CSEA President Danny Donohue said, “CSEA has repeatedly told the Governor that it will not reopen contracts.”

Health Care

Governor Paterson’s budget slashes the health care system by $3.5 billion in cuts and taxes to health care programs.

Cuts include:

Paterson’s budget also eliminates:

Education

The Executive Budget proposes

Higher Education

Revenue

Governor Paterson’s proposal did not include an income tax increase for the wealthy, but did however include 88 new taxes and fees that would total $4 billion.  These include:

CSEA President Danny Donohue said, “The middle class will have to pay more and get less while the wealthiest New Yorkers slide by under the Governor’s proposal.  There is no sharing of the sacrifice here – it’s working people getting stuck with the bill.”  CSEA will work with the Governor and the Legislature to help pass a budget that is not on the backs of working families in New York State.

Choose a subject below

PENSIONS

Tier V – For Newly Hired Employees of the State and Local Governments.

The Proposal calls for all State and local government employees who are members of the New York Sate and Local Employees Retirement System (ERS), the New York State Teachers Retirement System (TRS) the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCTRS), the New York City Board of Education Employee Retirement System (BERS) and the New York State and City optional Retirement Program (ORP) hired after March 1, 2009.

STATE WORKFORCE

The proposed budget continues the hiring freeze instituted in 2008.  It calls for agency consolidations/mergers and facility closures.

Salary / Payroll Proposals:

** We believe these actions cannot be taken without negotiations, and CSEA will NOT re-open contracts **

Employee/Retirees Health Insurance:

Sliding scale for health insurance contributions for future retirees covered under NYSHIP: 

Medicare Part B Premiums – this proposal would require active and retired employees to pay a share of the Medicaid Part B premium.  Currently the State pays 100 percent of the premium.  This is only for those covered under NYSHIP.

The budget includes destructive cuts in state services and the state workforce, while ignoring revenue-raising options.

CSEA members work hard in good times and bad.

The average CSEA member makes $40,000 per year and retirees have pensions of about $14,000.

Over many years and numerous contracts CSEA has fought to ensure that all formal, current and future members earn a living wage and have adequate pension and health care in retirement.  This budget seeks to undo those gains.

Wage Freeze – We will not re-open our contract.  CSEA negotiated a 4-year contract that was both fair and reasonable for our members and the state.

Salary Deferral – losing one-weeks pay will hurt my family and only cost the State more in the long-term.

These proposals violate our contract and we will fight against these changes.

Isn’t there a better way then making it harder for the people who do the work everyday!

Contact the Governor and State Legislators – Let them know that services will suffer if they go forward with these cuts.

Sample Letter – State Workforce

OFFICE OF CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES

The proposed budget does away with the 12-month closure notification law.

6 Youth Facility Closures:

2 Youth Facilities Downsized:

3 Evening Reporting Centers Closures:

Talking Points – OCFS Closures.

OCFS claims the facilities to be closed or downsized were selected because of high vacancy rates.  However, we know how vacancy rates are manipulated by the agency through the placement and transfer of youths.

Due to deceptive actions by OCFS, CSEA ended its participation in a Labor-Management Task Force designed to help transform NYS juvenile justice system.

The proposed closing of youth facilities:

The facilities slated for closure provide the small-scale environments that research studies document as enabling improved treatment for youth.

Over one-third of all OCFS-placed youth in private facilities fail in these placements and are transferred to OCFS facilities for more appropriate care.

In November 2008 alone, 19 youth were returned to Pyramid from private facilities.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY MERGERS 

The state’s economic development programs are currently administered by three entities:

The proposed Executive Budget proposes to merge three economic development entities – the Department of Economic Development (DED), the Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) and the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC).

DED and NYSTAR would be eliminated and their core programs would be assumed by ESDC.

Talking Points – Economic Development Mergers

The state must not allow all of its major economic development programs to be run by public benefit corporation – ESDC.  It should be run by a state agency.

Economic Development should be consolidated into the Department of Economic Development (DED).  Transferring the personnel and functions of ESDC and NYSTAR into DED:

The state will still benefit from the cost savings, while public employees and the public are protected.

Contact the Governor and your elected officials and let them know that the state’s economic development programs should be run by a state agency NOT a public benefit corporation.

Sample Letter – State Workforce

CORRECTIONS

Planned Decrease of 1,342 Full-time Equivalent (FTE’s) Positions, due to planned consolidations

4 minimum-security camps are slated for closure:

DOCS plans to close several annexes to further consolidate the system and discontinue Prison Farm Operations at 12 Correction Facilities.

The budget provides for an accelerated closure notification to override the 12-month closure notification law and requires only 90-day notification in times of fiscal crisis.  Fiscal Crisis is defined as 2 consecutive quarters of decline in the gross domestic product (GDP).  Authorization for accelerated procedure will remain in effect until the close of the third year immediately following the fiscal year of the economic downturn.

Notice of closures is expected in March 2009 with the closures effective in June 2009.  Staff at affected facilities will be offered positions at other correctional facilities or can accept openings in other state agencies.

Talking Points – Corrections

Closing facilities is dangerous for employees and inmates.

DOC’s is wrong in their plan to “right size” corrections:

The 12-month notification law must not be eliminated.

The promise of position in another facilities or state agency is misleading:

HEALTHCARE

The proposed budget calls for $2.5 billion in overall health care cuts.

Hospitals

$1 billion in cuts for hospitals

Nursing Homes

$845 million in cuts for nursing homes statewide.

Other Provisions

Talking Points – Healthcare

This budget would cause great harm to those who need health services by outright eliminating needed services or reducing the system’s ability to provide the service.

With the coming spike in the elderly through the retirement of the “baby-boomers,” the state should be creating more nursing home beds instead of eliminating the ones that we already have.

An increase in the covered lives assessment will raise our health insurance premiums.  Health insurance is expensive already – the Governor should not be balancing the budget through fees that he knows will be paid by the middle-class.

Public hospitals are facing revenue shortfalls already.  Redistributing Graduate Medical Education (GME) funding will only cause longer waits in the emergency room and fewer staff to administer services.

Many of our nursing homes are already short-staffed.  Eliminating the workforce recruitment and retention grant will cause fewer people to enter and stay in the health care field.

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

The proposed budget calls for stagnant aid to municipalities, reduction in state reimbursement for county run programs and a decrease in benefits for local government employees.

Talking Points – Local Governments

With the cost of gas, groceries, and other household goods going up well over 3% for the past year, taking away my COLA of 3% will cause me more harm than the economy is already doing.

Local government workers are on the front line of identifying fraud and abuse in social service programs.  By eliminating the need for face-to-face interviews of social service recipients, our chances of catching fraud will decrease.

Municipal governments have been hit hard by this economic downturn as well.  Localities need more help from the state now in order to ensure that vital services are still r\provided, and the safety of all citizens is maintained.

Cutting reimbursements to counties and local governments for services that they provide will only force local governments to stop providing the service.

The creation of a TIER 5 retirement system is the easy way out to deal with a complex problem.  The salaries and benefits of CSEA members are not what are creating budget deficits.

NURSING HOMES

The proposed budget call for $845 million in cuts for nursing homes statewide.

Talking Points – Nursing Homes

This budget would cause great harm to those who need nursing home based services by eliminating needed services or reducing the system’s ability to provide the service.

With the coming spike in the elderly through the retirement of the “baby-boomers,” the state should be creating more nursing home beds instead of eliminating the ones that we already have.

Many of our nursing homes are already short-staffed.  Eliminating the workforce recruitment and retention grant will cause fewer people to enter and stay in the health care field.

EDUCATION

Overall School Aid Cut by $2.5 billion from Expected Levels

Deficit Reduction Assessment (DRA) – a one-time $1.1 billion assessment would be taken against the total formula based aids.  Individual school districts will see reductions of anywhere from 3% to 13% depending on district wealth.

Pre-School Special Education – shifts approximately $188.3 million (15%) to school districts.

BOCES Aid – maintains the formula resulting in an increase of $33 million to a total of $706 million.

Universal Pre-K Frozen at 2008-09 Level

Full phase in extended to 2014-15, but exempted from the overall Deficit Reduction Assessment (DRA).

STAR – Continues the Enhanced and Basic STAR exemptions, but eliminates the Middle Class Star Rebate Program.

Reserve Accounts – allows school districts to withdraw funds from the employee benefits accrued liability reserve.

Talking Points – Education

Governor Paterson’s proposal to cut $2.5 billion in school aid would be devastating to the quality of education students across New York deserve.

Our schools and students cannot afford these proposed cuts.

The cuts to school aid meals services will have to be cut and property taxes will be raised.

Shifting a larger percentage of the cost of Pre-School Special Education from the state and counties to school districts will mean put an additional burden on school districts.

The Governor calls for a “shared sacrifice” from everyone except the wealthy.

Share the sacrifice of this budget deficit without putting the brunt of the burden on working and middle-class families by raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Administrative Flexibility

CSEA OPPOSES the budget proposal that also allows for more flexibility for SUNY and CUNY to have the flexibility to enter into contracts/procurements without pre-approval for goods, services and construction.

Talking Points – Higher Education

Across the state CSEA members deliver essential services that all New Yorkers depend on.

New York’s Higher Education system is one of the best in the country.  New Yorkers would benefit by keeping SUNY schools competitive and bringing more students to New York.

Investing more in higher education will attract young people all over the world to come to New York and help keep younger people in the state.

SUNY Flexibility

SUNY could privatize services currently provided by public employees.

Private vendors are not subject to the same accountability or oversight as are state employees.

Profit, not quality of service, is the driving motivator of private contractors.

It is critical to ensure that only the most qualified individuals are hired for public services.