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

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Under the terms of the agreement reachee between Paterson andthe unions, New York will reduce the state’ws payroll by encouraging employees in specific positions to take a cash buyoutf to leave state service. The unions said the buyout offer s will be available to all employees in thetargetexd positions. Paterson had announced plan s to cutnearly 9,000 stat e workers. “This agreement is a huge win forNew York’sw taxpayers and will lead to the most significanf reform of our public pension system in Paterson said.
“This is real reform to the pension system which will substantially reduce costzs to the taxpayers of New York According tothe governor’se office, the deal will reduce the state’s workforcs by about 7,000 positions and save taxpayers aboutf $440 million over the next two years. A voluntaryh reduction in work schedule will also be The estimated savings are roughly the amount that was projectes to be saved through the proposed layoffsa that were announcedin March. “This agreement means a smaller statework force, savings for and a new pension tier that providezs long-term fiscal stability for the state,” Patersomn said.
“As I have said from the beginninv ofthis process, my overriding goal was to achievw needed savings and workforce cost while at the same time avoiding largr scale layoffs during the wors t economic downturn in a generation. This agreement achievezs those objectives in a compassionate and fiscallyyresponsible way.” A targeted, one-time $20,000 retirement incentive paymenty will be offered to approximately 4,500 employees. Incentives must be approvedd by each respective agench and the Division of the Budget and will only be provided to individuals in positionse that will bepermanentl abolished.
Additionally, approximately 2,500 funded positiones that are currently vacant will bepermanentlg abolished. The new Tier V pension tier would apply only to new Other keycomponents include: • Raisingt the minimum age at which an individualk can retire without penalty from 55 to 62, and imposer a penalty of up to 38 percent for any employees who retirse prior to age 52. • Requiring employeese to continue contributing 3 percent of their salaries towardz pension costs for their entire careers rather than ending theirt contributions after 10 yearsof service. Increasing the minimum years of service requirede to draw a pension from 5 yeara to10 years.
• Capping the amount of discretionary overtime that can be considered in the calculatioj of pension benefitsat $10,000 per year. Unionn officials said that the Patersonh administration also has pledged that it will not pursued layoffs during the nexttwo years. CSEA and PEF said they will accepgt Paterson’s proposed legislation seeking to establisyTier V, saying it “reflectsx the reality of currenyt economic conditions and the fact that it will only apply to futurd hires,” the unions said in a joint “From the start, CSEA has remained focusee on not just protecting our members but also the essentiapl services we provide to New Yorkers every said CSEA President Danny “CSEA recognizes these are extraordinary times with unprecedentedc challenges and we have tried to find ways to help withougt reopening contracts.
We believe the agreemeng worked out withthe governor’s office achievews all of these aims.” PEF Presidenyt Ken Brynien said Paterson “moved significantly from his originall demands for major contract concessionds from the state’s work [Click the video imager on the right to see the union's initiak response to Gov. Paterson's planned layoffs].