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The head of the union
representing hundreds of corrections officers in the North Country
says his members are being asked to absorb a disproportionate number
of layoffs as part of Governor’s Paterson plan to reduce the size of
the state workforce.
Donn Rowe, President
of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent
Association, says cutting more than 2000 prison jobs will jeopardize
public safety.
Having failed so far
to win concessions from the unions, Gov. David Paterson’s
administration is pressing ahead with plans to cut 8,900 jobs
statewide through attrition and layoffs. Paterson has estimates the
job cuts would save $481 million over two years.
In an interview on
Thursday, NYSCOPBA’s Donn Rowe was asked if there was any room to
reduce the number of workers in the prison system and why his
members won’t accept concessions. Click
here to listen to the audio.
Each state agency has
been told to reduce its workforce by 6.6 percent.
That means 2,021 cuts in the Department of Correctional Services,
How many jobs would
be eliminated at local facilities won’t be known until agency heads
submit plans for making the cuts. Those proposals are due April 21.
-Chris Knight,
4-10-09 |