DONOHUE RESPONDS TO PATERSON AND CUOMO CHESS MOVES

Albany, N.Y.--  In a story that appeared on a local television station on December 12, CSEA President Danny Donohue responds to Governor Paterson's recent decision to layoff nearly 900 state workers and Governor-Elect Cuomo's attempt to gear up for a fight with public employees when he takes office in January 2011.  The text of the video goes something like this:

Perhaps it was fitting that CSEA President Danny Donohue took in the Albany Devils hockey game on Saturday night because Donohue is an angry man and what better place to show the Governor and the Governor-elect you have "both gloves off"?

The oddity was that one day after hundreds of state workers were told they're being terminated at the end of the year, that's the night the local hockey team pays tribute to state labor unions.

"We're being recognized tonight by the Devils and the Governor is saying he wants to recognize us by putting people in the street," Donohue said. "That's ridiculous."

Something that really seems to make his blood boil is a "New York Times" article that reports Governor-Elect Andrew Cuomo is raising $10 million to essentially fight the labor unions.

"(Cuomo) said he wanted to come in and change things, we wanted to help him, we want to work with him," Donohue said. "We started off by getting a war chest to fight us on it. That's a great way to make friends and influence people."

And Donohue makes it very clear, he considers the war chest issue an insult to every public employee. He's vowing to fight for every worker who lost a job and he intends to convince the public whose to blame when things go wrong.

"Somewhere somebody is going to pay for all this," said Donohue. "And I believe the Governor is responsible for the first person in a mental hospital that's not being treated well to the person on a highway who gets hurt because there's not enough snow plow drivers.

"When those things happen, don't look at my members. They're out there doing the job. It's the governor and the politicians that are backing him on this. Yes there will be a fight. The fight is to maintain those services that New York State is paying for and wants."

Governor Paterson has maintained the nearly 900 layoff notifications that began on Friday are needed to reach $250 million in savings. Union leaders say the savings are minimal in light of a $9 billion budget deficit.

-WNYT.com