NEW SALEM, Armana--State unions must make concessions in order to save government jobs, Armana Gov. Dale Fulbright said Tuesday.
Fulbright and the state legislature are attempting to reach an agreement on how to climb out of a $763 million budget shortfall. Cuts have already been made, but the governor insists concessions from various state employees' unions are necessary to help avoid lay-offs.
"In lean times, we have two choices: either make concessions and share the burden collectively, or decline to make concessions and write out lay-off slips. I would really rather avoid the latter," he said at a Tuesday press conference.
Specifically, Fulbright is calling on the state teachers' union, the Armana Teachers Association (ATA), to make concessions on yearly pay increases and holiday reimbursement. The governor has also asked the Armana State General Employees' Union (ASGEU) to make concessions on holiday pay and retirement benefits.
"It's unfortunate, but we have to close this budget gap, and in order to do that, we need the unions to stop holding out and to sacrifice a little here and there," Fulbright said. "No one wants to make these concessions, but we've tried to make them as painless as we can given the situation, and we see the alternative of laying people off as not a good solution."
ATA President Brenda Siemen jumped on the governor's "sacrifice" comments, telling the Maine City Overseer that "teachers make huge sacrifices every day to supplement their classrooms and educate children."
"I don't think most people would consider cuts in pay and benefits for our hard-working teachers minor sacrifices like the governor does. I think he really stands alone on that," Siemen said.
Brett Stewart, who heads the ASGEU, told the GBC the governor is being dishonest, because cuts could be made in other areas instead of cutting pay and benefits for state workers.
"This is a classic strategy of this Conservative government: blame the unions for our budget problems. The fact is, if the governor would look harder at the budget, he could find other, less painful places to cut money without impacting the pay and retirement plans of state employees," Stewart said.
Grace Solomon, a spokeswoman for the governor's office, told the National Press Federation (NPF) that other parts of the budget are being impacted.
"We are seeing the budget impacted at many different levels. Agencies across the state are seeing their budgets slashed, less services being offered to the citizens, and that's because the governor is trying to make cuts in several different areas so we don't have just one area where we're feeling the pinch," Solomon said.
The budget showdown comes as Armana tries to fix its worst budget deficit in 12 years. The state's budget is better off than other states, but the 2011-2012 fiscal year has seen the first deficit since 2005.
Fulbright and the state legislature are attempting to reach an agreement on how to climb out of a $763 million budget shortfall. Cuts have already been made, but the governor insists concessions from various state employees' unions are necessary to help avoid lay-offs.
"In lean times, we have two choices: either make concessions and share the burden collectively, or decline to make concessions and write out lay-off slips. I would really rather avoid the latter," he said at a Tuesday press conference.
Specifically, Fulbright is calling on the state teachers' union, the Armana Teachers Association (ATA), to make concessions on yearly pay increases and holiday reimbursement. The governor has also asked the Armana State General Employees' Union (ASGEU) to make concessions on holiday pay and retirement benefits.
"It's unfortunate, but we have to close this budget gap, and in order to do that, we need the unions to stop holding out and to sacrifice a little here and there," Fulbright said. "No one wants to make these concessions, but we've tried to make them as painless as we can given the situation, and we see the alternative of laying people off as not a good solution."
ATA President Brenda Siemen jumped on the governor's "sacrifice" comments, telling the Maine City Overseer that "teachers make huge sacrifices every day to supplement their classrooms and educate children."
"I don't think most people would consider cuts in pay and benefits for our hard-working teachers minor sacrifices like the governor does. I think he really stands alone on that," Siemen said.
Brett Stewart, who heads the ASGEU, told the GBC the governor is being dishonest, because cuts could be made in other areas instead of cutting pay and benefits for state workers.
"This is a classic strategy of this Conservative government: blame the unions for our budget problems. The fact is, if the governor would look harder at the budget, he could find other, less painful places to cut money without impacting the pay and retirement plans of state employees," Stewart said.
Grace Solomon, a spokeswoman for the governor's office, told the National Press Federation (NPF) that other parts of the budget are being impacted.
"We are seeing the budget impacted at many different levels. Agencies across the state are seeing their budgets slashed, less services being offered to the citizens, and that's because the governor is trying to make cuts in several different areas so we don't have just one area where we're feeling the pinch," Solomon said.
The budget showdown comes as Armana tries to fix its worst budget deficit in 12 years. The state's budget is better off than other states, but the 2011-2012 fiscal year has seen the first deficit since 2005.
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