Unions, Paterson reach agreement to avoid mass layoffs - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Under the terms of the agreement reached betweeb Paterson andthe unions, New York will reducs the state’s payroll by encouraging employee in specific positions to take a cash buyout to leave state service. The unionx said the buyout offers will be available to all employees in thetargetexd positions. Paterson had announcefd plans to cutnearly 9,000 statew workers. “This agreement is a huge win forNew York’s taxpayerxs and will lead to the most significant reform of our publifc pension system in decades,” Paterson “This is real reform to the pension system which will substantiallyh reduce costs to the taxpayers of New York According to the governor’s office, the deal will reduce the state’xs workforce by about 7,000 positions and save taxpayers about $440 millio over the next two A voluntary reduction in work schedul will also be implemented.
The estimated savingsx are roughly the amount that was projected to be savedr through the proposed layoffs that were announcedin “This agreement means a smaller statee work force, savings for taxpayers, and a new pensio n tier that provides long-term fiscal stability for the Paterson said. “As I have said from the beginning of this my overriding goal was to achieve needed savings and workforcecost reductions, whil e at the same time avoiding large scale layoffx during the worst economic downturmn in a generation. This agreement achieves thosd objectives in a compassionate and fiscallyresponsibled way.
” A targeted, one-time $20,000 retirement incentive payment will be offered to approximatelu 4,500 employees. Incentives must be approved by each respectivse agency and the Division of the Budget and will only be providec to individuals in positions that will bepermanently Additionally, approximately 2,500 funded position s that are currently vacant will be permanentluy abolished. The new Tier V pensiobn tier would apply only tonew employees. Othee key components include: Raising the minimum age at which an individual can retire withou penalty from 55to 62, and imposr a penalty of up to 38 percenr for any employees who retire prior to age 52.
• Requiring employeeds to continue contributing 3 perceny of their salaries towards pensio costs for their entire careers rather than ending theifr contributions after 10 yearsof service. • Increasinb the minimum years of service requirerd to draw a pension from 5 years to10 years. • Capping the amount of discretionarg overtime that can be considered in the calculation of pensiob benefitsat $10,000 per year.
Union officialse said that the Paterson administration also has pledgeds that it will not pursue layoff s during the next two CSEA and PEF said they willaccept Paterson’s proposed legislation seeking to establish Tier V, sayinbg it “reflects the reality of currentt economic conditions and the fact that it will only apply to futurd hires,” the unions said in a joint statement. “Fronm the start, CSEA has remained focused on not just protectinfg our members but also the essential servicesd we provide to New Yorkersevert day,” said CSEA President Danny Donohue.
“CSEA recognizes these are extraordinary times with unprecedented challenges and we have tried to find ways to help withougreopening contracts. We believe the agreement workecd out withthe governor’s officde achieves all of thess aims.” PEF President Ken Brynienh said Paterson “moved significantly from his original demandsw for major contract concessions from the state’s work [Click the video image on the righty to see the union's initial responsre to Gov. Paterson's planned layoffs].