New York - Gov. Paterson: I'll take furlough, too, if it gets union leaders on board

Thanks, Dave.

Gov. Paterson, still stinging from a federal judge's ruling blocking his attempt to furlough state workers, volunteered Thursday morning to take a one-day-a-week furlough if it would help budge union leaders into making concessions.

"Listen I'll be happy to take the furlough," Paterson told WOR's John Gambling. "I cut my entire salary 10% last year - of the gross, not even of what I take home and donated it back to the state, $18,000."

Paterson then quickly indicated he felt such a move would be useless and, clearly angry, bashed union leaders again for steadfastly refusing to contribute anything to solve the state's fiscal crisis. He also took issue with the criticism he received for granting salary increases to five members of his press shop who were recently promoted or took on additional duties.

"Every time we try to do something, we get criticized. When I rescinded the salary increases - and this is $40,000 for five people, none of whom made over $65,000 at the time - they continued to criticize me," he said.

"Look how the situation ended up," Paterson railed. "These five people lost their increases and 100,000 workers that haven't contributed a dime to $250 million of savings, they just got their 4% increase back. Some of them are getting 7% increases. And some of them make over $100,000 a year. Union leaders aren't taking any furloughs because they don't work for the state, they work for the union."

Paterson also criticized U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn for granting the union's request for a restraining order without holding hearing on the issue. The governor said Kahn misunderstood the issue, believing that the furloughs would permanently take away 20% of union members salary when it would really only be a total of eight days.

Kahn did set a May 26 hearing on the case.

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