Governor’s threats hurt citizens of Pennsylvania
Human Services Campaign
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dateline: Harrisburg, PA; March 10, 2009; 2:30pm
Contact: Kathy Jellison, President, 717-319-6453 (cell) OR
Bill Bacon, Legislative Director, 717-919-5084 (cell)
SEIU Local 668 says Governor’s
threats hurt citizens of Pennsylvania
Governor has ignored Union’s cost-cutting suggestions
Kathy Jellison, President of SEIU Local 668, the Pennsylvania Social Services Union, said today that Governor Rendell is “negotiating though the press” and “not being honest with taxpayers.”
“The Governor says he is ‘giving us until the end of March’ to tell him how he should cut the budget or he will start layoffs,” said Jellison. “The truth is that we have repeatedly given him suggestions on ways to cut the budget, and he has ignored all of our ideas. Instead, he wants to focus on the most extreme option – laying off workers.”
According to Jellison, Governor Rendell has given out over $1 billion in outside contracts since he became Governor and that many of those contracts cover work that had been done by state employees.
“The first thing the Governor can do to stop wasteful spending in the state budget,” Jellison said, “is to cut out some of the private contracts he has given to outside companies to do work that our members can do better and at a lower cost.”
“When more and more people are losing their jobs, their homes, and their health benefits, families need more services from government, not less,” Jellison said. “Furloughs and layoffs mean many vulnerable people, including children, the elderly and the mentally ill, will not get the services they desperately need.”
Another suggestion made by SEIU Local 668 is for the Governor to support legislation that will allow employees to choose to take early retirement. “This would reduce employee costs in this and subsequent budgets,” said Jellison, “because the older workers would be replaced with new workers at a lower pay scale.”
Jellison said that her union is willing to talk with the Governor about these and other cost-cutting measures, but that he has refused to meet with them. In fact, the Governor cancelled a meeting that had been scheduled for last Thursday.
“Instead of negotiating through the press,” Jellison said, “the Governor needs to sit down and actually listen to what the state employee unions have to say. We are on the front lines and we know how to provide the best services at the lowest cost – something his outside contractors do not know.”
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