Little has been made of the governor's Monday press conference in which she feted five state ferry system unions representing 1,500 workers who voluntarily re-negotiated their contracts to give up their pay raises to help the unique needs of their program.
For the remaining 58,000 state workers, all eyes focus on this Friday's court date over the governor's refusal to forward your negotiated economic package to the Legislature so they can vote it up or down.
A thumbs down by the Legislature triggers re-negotiation of your contracts. That way, if you choose to cut hours, take furloughs or suggest other options, you'll have guarantees that it will save the jobs of your co-workers and preserve programs vital to our state's most vulnerable and for public safety. Right now, the governor's budget takes away economic gains and still lays off co-workers and cuts vital programs. That's a lose-lose deal.
We're hoping the judge sorts out this polite dispute over process. If the judge rules in our favor, the debate can formally move to the Legislature, where it belongs.
There, you will be able to provide alternatives to the governor's all-cuts-now-but-pay-more-later budget plan. Alternatives like closing tax loopholes. Alternatives like squeezing every possible efficiency out to preserve vital programs. Opportunities to capture the $100 million in matching federal funds available to fund your contracts-amounting to half the funding needed. That $100 million in federal funds amounts to an economic stimulus because it would end up in your pocket and pumped back into the economy.
And to set the record straight, the governor's own budget director told a House committee Jan. 12 he didn't "have the authority" to re-open negotiations with the Federation. We hope the court resolves this limbo the governor's action has put you in.
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