(New York) State Employees’ Union Accepts Wage and Benefits Concessions (w/Andrew Cuomo)

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

ALBANY — Members of New York’s largest union of state employees, in a begrudging acknowledgment of the increasingly hostile mood toward public workers, have agreed to accept major wage and benefits concessions sought by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

The union, the Civil Service Employees Association, announced late Monday night that its members had voted by about 60 percent to 40 percent to approve the contract agreement that the governor and union leaders struck in June.

The ratification was a critical victory for Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat whose plan to close the state’s budget gap relied in large part on a bet that state employees would be willing to stomach a freeze on wages and an increase in the cost of health benefits in return for safeguarding their jobs.

The union’s president, Danny Donohue, said in a statement: “These are not ordinary times, and C.S.E.A. worked hard to reach an agreement that we believed would be in everyone’s best interest. C.S.E.A. members agree that this contract is reasonable and responsible for the long term and shows that C.S.E.A. members will do what is right for the good of all New Yorkers.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/nyregion/state-employees-union-accepts-wage-and-benefits-concessions.html

[BeyondGeography]

1. Did they clear that with Ed Schultz?

[Angry Dragon]

2. is the governor and the legislature going to do the same cuts??

that is the only fair thing

[cstanleytech]

3. Doubt it but as much as it sucks atleast the unions did get a vote there which

they didnt get with that asshole walker.

[indurancevile]

4. coming soon to your town too.

[libmom74]

5. Meanwhile NY's financial class

gets to keep their generous tax breaks, loopholes and giant bonuses for the heckauva job they've done with our economy! :grr:

[Historic NY]

8. It more about wasteful spending here & bloated dysfunctional government....

thing have been out of control for a number of years. We have gone through this before. Its whats happens when you keep spending w/o having the money to pay for it. For a number of years NY relied on smoke & mirror budget tricks, selling off property and then leasing it back, creating a new commission and staffing it with cronies. etc. For several years the state had been paying millions to keep a couple of unused prisons open because of some arcane union work rules...mind you there were no inmates there. Its an expensive state..People out there, doing the oh noes better check out some state history because its not the first time and it won't be the last. The concessions avoid mass layoffs...which would have happened like in the past. They used to have furlough days for employees. There is a big appetite for spending in this state what we don't have. Ny has been in a tail spin for years due to the high taxes, business has taken advantage of the tax break and incentives only to leave when they end. There just isn't any more to tax. It happening in communities all over the state. NY State pensions are the best in the nation, state & local employees are not sacrificing its fully funded. I've gotten my yearly COLA.

detail of the contract agreement.
http://governor.ny.gov/press/062211cseaagreement

On a side note all those fancy appointed commissioner jobs just got big whacks...instead of hundreds of thousands in salary they get paid only for the meetings they make and mileage.

[bread_and_roses]

14. It's also about the refusal to tax the rich and corporations at a fair rate

- and the willingness to lay all the "sacrifice" on teachers and DMV clerks.

The Feds won't tax the rich - so they squeeze the States. The States won't tax the rich, so they squeeze the Counties and Cities. The Counties and Cities for the most part can't tax the rich, so they squeeze their workers and tax-payers.

The rot starts at the top and goes right down the line.

And that good "D" Andrew is part of the problem, with his refusal to support a "millionaires tax" or a tiny stock transaction tax. He'd rather see teachers laid off and the road crews make "the sacrifices."

[Fruittree]

11. Not that you're not right on what you're saying but...

I live in upstate NY and our local paper has been posting the wages and benefits of some classes of state employees and it really is way out of line with what the average salary is in this area. I was actually surprised. I believe the average salary here is around $40,000 meanwhile a great many state employees are making well over $100,000 and even $200,000 with retirement at 50% salary in 20 years, no copay healthcare and no contribution to their retirement plan. I don't begrudge people what the unions have negotiated but we're in a position where our taxes have reached a rate (property + school = $7,000 on a 1400 sq foot house)where when we retire, we can't afford to stay. People are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. The city and town is constantly looking for new fees. There has to be some flexibility on everyone's part right now or we're not going to survive as a society. We can't take the attitude of "Well, what about him!" and "Why should I if she won't!"

[bread_and_roses]

13. What a crock. The average CSEA pension is less than $15, 000 yr

where do you get your information? "Most State employees" do not make over $100,000 per yr. For example, the CSEA worker I know who works in a State facility - in receiving - and makes around $40,000 after 25+ years. You are talking about a few top salaries. CSEA workers have bargained away raises in return for health care for years and years - as have many private sector union members.

CSEA members do not work just for the State - probably most work for County and Municipal governments. You really think the aide at the County Nursing Home makes $100,000 per yr? Use your head.

Our D governor refused to support continuing the "Millionaires Tax" or to actually collect a stock transaction tax that would take care of most of NY's fiscal woes.

It is not our teachers and public sector workers who are bankrupting our State, whatever the RW rag you're reading tells you.

[Fruittree]

15. I did not say "most" - I said "some classes"

My husband is a state employee and we definitely do not make anything near that but my point is that there is going to have to be flexibility all around as we also can't afford to have infinitely rising local taxes. I make $24000/year - $7000 in taxes is a big chunk and part of it does go to pay pensions. What is the answer? I am not absolving millionaires or corporations but I also think we need to look at everything openly.

[bread_and_roses]

16. The working class has already been "flexible" (ie, has already sacrificed)

Look at data on wages and taxes on the working/"middle" class. Wages have been flat for roughly thirty years when inflation is accounted for. A few years ago a study of taxes in NYS showed that the combined tax rate of the lowest income NYers was around 13%; the highest income NYers was around 6%. I doubt that's changed much in the last five years or so. (sorry, I don't have time to look up the study - may have been EPI).

Yes, the working and "middle" class is over-taxed - precisely because what we DON'T tax the millionaires, corporations, hedge-funders comes directly out of workers hides.

The answer? The answer is to tax the damn rich and corps at a fair share rate. The answer is to LOWER the age of SS/MA eligibility and to raise the income cap for SS taxes. The answer is to repeal the anti-union laws that make organizing so nearly impossible and get more private-sector workers organized so they can bargain instead of beg. The answer is that ALL our citizens - union or not - should have a secure retirement and health care.

The answer is NOT to penalize public sector workers and teachers to the rich can stash even more $$ money off-shore or in other tax shelters and crush workers even more.

[Fruittree]

17. I agree with you as to the under-taxing of the rich - but

at the same time you cannot have two classes within the middle class. It simply isn't fair to have one group who is working multiple jobs to just survive and another group who had the good fortune of having a strong union negotiating for them. I do not want to see people lose their benefits or pay but I also think we need to be realistic as to what we can afford even with raising the tax rate on the rich. The information I got, by the way is from the newspaper who published local salaries - I can't recall where they got them from.

[madrchsod]

6. they`ll never make it up....

[DCKit]

7. Will they wait until the ink is dry to start the layoffs? nt

[Historic NY]

10. There will be no layoffs.....in fact there a good chance they might be hiring..

workers to replace those retiring and perhaps a State Police class or two. I'm a retired public employee.

[boppers]

9. Do you make $63,382 per year?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/opinion/06sun1.html?pagewanted=all

[whyzayker]

12. I'm in that union

They caved...the agreement is bullshit...there is no job protection (based on wording) and insurance premiums will hike in November while we pay even more.Five furlough days this year..four next year..Oh well, at least Howard Stern and all the other wealthy New Yorkers got to keep their tax cut.