Off Beat: Dan Logue – working for you

In case you've forgotten, Assemblyman Dan Logue is on your side.

He's on your side if you're an employer. An employee? Well, maybe not so much.

Last week, Logue distributed an email with a story from the great newspaper to the north, the Chico Enterprise-Record.

The E-R covered a Logue event in Chico last month. The assemblyman persuaded the state's labor commissioner, Julie Su, to come to the north country to hear tales of woe from put-upon business owners.

It must have been quite an adventure for her.

The assembled audience, and it was a big one, was full of employers who told the kind of stories that would make Stephen King cringe. It was that bad.

As the E-R noted, Su "took notes and sometimes asked questions of small businesses who relayed tales of horror about labor law enforcement."

Yes, it was horrible.

As the E-R correctly noted, "Another common theme was there's plenty of information about employee rights, but not much on employer rights."

Ah, there you go. There are plenty of laws in place protecting employees from employer abuse. Who protects the employer? Well, nobody, really.

Employers are in charge. They have the power to hire and fire. The state is there, mostly, for regulation, making sure employers follow the law and pay those petty things known as minimum wage and overtime.

Apparently, that concept was lost on many in the audience.

"I thought I was in a Third World country," one employer wailed, complaining about being mistreated.

Nobody ever said it was easy to do business in California, as Logue and his cohorts keep pointing out (remember that trip to Texas?). And if you're a small business, it probably can be pretty tough when it seems you're outnumbered by the regulators and the courts.

Seeking the Sikhs

Following last Sunday's attack on the Sikh temple in Wisconsin, the politicians were anxious to get some media time with their local Sikh community.

The New York Times on Tuesday ran a photo of Mayor Michael Bloomberg meeting with Sikhs at their temple.

And what of Yuba City and Sutter County, where there is a considerable Sikh community?

As you might expect, the politicians were nowhere to be found. No pilgrimages to the Sikh temple. No publicity. No nothing. No public statements.

Oh, well, there's always the parade.