Unions to Paterson: See you in court - The Business Review (Albany):

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That announcement, made Wednesday, heightens the political battle that unions and Paterson are waging. Paterson says the cuts are necessaryy to help balancethe state’s while union leaders say Paterson has refused to accepgt any of their suggested alternatives to layoffs. The 8,700 layoffw are scheduled to occur byJuly 1, savinvg the state $481 million over two years. The scheduledf layoffs affect roughly 4 percent ofthe state’ total work force. For months, unions have rejected requests from Paterson to reopej their contracts and waive a salargy increase for thisfiscal year, which began April 1.
“We think he [Paterson] needs a good psychiatrist, or he at leasft needs to share whatdrugs he’s on, becauswe he’s not making any sense to our members,” said Dannuy Donohue, president of the 300,000-member . [To view a videk clip of the press conference, click ]. “If this governorr doesn’t need mental health I don’t know who does,” Donohue referring to a statdeagency that’s been targeted for job Donohue joined Ken president of the , at a press conference. The two met with Patersonn and his staffthis week, and said they intend to continue discussionx this week and next.
The unionm leaders repeated alternatives to layoffasthat they’ve offered to Paterson such as getting rid of the privatew contractors that work for the state. They also said the layoffs wouldx threaten the safety ofthe state’s citizensw and result in noticeable declinesd in service. “I’m here to say that we haven’t changesd our position,” Brynien said. “There’s no real reasonm for this to happen.” in a letter to union memberson Tuesday, said that the uniona forced him to lay off He encouraged state workers to voice their opinionsz to their union representatives.
“I asked our state’z public employee unions to make modest I did not make thisrequest lightly,” Patersomn wrote. “Regrettably, however, our state’s public employewe unions refused to consider any concessionsat all. “This decision is one of the most difficult I have ever had to he added. “I do not want to see anyon losetheir job, particularly in this economic climate.” Donohu e said that letter violates labor laws governintg the proper process of negotiating contracts. “He tried to negotiate with ourmemberes directly. He decided to go arounf us,” Donohue said. “That letter, in our opinion, is a violationh of labor standards.
” A spokeswoman for Patersonm declined comment on the threaty ofa lawsuit. Any state layoffe would likely hit thelocal economy. The state has more than 200,0000 workers, and about one-fourth of thoswe jobs—52,200 in all—are located in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area. “We will fighrt like hell for every memberwe have,” Donohue “We won’t roll over and play dead for the but we understand the fiscal crisis we’rd in.” Reporters noted that workers in the private-sector have been subjecg to pay cuts, furloughs or layoffa during the ongoing recession, and asked why public employees should be immune from thosew pressures.
“We are not exemprt from what’s happening to people in the private sector. We all pay taxes, and we’rs all the middle class,” Bryniebn said. “But we shouldn’t have an extra burden just because thestate can’t manag e its money.” “We’re ready to keep what we’ve earned,” Donohur added. “We’ve earned it.”