Post by onthejob on Nov 28, 2011 22:39:47 GMT -5
Nassau officials: 400-plus layoffs possible
November 28, 2011 by ROBERT BRODSKY / robert.brodsky@newsday.com
More than 400 Nassau County employees will be laid off and 200 others demoted unless labor unions can scrape together $75 million in concessions by Dec. 15, county officials said Monday.
County Executive Edward Mangano announced he is moving forward with a plan to reduce the county's workforce because labor negotiations have failed to produce a voluntary deal. Nassau faces a $310 million deficit for fiscal 2012.
The hardest hit departments include social services, parks, recreation and museums, police, and public works, according to a list obtained by Newsday.
The plan, outlined in a bill delivered to the Nassau legislature just before the Thanksgiving holiday break, affects 835 county workers in 35 departments. Nassau would save $73.5 million -- $61 million through reductions in salary, overtime and longevity, and $12 million from health care. The layoffs would occur before the end of the year.
"There is still a small window for Nassau's union presidents to come forward with voluntary concessions that avoid severe layoffs," Mangano said in a statement. "I do not take joy in laying off a single employee or demanding concessions. However, the approved 2012 budget sets a payroll allocation that must be met."
A second round of layoffs is expected before Feb. 1 unless an additional $75 million in union concessions occur, he said.
Labor leaders say their members will not agree to concessions that would bring pay cuts of between $12,000 and $35,000 per employee, depending on the union.
"My goal is to save all of the jobs, but I just don't think it's possible," said Jerry Laricchiuta, president of the Civil Service Employees Association, which would see its ranks reduced by about 300 workers.
Laricchiuta called on the county to offer workers incentives to retire voluntarily. But administration officials said any such plan must be part of an overall savings package offered by the unions.
Mangano's plan calls for a loss of 435 workers, either through layoffs or retirements. An additional 217 workers would be moved into lower-paid positions while 183 vacant positions would not be filled.
The police department head count would decline by 115, with the bulk of the cuts coming through retirements or layoffs of nonuniformed personnel, officials said. Nassau anticipates saving $9.63 million -- more than half of the $18 million in police cuts -- by reducing the number of officers, lieutenants and detectives.
The list does not detail how many uniformed cops would be affected. But Mangano said his plan will not remove officers from the streets as reductions will come from personnel assigned to desk duties.
Police Benevolent Association president James Carver said the department already is understaffed after three years without any new police hires. "Criminals are beginning to notice that there" are fewer police out there, he said.
The police cuts would be separate from another Mangano proposal that could produce more police layoffs through the closure of two precincts and consolidation of six others. The county could still explore those measures in its second round of cuts, said Mangano spokesman Brian Nevin.
Legislative Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) said labor could have prevented the layoffs. "The unions had a chance to make a deal," he said. "Now is the time for action."
But Legis. Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport), the incoming leader for the minority Democrats, said the "administration chose to never effectively negotiate with labor."While union officials continue to meet daily with the administration, both sides declined to discuss the state of the negotiations other than to say a deal has not been reached.
November 28, 2011 by ROBERT BRODSKY / robert.brodsky@newsday.com
More than 400 Nassau County employees will be laid off and 200 others demoted unless labor unions can scrape together $75 million in concessions by Dec. 15, county officials said Monday.
County Executive Edward Mangano announced he is moving forward with a plan to reduce the county's workforce because labor negotiations have failed to produce a voluntary deal. Nassau faces a $310 million deficit for fiscal 2012.
The hardest hit departments include social services, parks, recreation and museums, police, and public works, according to a list obtained by Newsday.
The plan, outlined in a bill delivered to the Nassau legislature just before the Thanksgiving holiday break, affects 835 county workers in 35 departments. Nassau would save $73.5 million -- $61 million through reductions in salary, overtime and longevity, and $12 million from health care. The layoffs would occur before the end of the year.
"There is still a small window for Nassau's union presidents to come forward with voluntary concessions that avoid severe layoffs," Mangano said in a statement. "I do not take joy in laying off a single employee or demanding concessions. However, the approved 2012 budget sets a payroll allocation that must be met."
A second round of layoffs is expected before Feb. 1 unless an additional $75 million in union concessions occur, he said.
Labor leaders say their members will not agree to concessions that would bring pay cuts of between $12,000 and $35,000 per employee, depending on the union.
"My goal is to save all of the jobs, but I just don't think it's possible," said Jerry Laricchiuta, president of the Civil Service Employees Association, which would see its ranks reduced by about 300 workers.
Laricchiuta called on the county to offer workers incentives to retire voluntarily. But administration officials said any such plan must be part of an overall savings package offered by the unions.
Mangano's plan calls for a loss of 435 workers, either through layoffs or retirements. An additional 217 workers would be moved into lower-paid positions while 183 vacant positions would not be filled.
The police department head count would decline by 115, with the bulk of the cuts coming through retirements or layoffs of nonuniformed personnel, officials said. Nassau anticipates saving $9.63 million -- more than half of the $18 million in police cuts -- by reducing the number of officers, lieutenants and detectives.
The list does not detail how many uniformed cops would be affected. But Mangano said his plan will not remove officers from the streets as reductions will come from personnel assigned to desk duties.
Police Benevolent Association president James Carver said the department already is understaffed after three years without any new police hires. "Criminals are beginning to notice that there" are fewer police out there, he said.
The police cuts would be separate from another Mangano proposal that could produce more police layoffs through the closure of two precincts and consolidation of six others. The county could still explore those measures in its second round of cuts, said Mangano spokesman Brian Nevin.
Legislative Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) said labor could have prevented the layoffs. "The unions had a chance to make a deal," he said. "Now is the time for action."
But Legis. Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport), the incoming leader for the minority Democrats, said the "administration chose to never effectively negotiate with labor."While union officials continue to meet daily with the administration, both sides declined to discuss the state of the negotiations other than to say a deal has not been reached.
