Cuomo announces major labor concessions from law enforcement union

PHOTOGRAPHER: David Lombardo

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced major labor concessions from the state’s law enforcement officers union.

Council 82, which represents more than 1,000 employees in SUNY police, Park Police and Department of Environmental Conservation Officers and Forest Rangers, has approved wage freezes for the next three years, elimination to “step increases,” additional employee health care contributions, reforms to health care benefits and changes to overtime, according to a press release by Cuomo.

In his release, Cuomo applauded the changes by Council 82 and suggested that their attitude should be copied by other public employees unions that are currently negotiating contracts with the state.

“This is a model the other unions negotiating with the state can follow,” he said. “If similar contract terms were adopted by New York’s other public employee unions, the state could achieve the $450 million in savings needed to avoid the 9,800 layoffs projected in the enacted budget.”

The changes to health care costs will include an increase to premiums and individual members’ share of expenses will increase from 10 percent to 20 percent, with employees on family coverage paying a 35 percent share. The state estimates $178 million in initial savings, with recurring savings in the future.

Those first-year savings, in addition to $196 million in health care benefit savings, $45 million worth of savings for reforming sick leave and $11 million in overtime reform savings, is worth a projected $430 million this year. This total is only $20 million away from the governor’s goal for savings from the state’s entire public sector force.