Catherwood LibraryILR School

The New York State Public Employees Federation, which represents around 56,000 workers, says that its members have rejected a five-year contract with the state. The contract would have had layoff protections for the first two years, a three-year wage freeze and increased health insurance costs. The union says that the vote was close, but that workers were not happy with the agreement. Union leaders said that they had tried to convince workers to accept the deal, which is similar to what the Civil Service Employees Association took last month, but that employees were not happy with the contract, especially the first ever furloughs for state workers. The governor said that they would proceed with layoffs in order to cut costs. The governor's office said that they would begin notifying employees as soon as Wednesday; they have previously said that they need to layoff 3,500 state workers to cut costs.