Visions of sugar plums dance in the heads of older state workers--amid Albany's $9 billion budget gap. They dream of fatter pensions should Senate approve Governor Paterson's early retirement bill as the Assembly did this week. Although a bonanza for... Read More
The Paterson administration, which leaves office December 31, is preparing a plan to lay off thousands of state workers on January 1. Is this real or a merely a threat to force recalcitrant unions to make concessions to achieve the $250 million in workforce... Read More
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not putting money for 2 percent raises for New York City teachers in his proposed budget. Despite that, some teachers will automatically get annual raises as high as 11.6 percent. Read More
Erie County workers vote this week on a tentative contract giving them a 15 percent raise over five years in exchange for eliminating paid retiree health insurance for future hires, as well as requiring a 50 percent contribution for recent hires. Read More
Taxpayers pay an average of $39.81 per hour to employ state and local government workers nationwide. That's $12 per hour more than total compensation costs for private-sector employees... Read More
Local governments are not racing to adopt the state's early retirement incentive, which would help trim their payrolls while increasing their pension costs. In St. Lawrence County, officials have advised county legislators to vote against offering... Read More
A newly created commission, taking aim at public-sector pension costs in Britain, is expected to recommend that government employees "pay hundreds or even thousands of pounds more into their pension pots, as the era of early retirement on generous payments... Read More
A gubernatorial task force failed to deliver what public employee unions sought: a recommendation that existing health benefits for retirees be virtually locked in place--despite budget gaps across the state. In a nine-page report, the Task Force on Public Retiree Health Insurance could not agree on the very issue... Read More