Gov Cuomo Threatens 3,500 Union Firings

[Apocalypse]

Threatens 3,500 layoffs in ultimatum
By FREDRIC U. DICKER
September 26, 2011


Gov. Cuomo has drawn a line in the sand with the state’s second-largest public-employees union — saying he will lay off 3,500 workers if their membership doesn’t approve a bare-bones contract when it votes tomorrow, The Post has learned.


If the Public Employee Federation rejects the plan on the table, which is very likely, workers will receive their pink slips on Wednesday.


It would be the first large-scale work-force reduction since Cuomo took office in January and would show that he is willing to play hardball with unions in order to reduce state government spending…


The firing letters have already been prepared and are ready for distribution.


“The state employees have their destiny in their own hands,’’ said state Operations Director Howard Glaser of tomorrow’s vote.


“There is no other option to layoffs if they fail to ratify the contract. The costs of the work force are unsustainable, and there’s no other option to layoffs if the PEF members fail to ratify the contract,” Glaser continued.


The pink slips would come shortly after the state’s largest union, the Civil Service Employees Association, approved in August a contract that’s virtually identical to the one Cuomo is offering the PEF…




http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/a...C-rss&FEEDNAME


Where are the protest? Where are the accusations by the left of union busting?

[noonwitch]

The union will cave.


If Cuomo were a republican, they'd take him to court and probably win.

[Elspeth]

The union will cave.


If Cuomo were a republican, they'd take him to court and probably win.

That's why the Democrats are doing the dirty work.

[noonwitch]

That's why the Democrats are doing the dirty work.

I'm a state employee, and have been for almost 25 years.


When I was hired, we had a very pro-labor governor. The union didn't have to fight Blanchard, he gave us a pretty good deal.

John Engler, a republican, became governor in 1991. He threatened to lay off thousands, even sent out the pink slips ( I got one, being a newer employee at the time). The union took him to court and won. They took him to court over other things, and won most of the big cases.

Jennifer Granholm becomes governor, and proposes drastic pay cuts so that the state won't have to lay off a bunch of employees. The union calls for a vote after harrassing us to vote for the pay cuts. It barely passes. The union continues to give her everything she asks for during the next 8 years, until she decided to start making active employees pay 3% of each pay check to cover the expenses of retirees' health care. They did take that to court and recently, the MSSP ruled that it is against the state constitution to take that money. They only took the issue to court because Granholm was leaving office and a republican was coming in.

This is why although I support my right to have a union represent me for contract and worksite issues, I don't think that a public employees union should be allowed to donate money to political campaigns.