November 13, 2008
Governor wants to freeze state worker salaries
Governor David Paterson says New York State cannot afford to give its employees a 3 percent raise in April. But will employee unions be willing to surrender what they won at the bargaining table?
To close a record budget gap, Paterson also wants to defer paying employees five days of salary in the current fiscal year, saving the state $121 million now, but obligating the state to repay the employees a week's salary at higher wages when they retire.
Both the pay freeze and payroll lag cannot take affect without unions agreeing to them. Paterson is not calling for layoffs. However, he could implement them if the unions reject his proposal.
Paterson's plan (here) includes three other proposals that affect the workforce but will not require union approval:
- Requiring employees who retire after December 31 to contribute a larger share to their retiree health insurance depending on their years of employment. Currently, employees with as little as 10 years of employment pay only 10 percent toward their retiree health insurance (and 25 percent for family members).
- Requiring employees and retirees to contribute toward their Medicare Part B premiums.
- Ending a practice that allows Management-Confidential employees to receive cash payments for unused vacation time.
Paterson's proposals have been condemned by unions (here) , but have garnered the praise of editorial writers and columnists (here, here and here) .
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