San Francisco - California's powerful prison guards union has launched a recall campaign aiming to oust Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a snap election.

The 30,000-member California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) on Monday charged that the former action movie star's "catastrophic leadership failings" had left the largest US state "in far worse shape" than before he was elected after a similar recall effort booted out his predecessor Democrat Gray Davis in 2003.

The campaign against the current Republican governor came as the state struggles to deal with a 15-billion-dollar deficit and has been without a budget since July 1.

Under California law, any recall campaign can force a statewide vote if it collects a million signatures of registered state voters.

The union has been angered at Schwarzenegger's failure to reach a deal with it to replace its old contract, which expired in 2006.

Schwarzenegger charged that the recall attempt was just a tactic to pressure him to grant their wage demands.

"Their intimidation tactics will not make me change my mind whatsoever because I happen to not represent the CCPOA," Schwarzenegger said. "I represent the people of California." (dpa)