Protect jobs, contract; show state better savings

By KENNETH BRYNIEN
The 2010 state Executive Budget poses many of the same threats to our jobs and contract as last year, with literally hundreds of cuts and affecting nearly every state agency.

The governor’s proposal would reduce the state work force by an estimated 674 positions. He also proposes to take an another quarter of a billion dollars from state employees through “negotiated” concessions from the unions – funding cuts already assumed in the proposed agency budgets.

We will continue our fight to protect our members’ jobs and the integrity of our contract.

PEF has identified more than $480 million in annual potential savings for the state by decreasing its use of consultants, and additional millions of savings by reducing workplace injuries and their associated costs. We’ve given these proposals to the governor and he has included some of them in his budget proposal. However, with only a few million dollars in consultant savings identified in his budget, the governor doesn’t go nearly far enough.

We know there is a better way to achieve savings than balancing the budget on our backs.

We know how to achieve the recurring savings, while maintaining the services on which so many New Yorkers rely.

Our job is to get the governor and the Legislature to reject the quick fixes and the easy political points that come from using the state work force as the scapegoat. We need to make sure they do the right thing.

As I have written before, our ability to prevail in these budget struggles increases significantly when you get involved. We need you to help deliver our message, to the public, to the media, to the governor and to the Legislature.

Will you do the “write thing” by advocating in letters, blogs, op-eds, and more? (See related article). As the final state budget is negotiated, our actions in these next several months will determine our success. You can greatly enhance our chances to succeed.

As challenging as our circumstances may be, the people of Haiti are facing a true life-and-death struggle. In coordination with PEF’s Caribbean-American Committee we are donating to the Red Cross Relief Fund for Haiti. I urge you to do the same. For more information on on how you can help the Haiti relief effort click here.