Power Grid: Furlough Lowdown
Mon, 10 May 2010 11:52:00
Gov. David Paterson sparked a war with the public employee unions when he announced in late April that he would seek a one-day-a-week furlough for state workers. For months, the administration has tried to extract about $250 million in labor reduction costs from the unions, but was rebuffed. Paterson was taking a page from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who began furloughing state workers in early 2009 to address the state’s massive budget shortfall. Many unions have sued, arguing the governor has overstepped his authority by ordering state workers to take three days off a month without pay. Paterson’s plan is not quite as extensive as Schwarzenegger’s, but there a number of similarities. Here is a breakdown of each state’s furlough plan, which workers will be effected and how much savings each state expects to see.
CALIFORNIA:
Total state workforce: 358,000, including university system (238,229 without)
Number of employees furloughed: 238,000
Proportion of state workforce furloughed: 66.5 percent
Exempted: Highway patrollers, state firefighters, small pockets like the 8,000-person department that runs workers’ comp program.
Not exempted: Prison guards, law enforcement, health workers
Size of furlough cut: 15 percent (3 days/month)
Number of furlough days in past year: 40
Estimated savings: $2.22 billion for all funds. $1.3 billion for general fund. (For fiscal year July 1 2009 to June 30 2010.) For 17-month period, Feb ’09 to June ’10, total savings are $3 billion.
(As of 5/1/2010)
Source: California Department of Personnel Administration
NEW YORK:
Total state workforce: roughly 200,000, including SUNY and CUNY
Number of employees to be furloughed: about 100,000
Proportion of state workforce furloughed: roughly half
Exempted: Workers whose salaries are 100-percent funded by federal money, or who work in public health or safety, such as state police, corrections officers, nurses and mental health workers. Management-confidential level employees are also exempted because they did not receive a raise this year or last year.
Not exempted: Other executive branch employees
Size of furlough cut: 20 percent (1 day/week)
Number of furlough days in past year: N/A
Estimated savings: $300 million/week. The Public Employees Federation puts it at $39 million/week
(As of 5/1/2010)
Source: New York State Budget Office
CALIFORNIA:
Total state workforce: 358,000, including university system (238,229 without)
Number of employees furloughed: 238,000
Proportion of state workforce furloughed: 66.5 percent
Exempted: Highway patrollers, state firefighters, small pockets like the 8,000-person department that runs workers’ comp program.
Not exempted: Prison guards, law enforcement, health workers
Size of furlough cut: 15 percent (3 days/month)
Number of furlough days in past year: 40
Estimated savings: $2.22 billion for all funds. $1.3 billion for general fund. (For fiscal year July 1 2009 to June 30 2010.) For 17-month period, Feb ’09 to June ’10, total savings are $3 billion.
(As of 5/1/2010)
Source: California Department of Personnel Administration
NEW YORK:
Total state workforce: roughly 200,000, including SUNY and CUNY
Number of employees to be furloughed: about 100,000
Proportion of state workforce furloughed: roughly half
Exempted: Workers whose salaries are 100-percent funded by federal money, or who work in public health or safety, such as state police, corrections officers, nurses and mental health workers. Management-confidential level employees are also exempted because they did not receive a raise this year or last year.
Not exempted: Other executive branch employees
Size of furlough cut: 20 percent (1 day/week)
Number of furlough days in past year: N/A
Estimated savings: $300 million/week. The Public Employees Federation puts it at $39 million/week
(As of 5/1/2010)
Source: New York State Budget Office
