Archive for October, 2008

Union leaders meet with governor

Session on savings draws some optimism amid budget problems.

By Rick Karlin

Leaders of three major state employee unions met with Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday for what was described as a freewheeling discussion of how the state can save money to deal with its growing budget deficit.

Union leaders say they are cautiously optimistic after the meeting, in which the governor did not broach the issue of layoffs or of reopening labor contracts.

“It was actually a very productive, beneficial meeting,” said Kenneth Brynien, president of the Public Employees Federation, which attended the meeting along with reprsentatives from the Civil Service Employees Association and the Organization of Management/Confidential Employees.

“The governor is really trying to find ways to fix the crisis we are in,” added Brynien.

“It was actually a very productive, beneficial meeting,” added Stephen Madarasz, spokesman for CSEA.

Among the cost-saving suggestions: increased telecommuting, which could allow heat and light savings in some buildings and cutbacks on the use of outside consultants. Union members have long complained the state spends too much on consultants rather than having employees perform some tasks, although others have said consultants can provide flexibility.

Regardless of the outcome, Brynien said he was heartened by what he viewed as Paterson’s apparent willingness to look at all and any cost savings.

“He used the phrase, ‘There are no sacred cows,’ ” Brynien said.

Paterson’s office is also fielded visits from advocacy and other interest groups who, as a special Nov. 18 legislative session is approaches, are anxious to avoid cuts to their programs.

Paterson has said the current year’s deficit could hit $2 billion, and next year’s could hit $10 billion.

Comptroller Revises Job Forecast Downward

by Patrick McGeehan

Expecting a national recession to compound the effects of the Wall Street crisis, the New York City comptroller’s office is now forecasting that the city will lose 165,000 private-sector jobs over the next two years.

That would be almost twice as many as the comptroller’s office had projected three months ago, when it said that about 85,000 jobs would be lost. The difference, according to the comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr., is that the nation has slipped into a general recession with effects that will spread far beyond the financial services sector and across the whole city economy.

About one-fifth of those lost jobs, about 35,000, will come in investment banking and other financial services, according to the revised forecast. The previous projection was for a loss of 25,000 jobs in financial services, or almost one-third of the expected total.

The financial-services sector has had one of the biggest declines this year, while some sectors — including construction and tourism-related businesses — continued to add jobs through the summer. But the comptroller’s new forecast envisions significant cutbacks in those fields as a recession lingers and the cutbacks on Wall Street ripple outward.

“Some of this is a combination of the financial-market downturn, the credit crunch that’s having an effect on small businesses and the rest of the nation finally catching up with New York,” Mr. Thompson said. “While this is perhaps more abrupt than the last recession, we don’t think it’s going to be as prolonged.”

Mr. Thompson also said he expected that the rebounding dollar would lead to a reduction in tourism here. “Tourism has been up because the euro has been so strong, but in the last few weeks you’ve seen the euro tumble against the dollar,” he said.

The projected losses would amount to about 5 percent of all private-sector jobs in the city, but they would not be as great as in the last recession. In the downturn that lasted from 2001 into 2003, the city lost about 235,000 jobs, according to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Ronnie Lowenstein, director of the New York City Independent Budget Office, said her office had not updated its forecast of the city economy since the financial crisis worsened this fall. But she said she agreed with the view that the national recession would weigh heavily on a local economy, already beset by the devastation of its leading industry.

“We’re facing a problem that’s both cyclical and structural,” Ms. Lowenstein said. “We’re going to be affected by the U.S. downturn but there are going to be long-term changes in the financial sector that are going to affect us well beyond this recession. It’s likely that those structural changes will be accompanied by a smaller financial-activities sector than we’ve seen in recent years.”

New York City Construction Spending Forecast to Reach $33.8 Billion in 2008 and $93 Billion over Three Years, According to New York Building Congress Construction Outlook

Continued Strength May Be Seen in all Building Sectors Through 2009;
Economic Downturn Creates Uncertainty for 2010 and Beyond

NEW YORK, October 14, 2008 – For the second time this decade, New York City’s construction industry has proven its resilience while helping to bolster a struggling local economy, according to New York City Construction Outlook 2008-2010, an annual forecast and analysis prepared by the New York Building Congress. The report was released today at a Construction Industry Forum featuring New York City Planning Commission Chair Amanda M. Burden and New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky.

800,000 Uninsured Young Adults in New York

October 14th Forum Will Discuss Health Care Crisis and the Solutions

There is a time bomb silently ticking in New York State, a potential crisis that seems to have escaped the notice of many of our political leaders and social planners. In New York State alone, there are approximately 800,000 young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 without health insurance. These individuals hold jobs in environments such as fast-food franchises, small businesses and freelance work.

The Business and Labor Coalition of New York BALCONY, in partnership with the American Cancer Society, Demos, Freelancers Union, and the NYU Wagner Alumni Association, is sponsoring a forum on this pressing issue by providing an in-depth examination of the financial and medical consequences of the majority of our young workers not having health insurance. This forum will be held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at the NYU School of Law in the Greenberg Room, First Floor, 40 Washington Square South, Manhattan. It will run from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM and feature a wide array of health care experts. The public is invited.

To register for the Forum please go to the BALCONY website www.balconynewyork.com

and register via the Demos on line platform www.demos.org,

see: Demos Events October 14, 2008 , Uninsured Young Adults in New York.

Paterson wants union help in cutting costs

ALBANY — Gov. David Paterson, already wrestling with a potential $8 billion budget deficit next year, said today he plans to meet with union leaders later this month and has not ruled out layoffs of state workers as a potential cost-cutting measure.