THIS WEEK IN ALBANY

CSEA / AFSCME Lobby Day

photo:  Bess Watts

Hundreds of CSEA members from across the state traveled to Albany on Tuesday March 1st to urge legislators not to pass this budget that will hurt the elderly, the developmentally disabled, the poor and our families. This budget will result in massive layoffs across the State of New York. The members lobbied the legislators to not give a tax cut to the wealthy and instead to keep people working and create more jobs for all New Yorkers.

CSEA Delivers Testimony at Public Hearings

The Senate and Assembly held joint budget hearings throughout the past month to examine Governor Cuomo’s proposed budget. On March 2, CSEA Director of Legislative and Political Action Fran Turner testified before the Senate Finance Committee and Assembly Ways and Means Committee regarding workforce issues contained in the proposed budget.

At the same hearing, Director of State Operations Howard Glaser testified with skewed figures on how much the state workforce makes compared to the private sector. Following his testimony, Fran Turner addressed these miscalculations stating that the average salary for current CSEA state members is approximately $40,000, pays 25% of their health care premium and that the average CSEA pension is $14,000. The main focus of the testimony was made up of explaining the devastating impact that this budget would have on the neediest people while somehow excluding the wealthy from any sacrifice.

Here is a link to our testimony.

CSEA also submitted testimony before the New York State Assembly’s public hearing on property tax cap legislation.

Here is a link to that testimony.

The Mandate Relief Redesign Team Issues Preliminary Report

Although CSEA had representation on the team, there was never a final meeting of the Redesign Team to review the recommendations. Union representatives were not even given an opportunity to review the draft before it was released to the media.

The preliminary recommendations include creating a new Pension Tier 6, prohibiting new unfunded mandates, avoiding Wicks requirements, conducting a comprehensive review of all state mandates and requiring fiscal impact statements on any bills that would have a cost to local governments.

CSEA fought back against the recommendations that ignore the sacrifice already shouldered by public employees. Tier V reform was just implemented with union help in 2010 and is designed to save taxpayers $35 billion.

Budget Update

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has stated that the Assembly Democrats would include the extension of the income tax surcharge on the wealthiest New Yorkers in their one house budget bill. Governor Cuomo and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos have insisted that they do not want to extend the tax.

Governor Cuomo released his 30-day amendments on Thursday March 3rd. These amendments included a proposal to provide two-year appropriations in Medicaid and School Aid spending. Other additions include the recommendations of the Medicaid Redesign Team and a proposal that would make the recommendations of the prison closure task force binding on the Department of Corrections Commissioner.