit, puts California on a very dangerous course. Under federal law we have to pay the correct wages. If we fail to pay the correct wages we are subject to penalties that are two or three times what we originally owe."
The sudden spotlight has some wondering if Chiang might run for governor himself, but he says he's already decided that he would like another term as controller.
Picture courtesy CBS5.
(MGO)
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KCBS' Doug Sovern reports
