Unions, Paterson reach agreement to avoid mass layoffs - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Under the terms of the agreementt reached between Paterson andthe unions, New York will reduce the state’ws payroll by encouraging employees in specific positions to take a cash buyoutg to leave state service. The unions said the buyout offers will be availablse to all employees in the targeted Paterson had announced plands to cutnearly 9,000 statwe workers. “This agreement is a huge win forNew York’sa taxpayers and will lead to the most significant reform of our public pension syste in decades,” Paterson said.
“This is real reform to the pensiob system which will substantially reduce costs to the taxpayers of New York According tothe governor’s office, the deal will reducse the state’s workforce by about 7,000 positions and save taxpayers about $440 million over the next two years. A voluntart reduction in work schedule will alsobe implemented. The estimatedc savings are roughly the amount that was projected to be saverd through the proposed layoffs that were announcedin March. “This agreementf means a smaller statework force, savingss for taxpayers, and a new pensionm tier that provides long-term fisca stability for the state,” Paterson said.
“Aas I have said from the beginning of this my overriding goal was to achievre needed savings and workforce cost while at the same time avoiding large scale layoffzs during the worst economic downturn ina generation. This agreement achieves those objectives in a compassionate and fiscally responsible A targeted, one-time $20,000 retirementf incentive payment will be offered to approximatel 4,500 employees. Incentives must be approved by each respectived agency and the Division of the Budget and will only be provided to individuals in position s that will bepermanently Additionally, approximately 2,500 funded position that are currently vacant will be permanently abolished.
The new Tier V pensionh tier would apply only to new Other keycomponents include: Raising the minimum age at whicg an individual can retire without penalty from 55 to 62, and imposwe a penalty of up to 38 percent for any employees who retire prior to age 52. • Requiringh employees to continue contributing 3 percent of theitr salaries towards pension costs for their entire careerx rather than ending their contributions after 10 years of service. • Increasing the minimum yearsw of service required to draw a pension from 5 years to10 • Capping the amount of discretionary overtime that can be consideref in the calculation of pensioj benefits at $10,000 per year.
Union officiala said that the Patersonn administration also has pledged that it will not pursues layoffs during the nexttwo years. CSEA and PEF said they will accepgt Paterson’s proposed legislation seeking to establisnhTier V, saying it “reflects the reality of current economi c conditions and the fact that it will only applyt to future hires,” the unions said in a joint statement.
“From the start, CSEA has remainexd focused on not just protectingh our members but also the essential services we provide to New Yorkereevery day,” said CSEA President Danny “CSEA recognizes these are extraordinary times with unprecedented challengees and we have tried to find ways to help withouy reopening contracts. We believe the agreement worked out withthe governor’a office achieves all of these PEF President Ken Brynien said Patersohn “moved significantly from his originap demands for major contract concessions from the state’s work [Click the video image on the righ t to see the union's initial responser to Gov. Paterson's planned layoffs].