Statement from Governor David A. Paterson

ALBANY, NY (05/28/2010)(readMedia)-- "I am disappointed by the Court's ruling, as it prevents the implementation of State employee furloughs and requires the immediate payment of public employee pay raises. In his ruling, however, the judge did not agree with the unions' position that the State is not experiencing a fiscal crisis. The State is facing severe cash flow difficulties, and I have withheld or delayed payments to schools, non-profits, contractors and others in order to prevent the State from running out of cash.

"Today's ruling was determined in part by evidence submitted by the Legislature in opposition to the extraordinary action I took in proposing furloughs and withholding pay increases. However, both houses of the Legislature agree with my assertion that New York's public employee unions must contribute, along with all other New Yorkers, to solving this extraordinary fiscal crisis. This agreement is reflected in each of its individual budget resolutions, which count $250 million or more in workforce savings in the 2010-11 fiscal year. In light of today's ruling, I call upon Legislative leaders to meet with the public employee union leadership to achieve the workforce savings that we agree must be part of an enacted State budget."

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