Quinnipiac released a poll today that shows New Yorkers like the way Gov. Andrew Cuomo is "handling" unions. From Quinnipiac's release:
Cuomo is "about right" in his handling of public employee union, 46 percent of voters say, while 21 percent say he is "too tough" and 20 percent say he is "not tough enough."
You read that right, 20 percent of respondents think he could be tougher. And that's not all...
By a margin of 53-36 percent, voters think that New York State public employees are not pulling their weight when it comes to helping out with the state's fiscal issues. In other words, a majority of voters think public employees should be doing more to help the state out of its fiscal predicament.
Cuomo reached a deal earlier this year with the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), the state's largest state government union. The second largest, the Public Employees Federation (PEF), also negotiated a deal with Cuomo, the fate of which rests with a full membership vote (the alternative is 3,500 layoffs).
Both deals include some combination of a multi-year pay freeze, "deficit reduction leave" days, furlough days and increased benefit contributions. But eligible union members will still get their step increases worth a percentage point or two (to the tune of $146 million this year) and some one-time bonuses.
Join the conversation