Statebudgetenacted,butbattle
By SHERRY HALBROOK “Wealsoconvincedstatebudget performanceadvances,meritawardsand
PEFdodgedsomeveryseriousbullets makerstomakethewealthiestNew longevitypayments.
whenthestatebudgetbillswerepassed Yorkerspickupabiggershareofthe The8,700positionreductionswouldbe
andsignedinlateMarchandearlyApril. burdenofclosingthisyear’sbudgetgap. inadditiontothe1,608agency-specific
Unfortunately,thebattleisn’toverand Someofourotherrecommendationsto positionreductionsalreadyincludedin
PEFisstilldealingwiththethreatof stateleadersforincreasingstaterevenues thebudget.
thousandsofstatelayoffs. byhundredsofmillionsofdollarsalso The8,700attritionsandlayoffsare
wereadopted,”Brynienadded,“andwe supposedtoreplacetheGeneralFund
Wins stavedoffpermanentchangestothe savingsthatwouldhavebeengenerated
“Wewereverysuccessfulinachieving prior-noticerequirementsforclosingstate bytheeliminationoftheunionmembers’
mostofourbudgetpriorities,”saidPEF psychiatric,correctionalandyouth 2009,3percentraise($360million)and
PresidentKenBrynien.“Westopped facilities.” thefive-daylag($121million).
employeesalaryandbenefitconcessions, Thegovernorlinksthepayconcessions
themergerandprivatizationofthestate Losses tothelayoffsasaneither-orissue.
DepartmentofEconomicDevelopment Thegovernorignoredoneofthe Asthismagazinegoestopressinmid-
andtheFoundationforScienceand greatestareasofpotentialsavings April,thegovernorisaskingtheunionsto
Technology,andtheclosingofCamp recommendedbyPEF,reducingthestate’s acceptoneoftwooptions:
GeorgetownCorrectionalFacility. relianceonprivateconsultants,which •Fivedaysoflaggedpayandthenew
PEFhelpedpersuadelawmakerstoadd couldsavethestatemorethan$700 pensionTier5;or
fundingforseveralstateagenciesandfor millionannually. •Reducedraises(from3percentto1.5
RoswellParkCancerInstitute(RPCI)in InspiteofallPEF’shard-earned percent)for2009-10andfor2010-11,and
Buffalo,where24researchersrepresented successes,thebudgetcasualtycountis thenewTier5.
byPEFwereabruptlylaidoffMarch6. stillsignificantandthreatenstoclimb Thegovernoroffersa“guarantee”ofno
Thestatebudgetnowfunnelsan muchhigher. layoffsforoneyearforacceptingthe
additional$14.5millioninfederalfunding Foryears,governorshavetriedtoclose laggedpay.Hewouldextendthat
toRPCItosupportoperatingcosts anumberofstatecorrectionalandyouth guaranteetoasecondyearforalso
associatedwithresearch.PEFisurging facilitiesonlytoseethoseeffortsturned acceptingthereducedpay.Eitherway,he
RPCItorestorethejobs. backbytheunitedeffortsofPEFand alsoinsistsoncreatingthenewpension
Thestateemployeeconcessionsthat legislatorsfromtheaffectedregions. tier.
PEFdefeatedinclude: Thisyear,thebudgetvacuumwastoo PEFisconcernedtheguaranteeis
•Eliminatingthe3percentraisethat powerfulandfundingwaseliminatedfor unreliableandthattoreopenthePS&T
startedthisAprilunderthePS&T nineyouthfacilities,threeprisoncamps, contractwouldnullifyeverythinginit.
contract; sixprisonannexes,andtheManhattan “Boththelayoffsandthepayand
•Allowingthestatetoholdback(lag) AddictionTreatmentCenter.Two pensioncutsareentirelyunnecessary.We
five-dayspayfromeachemployee; additionalyouthfacilities,Tryonand haverepeatedlyshownthegovernorhow
•EstablishinganewTier5inthestate Allen,willseestaffandservicereductions. hecansaveevenmorebycuttingstate
retirementsystemfornewhiresthat wasteandnotstateworkersortheirpay
wouldrequirethempermanentlyto Unresolved andpensions,”Bryniensaid.
contribute3percentoftheirpay; Initially,thegovernorhadproposed “Thegovernorsimplychoosesnotto
•Establishingasliding-scaleemployee significantreductionsinthestate consideranyotheroptions.
contributionforretireehealthinsurance; workforce,mostlytobeaccomplished “Thegovernorrefusestodiscussthe
and throughattrition. hundredsofmillionsofdollarswastedon
•MakingthecostoftheMedicarePart However,asstaterevenuesflagged,the privatecontractors.He’sgivingthem
Breimbursementtoretireesacostofthe governorannouncedinMarchthathe raisesof4percentto5percentthisyear,
NewYorkStateHealthInsurancePlan wouldcutmuchdeeperintothe buthehasnotaskedthemtoreopen
ratherthansolelyacosttotheemployer. workforce. thosecontracts,”Bryniensaid.
Thestatebudgetthatwasenactedby
earlyAprilisbasedontheassumption
8,700additionalstateemployeepositions
willbeslashedtoprovideapproximately
$481millioninsavingsoverthenexttwo
fiscalyears.
“Accordingtothegovernor,these
layoffs,whicharescheduledtotakeplace
byJuly,willcomeonlyfromtheranksof
PEFandotherunionmembers,”saidTom
Cetrino,PEF’sdirectorofcivilservice
enforcement.
Thegovernorhastoldthestate’s
HEARTHIS—PEFmemberJimBlake
ManagerialandConfidentialUnit
LEADEROFTHEPACK—PEF
shoutsoutinSara
employeestheywon’tbelaidoff.Instead,
Secretary-TreasurerArleaIgoeleads
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