PEF Statement on Reports of Massive Workforce Reductions

ALBANY, NY (01/20/2011)(readMedia)-- "To date, the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) has had no formal notification regarding proposals for massive workforce reductions as part of the Executive Budget proposal," said PEF President Kenneth Brynien.

"We all understand the state's fiscal crisis and the need to find solutions, but any suggestion of reducing the state workforce by 10,000 to 15,000 would not only cripple the delivery of essential services, it would have a chilling effect on the state's economy and undermine the state's fragile recovery. We should all be working together to create jobs, not more layoffs.

"If the goal is to cut costs, PEF has several suggestions on how to achieve savings without damaging state services and harming the dedicated public employees who provide them. What cannot be lost in this debate is this is not just a spending problem, it is a revenue problem. We will present our suggestions to the governor on how to address both issues," Brynien said.

PEF is the state's second-largest, state-employee union, representing 56,000 professional, scientific and technical employees.

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