Raises snared in
By SHERRY HALBROOK
That’s the sound of teeth grinding and
jaws clenching, not the gears of government turning that you hear coming from the state Capitol. No state budget agreement is in sight
as this issue of The Communicator goes to press in late April. The governor is holding PEF members’ 2010 pay raises hostage until a budget is enacted, and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli warns the state’s cash flow could run dry in June. “We ask PEF members to call and e-
mail their legislators and urge them to resolve this budget crisis,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “We have posted on our website a list of recommendations, including reduced dependence on consultants, for how the state can save money and help close the budget gap.” Withholding the employees’ raises that
should have begun in April is not the answer, Brynien said. “That violates our contract, and we will take every action necessary to ensure our members get their negotiated raises.” Brynien met with the governor in early
April to urge better budget solutions, and testified before a state Senate committee reviewing fiscal efficiency at the state Department of Correctional Services (DOCS), which would close several correctional facilities under the governor’s budget proposal. Considerable savings could be
achieved just by improving staffing at this one agency, Brynien told the senators. “DOCS has taken a meat-cleaver
approach to achieve the needed savings, while ignoring the long-term savings that can be achieved by appropriately staffing program areas,” Brynien said. “Inmates earning a high school degree
or successfully completing a substance abuse program in prison have significantly lower recidivism rates than those who don’t complete these programs. Yet program staff was reduced by 140 positions during the current fiscal year, and more than 30 percent of DOCS’ authorized program and health-service positions are vacant. Reducing recidivism by just 5 percent could reduce the number of inmates returning to prison by 1,400, and save taxpayers $42 million.” Brynien said full
Go to
PEF.org for budget soultions
staffing could save DOCS and other state agencies millions of dollars
in overtime costs. “According to the
state Department of Labor, DOCS is the worst offender under the new law restricting mandatory overtime for nurses,” Brynien said. “Currently, DOCS has 139 nursing vacancies.” Brynien
and many PEF leaders talked with state legislators about the budget at this annual Somos El Futuro hispanic legislators’ conference. Phase 2 of PEF’s advertising campaign
on the budget kicked off April 5. Phase 1 ran in the first two weeks of March. Phase 2 also ran two weeks and
included television, radio, print and Web advertising to educate the public and legislative leaders on the importance of making wise budget choices. The ads featured a “Mad Scientist”
character declaring, “It’s not rocket science. Cut the waste, not the workers!” The ads ran on broadcast and cable television statewide and on radio in the
Page 4—The Communicator May 2010
PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445
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