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| CO Union offers furloughs to cut budget |
| By CHELSEA CONABOY- Concord Monitor. |
| Published: 05/03/2009 |
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State Employees' Association plans furlough offer to cut budget Some employees say they can't afford it By CHELSEA CONABOY- Monitor staff If it would save their jobs or their coworkers', some state employees said they would gladly take a week or two of unpaid leave. Others said they simply couldn't afford to. The State Employees' Association plans to propose to lawmakers and negotiators that its 11,000 members take voluntary furloughs, or days of unpaid leave, in lieu of layoffs. The union faces tough contract negotiations amid legislative efforts to close a more than $500 million state deficit. The actual cost savings of those furloughs, however, could be minimal. Gov. John Lynch had proposed laying off up to 300 state employees to help close the gap, though the version of the budget approved by the House reduced that. Lawmakers are considering other measures, including requiring state employees and retirees to pay more for their health care. On Wednesday, the union's decision makers, called the "bargaining Senate," voted to support a negotiating plan that would "save jobs through voluntary unpaid leaves of absence," according to a memo sent out via e-mail to members. The group will take that proposal to lawmakers and state bargainers, while also trying to convince them that they are looking to put too much of the burden on the backs of state employees. "We want to be part of the solution," said SEA Vice President Diana Lacey, "but we cannot be the sacrificial lamb." The union has not estimated how many of its members would take furloughs or exactly how much money could be saved. According to data from the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, it could be very little. The total salary and wages expected to be paid to full-time state employees this year is about $580 million, not including overtime. If all 11,000 employees took a one-day furlough, that would save about $2.2 million. But about half of that money comes from federal grants or other sources, not the state's general fund. A system-wide, week-long furlough would save only about $5.5 million in general fund money - or less than 1 percent of the annual payroll. Legislators would also have to weigh the question of who and how many people would take the voluntary furloughs, said Steve Norton, executive director of the nonpartisan center. "To sacrifice a day a month to keep fellow employees employed? I would be willing to sacrifice that," said Steve Eccleston, who manages the license plate shop for the Department of Corrections and has worked for the state for 18 years. But, he said, he doesn't think he could do much more than that. John Liptak, who works in the Department of Environmental Services Hazardous Waste Division, said he thinks a lot of people would volunteer. When someone in the office has a long illness and runs out of sick time, people are quick to volunteer their own sick time to help, he said. Liptak wouldn't be among volunteers, he said. His wife can't work and his 25-year-old son just moved into their home after losing his own job. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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