After going back and forth on layoffs for months, New York Governor David Paterson announced the layoffs of 898 state workers. The layoffs include positions in the Department of Motor Vehicles, the State Police, State Parks, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Transportation. Paterson blamed the need for layoffs on the unions, saying that they would not make concessions. Unions say that they will fight the layoffs, citing an agreement that Paterson signed saying that he would not layoff any workers before the end of his term. Andrew Cuomo, the likely successor for Paterson said that he believed the layoffs were legal, days after attacking the unions in the press.
See "Gov. Paterson says he will give the thumbs-up to the layoff of nearly 900 state workers", Glenn Bain, New York Daily News, October 27, 2010