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As Ed said, we've been working hard in this electricity crisis. Our own operator of the grid in California, called the California [?] ISO, predicted 32 hours of blackouts this summer. A national organization consisting of utilities and generators predicted 260 hours. Happily, there has not been one moment of blackouts since June of this year, thanks in part to the hard work of IBEW members who, working with us, have put six new plants on the grid, a record for California.

All of those plants had project labor agreements, and all those plant openings, I introduced Bob Balgenorth, the head of the building trades in California to express my appreciation to the hard-working men and women who made that possible. Two of those plants came on seven weeks early, and so we gave a million dollar bonus to the company and suggested they give every penny of it to the workers, because that's the reason the power came on the grid early.

As Ed mentioned, it had been a long time in California since we had a Democratic governor -- it was actually 16 years -- and those governors took a different approach. They were pro-business but they were not pro-labor. And I believe you cannot grow the economy and offer more opportunity to people if you're going to hurt America's workers. So I am pro-labor and pro-business. I believe in moving everyone forward, and that's what we've been able to do here the last two-and-a-half years.

So I treat organized labor with the respect and dignity it deserves. They are my working partners, not my sparring partners, and they have helped us create new policies, advance the interests of all Californians.

First of all, I've been privileged to select more than 100 people from organized labor to serve on important boards and commissions and to serve in full-time positions in my administration. I'm pleased to announce that several members of IBEW are among those appointees, including [?] Arthur Murray, the assistant business manager of IBEW Local 1245. He serves on the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. Chuck [?] Cake of IBEW 340, he's the Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Industrial Relations. Marvin Kropke, a fellow Vietnam veteran and business manager of IBEW Local 11, as chair of the California Apprenticeship Council. And tomorrow I will announce the appointment of John O'Rourke to the Contractors State Licensing Board. So those are four solid members of your organization.

I mentioned to Ed -- I just signed a bill the other day, and, unlike the Congress, our legislature passes lots of bills, at least a thousand every year. As I'm signing or vetoing them, I'm looking at them closely, and I noticed how important this one bill was on contractor licensing. It said, "If you're not a licensed contractor and you complete a project and that person hasn't paid you the full amount you're owed, you cannot sue them." Do you understand what that means? You don't get paid unless you're a licensed contractor. I think that's a pretty big step forward in the state of California.

There are a couple other things that made it possible for us to get through this summer without a blackout, and I'm not predicting we won't have some blackout at some point in the future. But thus far, through the extraordinary work of IBEW members, through wonderful conservation on the part of Californians, at least 9 percent reduction over usage last year. And actually over four million people in July reducing their consumption by 20 percent over last year, thus earning them a 20-percent rebate, on top of their falling electricity bill, is a remarkable testament how Californians pull together, work hard and are resilient and overcome obstacles.

Thirdly, and most importantly, God has given us a normal summer, which feels like a cool summer, and I thank the Lord every day for His beneficence so we don't have to suffer through a whole summer of 105-degree weather.

And finally, we beat up on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; and after one year of failing to do their job, they finally gave us some price relief going forward so people can no longer charge us $3,200 a megawatt hour as they did in January and now the most they can charge is $100 a megawatt hour. All four of those factors have led us to the situation where the lights are on and the prospects are good. We still have 14 more plants under construction. There's a lot more work to do, but we are going to get through this together.

You know, these energy companies are trying to bring me down and bring down the state of California. But, as Ed said, I served in Vietnam, I am not going down, they are going down.

There are many other areas where we've worked closely together to advance the interests of all Californians. I just want to tick off a couple.

I made some of these promises and, as Ed said, I was privileged to keep them. I said we would restore the eight-hour day if I was elected governor; and that's exactly what we did. We're one of three states that has an eight-hour day, pays you overtime otherwise.

I said we would restore prevailing wages, we did that. In a week or two you'll see we will expand upon that even further in legislation that's coming down the track.

I said we would increase the minimum wage, we've increased it a dollar beyond what the federal government pays.

I said we would expand sick leave and workers can now take time off not just to care for a sick child, but to care for a spouse or a sibling or other immediate relatives.

I said that we would increase enforcement on the job site; and we have increased the number of people in the Labor Commissioner's office by 125 people, a 34-percent increase, the biggest in the state's history, to make sure that conditions are safe.

I also approved the Construction Safety and Health Project, which guarantees that every year 5 percent more work sites will be inspected to make sure workers are safe, conditions are safe and people can do their job in an environment of safety.

Let me just conclude with this thought. We have done a lot to advance the interests of the people that are part of IBEW, that are part of organized labor, that are not part of organized labor; and I think we have a formula that succeeds in California. Treat every human being with worth and dignity. I don't care if you're a CEO or a janitor, I don't care if you're a pipefitter or electrician or a lawyer or a business woman, every human being has value. We are all God's children. And if we advance together, then we will serve the interests of all the people that I was elected to represent.

That formula has worked for the working people of California; and finally, after 16 years, the working people of California have someone working for them and for all of California.

God bless you. Thank you for being in California. Enjoy yourself. And the lights will stay on.

I neglected to add that I have proclaimed today IBEW Day in the state of California. So everywhere you go, the food and drinks will be free.

California Governor Gray Davis

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