(San Diego) - With the state budget vote looming, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 221 members today handed out soup cans outside the County Administration Center with the message “Don’t send us to the soup line!” to urge members of the community to call their legislators to support a balanced approach to solving our budget crisis through a mix of spending cuts and maintenance of current tax levels.

The members believe a balanced approach is essential to solving our budget deficit because an all cuts budget could jeopardize California’s economic recovery.

“We’ve got to ensure the small economic gains that have taken place in California continue,” SEIU Local 221 President Eric Banks said. “An all cuts budget would mean more people losing their jobs and homes and ending up in the soup line.”

Governor Jerry Brown has set a target date of March 10, 2011 for a budget vote in the legislature. Legislators are considering a budget proposal that would use a combination of spending reductions and a measure requiring voter approval to maintain current tax levels to address California’s current $27 billion deficit.

Without a balanced approach to the budget, there could be massive cuts to education, healthcare, and local services.