March 25, 2009
Paterson threatens 8,900 layoffs
Governor David Paterson's call for 8,900 layoffs comes 20 days after Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey said he would pink slip as many as 7,000 state workers--if public employee unions do not accept a wage freeze and furloughs.
Tax revenues in both states collapsed after thousands of their residents lost their jobs on Wall Street.
The Paterson administration's announcement (here,here, here and here) should not come as a surprise, because in his budget presentation in December, Paterson suggested layoffs would be necessary if unions did not agree to contract givebacks: forgoing a 3 percent pay raise scheduled for April 1 and delaying one-week's pay until they retire or resign. Together the two measures would save $301 million a year, according the Division of the Budget.
Like Paterson, Corzine has been unable to persuade public employee unions in New Jersey that a wage freeze and 12 days of unpaid furlough are preferable to laying off 5,000 to 7,000 state workers in July, saving the state $400 million, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.
The furloughs would affect about 80,000 workers if applied across the board. (snip) Corzine said large-scale layoffs would have a "substantial" impact on state services and stressed he does not want to go through with the layoffs, preferring the wage freeze and furloughs to "share the cost among everybody."
"I think we would be better served by not creating more unemployed, by sharing out," Corzine said. "It's a lot better to have people working than in unemployment lines. It's a lot better to have people with health insurance than on Medicaid." The Communications Workers of America, the largest of New Jersey's public employee unions, has opposed the wage freeze and furloughs in the past.
The CWA understands state workers must do their part, [spokesman Bob] Master said, but added it is not helpful for the governor to "issue ultimatums."
"We've asked to enter into negotiations over the impact of the proposed furloughs on our membership, and we're prepared to discuss how to help the state get through this crisis," Master said today. "But on the other hand, we also feel that there ought to be shared sacrifice, starting with the wealthiest people of the state."
Not only do the New York and New Jersey governors sound alike, the unions in both states are singing from the same choir book.
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