Hangtoughnow,orfacesamethreats
overandoverincomingyears
P
By KENNETH BRYNIEN
BackinDecemberwhenthegovernor
R
submittedhisExecutiveBudget,he
E
includedanumberofproposalsthat S
wouldhavestrippedbenefitsfromour I
membersandretireesaswellasillegally
D
forcedcontractconcessionsthrough
E
legislativefiat.
N
Weweresuccessfulinblockingthose
T
proposalsintheLegislatureandnone
’
wereenactedaspartoftheadopted
S
budget.However,asyouknow,thiswas
M
justthefirstroundinthegovernor’sfight
toextractunnecessaryconcessionsfrom
E
thestateworkforce.
Whatthegovernorcouldnotachievein
S
theLegislatureheisnowtryingtoachieve
CUTTHEPOLITICS—PEFPresidentKenBryniengivesaTVinterviewatunion
S
bythreateningthelivelihoodsofnearly
headquartersinApriltoexplainbetterwaysthanlayoffsforsavi
A
9,000hardworkingstateemployees,
—
ng
Ph
t
o
h
t
e
o
s
b
t
y
a
M
te
ar
m
io
o
A
n
.B
e
r
y
u
.
ni G
sayinghehasnooptions.Heeithergets governorisseekingthroughjobcuts.Yet surethegovernorandthepublic
E
concessionsfromtheunionsorweface thegovernorcontinuestoseekonlyjob recognizethesavingsheseekscanbe
layoffs. cutsorconcessions. achievedwithoutunfairandunnecessary
Wearesteadfastinourcertaintyhe TomanyPEFmembers,thegovernor’s concessionsfromthestate’sworkforceor
hasotheroptionsthatmustbeexplored proposaltocutjobsisthegreatestthreat damagingcutstotheservicesonwhich
andimplementedbeforeanystate weface.Havinggonethroughthelayoff NewYork’scitizensrely.
employeeloseshisorherjob.These processin1991andagainin1995,Ihave So,wecontinuetofightthegovernor’s
alternativesolutionswouldprovidelong- firsthandknowledgeoftheanguishand proposals.Ireiterate:Wewillnotreopen
termsavingsforthetaxpayersandsetthe upsetthethreatoflosingyourjobcauses. ourcontractandwewillworktoeliminate
stateonafootingforgreatersavingsin Asdifficultasthisfightis,itwilldefine layoffs.
yearstocome. usasaunionforyearstocome.Howwe InJanuary,whenthegovernorgave
Thesesavingseasilycouldbeachieved respondwillbeamajorfactorinwhether hisStateoftheStateAddress,he
byreducingthestate’srelianceon wewillfindourselvesinthissituation identifiedasaguidingprincipletheneed
consultants,reducingovertime,and againasthestate’sleaderscontinueto torebuildNewYork’seconomy“notby
allowingourmembersgreateraccessto addressthefiscalcrisis. spendingmore,butbyspendingmore
programsthatallowvoluntaryreductions Tobeeffectivewemustspeakwithone effectively.”
inemployeeworkschedules,justtoname voicewhenitcomestothegovernor’s Weareaskingthegovernortoabideby
afew.Ifcombined,theseoptionscould proposals. hisownprincipleandinourwords:“Cut
doubleoreventriplethesavingsthe Ourchallengeasaunionistomake thewaste,nottheworkers.”
statelayoffs
GETABOARD—Atleft,at
aPEFReg.8Legislative
Reception,Reg.1
CoordinatorKevinHintz
talkswithAssemblyman
JoeGiglioandSen.
CatherineYoung. Atright,
stateSen.FrankPadavan
talkswithReg.11
CoordinatorJemma
H
—
a
P
n
h
s
o
o
t
n
os
a
b
n
y
d
Sh
M
er
a
ry
ri
H
o
a
n
lb
F
ro
o
o
x
k
.
www.pef.org TheCommunicatorMay2009—Page7
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28