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Between demands for mandate relief and the governor's efforts to chop the work force, municipal unions have their hackles up. But even members of Cuomo's Mandate Relief Team freely admit the preliminary report released Tuesday is pretty tame.
ALBANY --
Peter Baynes, NYCOM - Mandate Relief Team describes the handful of recommendations his team came out with as the "low-hanging fruit". "Largely, it's to stop the growth in mandates, but still needs to address current mandates that currently crushing tax payers in New York".
With the looming possibility of a tax cap, Baynes, who represents mayors, had hoped to see immediate relief for local governments on healthcare & wages. He didn't. That said, unions did not emerge unscathed. The Mandate Relief Team called for the implementation of a Tier VI benefits package. CSEA and NYSUT immediately fired back, saying
Such recommendations ignore the shared sacrifice already shouldered by public employees. A clear reference to the Tier V concessions unions made during David Paterson’s tenure.
While the Public Employees Federation wasn't as vocal as CSEA about Tier VI, the union's viewpoint was clear at today's budget hearing on workforce issues.
Kenneth Brynien from the Public Employees Federation says, "In essence, state employees have to pay out of their own pockets to keep their own facilities open. That's what's happening here."
The Cuomo administration is demanding 450 million dollars in workforce "savings" something that will be addressed during this month's contract negotiations…if they ever get started…
Kenneth Bryien adds, "To date, there have been two meetings. The first meeting was about scheduling a meeting. The second meeting was about having a meeting."
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