Union drafts furlough pact

The Concord Monitor runs an AP story that the State Employees Assocation has reached a tentative forlough deal to take 18 days off, without pay, over the next two years.

If ratified by State Employees Association of New Hampshire members, the deal would avoid 750 layoffs in state government.

The first of 12 state government shutdowns would occur Oct. 12, according to the union.

The tentative shutdown dates were agreed upon Friday evening during talks between the union and the governor's office, said union spokeswoman Diana Lacey. The union agreed to the dates for the shutdowns after examining how they would affect public services and the employees who would have to absorb the loss of pay, she said.

Nashua Telegraph- "Crisis used as fuel for short week"

New Hampshire budget writers would direct the Governor to save $25 million in personnel costs by exploring furloughs for state employees. This unpaid time off could prevent layoffs, and would be very easy to reverse should the Legislature decide it has plenty of money in two years. Nashua Telegraph reporter Ashley Smith looks at an alternative proposal from the State Employees Association, working four days a week for the same pay:

State union employees are proposing a Monday-through-Thursday work week with 10-hour days and the closure of state offices on Friday, which they say already has low business demand.

They argue that a four-day work week reduces energy bills, cuts back on absenteeism and gives the public more convenient access to services through extended daily hours.

Governor Lynch has been cool to the idea, for good reason:

"Unless the union is willing to agree to furloughs, there are not significant cost savings achieved from a four-day work week if we are paying them for five days," said his spokesman, Colin Manning, in an e-mail message.

It's not the electric bill that drives state spending. It's salaries and benefits for state employees. Closing the DMV on Fridays or shutting down Environmental Services on Wednesdays won't save much money since we're paying for the building whether it's open or not. This is especially true if we're also paying state employees to stay home one day a week. And if we have enough employees that they can stagger their shifts without a loss of services, then we have too many.